6:5 “Whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray while standing in synagogues 2 and on street corners so that people can see them. Truly I say to you, they have their reward. 6:6 But whenever you pray, go into your room, 3 close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you. 4
1 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).
2 sn See the note on synagogues in 4:23.
3 sn The term translated room refers to the inner room of a house, normally without any windows opening outside, the most private location possible (BDAG 988 s.v. ταμεῖον 2).
4 tc See the tc note on “will reward you” in 6:4: The problem is the same and the ms support differs only slightly.