ESTUDIO DEL CAPÍTULO

Matthew 6: Righteousness, the Lord's Prayer, and Anxiety

Matthew 6 continues the Sermon on the Mount by addressing three acts of piety—giving, praying, fasting—then provides the Lord's Prayer, warns against two masters, and forbids anxiety.

Escritura

  1. 1.Guardaos de hacer vuestra justicia delante de los hombres, para ser vistos de ellos; de otra manera no tendréis recompensa de vuestro Padre que está en los cielos.Take heed that ye do not your righteousness before men, to be seen of them: else ye have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.
  2. 2.Cuando, pues, des limosna, no hagas tocar trompeta delante de ti, como hacen los hipócritas en las sinagogas y en las calles, para ser alabados por los hombres; de cierto os digo que ya tienen su recompensa.When therefore thou doest alms, sound not a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have received their reward.
  3. 3.Mas cuando tú des limosna, no sepa tu izquierda lo que hace tu derecha,But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
  4. 4.para que sea tu limosna en secreto; y tu Padre que ve en lo secreto te recompensará en público.that thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father who seeth in secret shall recompense thee.
  5. 5.Y cuando ores, no seas como los hipócritas; porque ellos aman el orar en pie en las sinagogas y en las esquinas de las calles, para ser vistos de los hombres; de cierto os digo que ya tienen su recompensa.And when ye pray, ye shall not be as the hypocrites: for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have received their reward.
  6. 6.Mas tú, cuando ores, entra en tu aposento, y cerrada la puerta, ora a tu Padre que está en secreto; y tu Padre que ve en lo secreto te recompensará en público.But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thine inner chamber, and having shut thy door, pray to thy Father who is in secret, and thy Father who seeth in secret shall recompense thee.
  7. 7.Y orando, no uséis vanas repeticiones, como los gentiles, que piensan que por su palabrería serán oídos.And in praying use not vain repetitions, as the Gentiles do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
  8. 8.No os hagáis, pues, semejantes a ellos; porque vuestro Padre sabe de qué cosas tenéis necesidad, antes que vosotros le pidáis.Be not therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
  9. 9.Vosotros, pues, oraréis así: Padre nuestro que estás en los cielos, santificado sea tu nombre.After this manner therefore pray ye. Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
  10. 10.Venga tu reino. Hágase tu voluntad, como en el cielo, así también en la tierra.Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth.
  11. 11.El pan nuestro de cada día, dánoslo hoy.Give us this day our daily bread.
  12. 12.Y perdónanos nuestras deudas, como también nosotros perdonamos a nuestros deudores.And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
  13. 13.Y no nos metas en tentación, mas líbranos del mal; porque tuyo es el reino, y el poder, y la gloria, por todos los siglos. Amén.And bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
  14. 14.Porque si perdonáis a los hombres sus ofensas, os perdonará también a vosotros vuestro Padre celestial;For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
  15. 15.mas si no perdonáis a los hombres sus ofensas, tampoco vuestro Padre os perdonará vuestras ofensas.But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
  16. 16.Cuando ayunéis, no seáis austeros, como los hipócritas; porque ellos demudan sus rostros para mostrar a los hombres que ayunan; de cierto os digo que ya tienen su recompensa.Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may be seen of men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have received their reward.
  17. 17.Pero tú, cuando ayunes, unge tu cabeza y lava tu rostro,But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thy head, and wash thy face;
  18. 18.para no mostrar a los hombres que ayunas, sino a tu Padre que está en secreto; y tu Padre que ve en lo secreto te recompensará en público.that thou be not seen of men to fast, but of thy Father who is in secret: and thy Father, who seeth in secret, shall recompense thee.
  19. 19.No os hagáis tesoros en la tierra, donde la polilla y el orín corrompen, y donde ladrones minan y hurtan;Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal:
  20. 20.sino haceos tesoros en el cielo, donde ni la polilla ni el orín corrompen, y donde ladrones no minan ni hurtan.but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth consume, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
  21. 21.Porque donde esté vuestro tesoro, allí estará también vuestro corazón.for where thy treasure is, there will thy heart be also.
  22. 22.La lámpara del cuerpo es el ojo; así que, si tu ojo es bueno, todo tu cuerpo estará lleno de luz;The lamp of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
  23. 23.pero si tu ojo es maligno, todo tu cuerpo estaráen tinieblas. Así que, si la luz que en ti hay es tinieblas, ¿cuántas no serán las mismas tinieblas?But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is the darkness!
  24. 24.Ninguno puede servir a dos señores; porque o aborrecerá al uno y amará al otro, o estimará al uno y menospreciará al otro. No podéis servir a Dios y a las riquezas.No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
  25. 25.Por tanto os digo: No os afanéis por vuestra vida, qué habéis de comer o qué habéis de beber; ni por vuestro cuerpo, qué habéis de vestir. ¿No es la vida más que el alimento, y el cuerpo más que el vestido?Therefore I say unto you, be not anxious for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than the food, and the body than the raiment?
  26. 26.Mirad las aves del cielo, que no siembran, ni siegan, ni recogen en graneros; y vuestro Padre celestial las alimenta. ¿No valéis vosotros mucho más que ellas?Behold the birds of the heaven, that they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not ye of much more value then they?
  27. 27.¿Y quién de vosotros podrá, por mucho que se afane, añadir a su estatura un codo?And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit unto the measure of his life?
  28. 28.Y por el vestido, ¿por qué os afanáis? Considerad los lirios del campo, cómo crecen: no trabajan ni hilan;And why are ye anxious concerning raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
  29. 29.pero os digo, que ni aun Salomón con toda su gloria se vistió así como uno de ellos.yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
  30. 30.Y si la hierba del campo que hoy es, y mañana se echa en el horno, Dios la viste así, ¿no hará mucho más a vosotros, hombres de poca fe?But if God doth so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
  31. 31.No os afanéis, pues, diciendo: ¿Qué comeremos, o qué beberemos, o qué vestiremos?Be not therefore anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
  32. 32.Porque los gentiles buscan todas estas cosas; pero vuestro Padre celestial sabe que tenéis necesidad de todas estas cosas.For after all these things do the Gentiles seek; for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
  33. 33.Mas buscad primeramente el reino de Dios y su justicia, y todas estas cosas os serán añadidas.But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
  34. 34.Así que, no os afanéis por el día de mañana, porque el día de mañana traerá su afán. Basta a cada día su propio mal.Be not therefore anxious for the morrow: for the morrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Qué significa este pasaje

