Matthew 6:1

Pure-hearted Giving

6:1 “Be 1  careful not to display your righteousness merely to be seen by people. 2  Otherwise you have no reward with your Father in heaven.

Matthew 6:4

6:4 so that your gift may be in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you. 3 

1 tc ‡ Several mss (א L Z Θ Ë1 33 892 1241 1424 al) have δέ (de, “but, now”) at the beginning of this verse; the reading without δέ is supported by B D W 0250 Ë13 Ï lat. A decision is difficult, but apparently the conjunction was added by later scribes to indicate a transition in the thought-flow of the Sermon on the Mount. NA27 has δέ in brackets, indicating reservations about its authenticity.

2 tn Grk “before people in order to be seen by them.”

3 tc L W Θ 0250 Ï it read ἐν τῷ φανερῷ (en tw fanerw, “openly”) at the end of this verse, giving a counterweight to what is done in secret. But this reading is suspect because of the obvious literary balance, because of detouring the point of the passage (the focus of vv. 1-4 is not on two kinds of public rewards but on human vs. divine approbation), and because of superior external testimony that lacks this reading (א B D Z Ë1,13 33 al).