Giving to the Needy

1 “Beware of ^rpracticing your righteousness before other people in order ^sto be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

2 ^t“Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may ^ube praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have ^vreceived their reward. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. ^wAnd your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

The Lord’s Prayer

5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love ^xto stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. ^yTruly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, ^zgo into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. ^aAnd your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as ^bthe Gentiles do, for ^cthey think that they will be heard ^dfor their many words. 8 Do not be like them, ^efor your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 ^fPray then like this:

14 ^rFor if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 ^sbut if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Fasting

16 “And ^twhen you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. ^uTruly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, ^vanoint your head and wash your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. ^wAnd your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Lay Up Treasures in Heaven

19 ^x“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where ^ymoth and rust⁵ destroy and where thieves ^zbreak in and steal, 20 ^xbut lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22 ^a“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 ^abut if ^byour eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

24 ^c“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and ^dmoney.⁶

Do Not Be Anxious

25 ^e“Therefore I tell you, ^fdo not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 ^gLook at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. ^hAre you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his ⁱspan of life?⁷ 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, ^jeven Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, ^kO you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For ^lthe Gentiles seek after all these things, and ^myour heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But ⁿseek first ^othe kingdom of God and his righteousness, ^pand all these things will be added to you.

34 ^q“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Overcoming the World

1 ^kEveryone who believes that ^lJesus is the Christ has been born of God, and ^meveryone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. 2 ⁿBy this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For ^othis is the love of God, that we ^pkeep his commandments. And ^qhis commandments are not burdensome. 4 For ^reveryone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—^sour faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes ^tthat Jesus is the Son of God?

Testimony Concerning the Son of God

6 This is he who came ^uby water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And ^vthe Spirit is the one who testifies, because ^wthe Spirit is the truth. 7 For there are three that testify: 8 the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree. 9 ^xIf we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God ^ythat he has borne concerning his Son. 10 Whoever believes in the Son of God ^zhas the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God ^ahas made him a liar, ^bbecause he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. 11 And this is the testimony, that God gave us ^ceternal life, and ^dthis life is in his Son. 12 ^eWhoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

That You May Know

13 I write ^fthese things to you who ^gbelieve in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 And this is ^hthe confidence that we have toward him, that ⁱif we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

16 If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and ^jGod¹ will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. ^kThere is sin that leads to death; ^lI do not say that one should pray for that. 17 ^mAll wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death.

18 We know that ⁿeveryone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but ^ohe who was born of God ^pprotects him, and the evil one does not touch him.

19 We know that we are from God, and ^qthe whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

20 And we know that the Son of God has come and ^rhas given us understanding, so that we may know ^shim who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and ^teternal life. 21 Little children, ^ukeep yourselves from idols.