Verses 1–18 form a tightly constructed triplet on three central Jewish practices: almsgiving (2–4), prayer (5–15), and fasting (16–18). Each section follows the same rhetorical shape: a warning against the 'hypocrites' (ὑποκριταί) who perform the act publicly for human praise, the solemn formula 'they have received their reward,' and then a positive instruction that the act be done in secret before the Father 'who seeth in secret.' The repetition drives home that divine reward and human reward are mutually exclusive—once the audience's applause is taken, God's compensation is forfeit.

The Lord's Prayer (9–13) is bracketed by two notes on forgiveness (12, 14–15) and sandwiched inside the prayer section, so it functions both as the model prayer and as the content of the disciples' plea. The prayer moves from God-ward ('hallowed be thy name,' 'thy kingdom come') to human-ward needs ('daily bread,' 'forgive us,' 'deliver us from evil'), modeling the ordering of devotion and petition. The bracketing verses on forgiveness turn the petition 'forgive us our debts' into a moral requirement: human forgiveness is the measure of expected divine forgiveness.

Verses 19–34 shift from religious acts to daily existence. Two foundational metaphors drive the argument: 'where thy treasure is, there will thy heart be also' (21), and 'no man can serve two masters' (24). From these Jesus derives the prohibition of anxiety (25–34). The argument is theological rather than economic: anxiety assumes the Father is withholding what He already knows is needed (8, 32). The chapter's closing imperative, 'seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness,' ties the two halves together—the 'righteousness' of verse 1 is now specified as God's kingdom-righteousness, with material needs added as a secondary benefit.

Contexto

Matthew 5–7 is the Sermon on the Mount, and chapter 6 is its central panel. The chapter assumes the audience already practices almsgiving, prayer, and fasting; Jesus does not introduce these disciplines but addresses their inner orientation. Matthew also has a parallel passion for hidden righteousness in chapter 5:16 ('let your light so shine before men'), and chapter 6 qualifies that by distinguishing visibility-for-glory from visibility-as-natural-consequence. The chapter ends the Sermon on the Mount's pivot from religious externals to inward trust, which prepares for chapters 7–9 on judgment, fruitfulness, and mission.

Within the Gospel, the Lord's Prayer appears here in its most complete Matthean form; Luke 11:2–4 gives a shorter version in a different setting (disciples requesting instruction on prayer). The differences between the two versions—Matthewn expansions such as 'which art in heaven' and the doxology—have generated extensive textual and source-critical discussion (Markan priority, Q, Matthean redaction). The placement here is catechetical, gathering disciples around a shared prayer to memorize and recite.

Palabras clave del original

  • G1343 δικαιοσύνην (dikaiosynē): 'righteousness' or 'justice,' used in 6:1 of the full range of religious duties (giving, praying, fasting). It is the same word the chapter ends with in 6:33 ('his righteousness'), forming an inclusio that re-defines righteousness as kingdom-orientation rather than visible performance.
  • G5273 ὑποκριταὶ (hypokritai): 'hypocrites'—literally 'stage-actors' or 'players under a mask.' Jesus borrows the term from the Greek theater to describe those whose religious persona is a performed role aimed at an audience, contrasting theatrical display with the sincerity of secret prayer and giving.
  • G1654 ἐλεημοσύνην (eleēmosynē): 'alms' or 'charitable giving.' Originally meaning 'compassion' or 'mercifulness,' it came to refer concretely to gifts given to the poor. In 6:2–4 Jesus assumes almsgiving is a regular practice of his hearers and focuses on its motive rather than its existence.

Versículos relacionados

  • Luke 12:31 The Lukan twin of Matthew 6:33 ('seek first his kingdom'), placed in a different setting (disciples told to sell possessions). Together the two versions confirm 'seeking the kingdom' as a core saying of Jesus, with Matthew adding 'and his righteousness' as the defining content.
  • Matthew 5:6 The fourth Beatitude: 'hunger and thirst after righteousness.' Matthew 6:33 echoes this beatitude by replacing visible 'righteousness' (6:1) with 'his righteousness'—God's kingdom-righteousness—showing that the hunger promised in 5:6 is met by seeking what God gives, not by human display.
  • Psalms 34:10 'They that seek Jehovah shall not want any good thing.' This OT promise underwrites Jesus' argument against anxiety in Matthew 6:25–34: the creatures of the field (birds, lilies) are evidence that seeking God and lacking good things are incompatible states, since the God who feeds them is the God his disciples call 'Father.'

Preguntas frecuentes

Does Matthew 6:1 mean all public Christian works are wrong?

No. The verse forbids righteousness done 'to be seen of them'—i.e., performance whose motive is human praise. Matthew 5:16 itself commands letting light shine before men. The distinction is motive (glory from God vs. glory from people), not visibility. The chapter's logic assumes the acts themselves—almsgiving, prayer, fasting—continue to be practiced.

Why does Jesus call the hypocrites' reward 'received'?

Because their audience's applause settles the account. The verb ἀπέχουσιν ('they have received') is commercial language: payment in full. The chapter assumes a system of competing rewards—one from the watching crowd, one from the Father in secret—and a single act can only draw from one. Taking human glory now forecloses divine compensation later.

How does the Lord's Prayer relate to the surrounding teaching?

The prayer is framed by the warning against hypocrisy (5–8) and the teaching on forgiveness (14–15). Its placement shows that true prayer is the opposite of theatrical display (6), and the bracketing forgiveness logion turns the petition 'forgive us our debts' into a demand: disciples must extend the same mercy they request. The prayer thus contains both the pattern of authentic prayer and the ethics that authentic prayer produces.

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