Mattheum 6
1 Attendite ne iustitiam vestram faciatis coram hominibus, ut videamini ab eis: alioquin mercedem non habebitis apud Patrem vestrum, qui in cælis est.
‘Take care not to perform your religious duties in public in order to be seen by others; if you do, your Father who is in heaven has no reward for you.
2 Cum ergo facis eleemosynam, noli tuba canere ante te, sicut hypocritæ faciunt in synagogis, et in vicis, ut honorificentur ab hominibus: Amen dico vobis, receperunt mercedem suam.
Therefore, when you do acts of charity, do not have a trumpet blown in front of you, as hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets so that people will praise them. There, I tell you, is their reward!
3 Te autem faciente eleemosynam, nesciat sinistra tua quid faciat dextera tua:
But, when you do acts of charity, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
4 ut sit eleemosyna tua in abscondito, et Pater tuus, qui videt in abscondito, reddet tibi.
so that your charity may be secret; and your Father, who sees what is in secret, will reward you.
5 Et cum oratis, non eritis sicut hypocritæ, qui amant in synagogis, et in angulis platearum stantes orare, ut videantur ab hominibus: Amen dico vobis, receperunt mercedem suam.
‘And, when you pray, you are not to behave as hypocrites do. They like to pray standing in the synagogues and at the corners of the streets, so that people will see them. There, I tell you, is their reward!
6 Tu autem cum oraveris, intra in cubiculum tuum, et clauso ostio, ora Patrem tuum in abscondito: et Pater tuus qui videt in abscondito, reddet tibi.
But, when one of you prays, they should go into their own room, shut the door, and pray to their Father who dwells in secret; and their Father, who sees what is secret, will reward them.
7 Orantes autem, nolite multum loqui, sicut ethnici. Putant enim quod in multiloquio suo exaudiantur.
When praying, do not repeat the same words over and over again, as is done by the Gentiles, who think that by using many words they will obtain a hearing.
8 Nolite ergo assimilari eis. Scit enim Pater vester, quid opus sit vobis, antequam petatis eum.
Do not imitate them; for God, your Father, knows what you need before you ask him.
9 Sic ergo vos orabitis: Pater noster, qui es in cælis: sanctificetur nomen tuum.
You, therefore, should pray like this – “Our Father, who is in heaven, may your name be held holy,
10 Adveniat regnum tuum. Fiat voluntas tua, sicut in cælo, et in terra.
your kingdom come, your will be done – on earth, as in heaven.
11 Panem nostrum supersubstantialem da nobis hodie.
Give us today the bread that we will need;
12 Et dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris.
and forgive us our wrongdoings, as we have forgiven those who have wronged us;
13 Et ne nos inducas in tentationem. Sed libera nos a malo. Amen.
and take us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
14 Si enim dimiseritis hominibus peccata eorum: dimittet et vobis Pater vester cælestis delicta vestra.
For, if you forgive others their offences, your heavenly Father will forgive you also;
15 Si autem non dimiseritis hominibus: nec Pater vester dimittet vobis peccata vestra.
but, if you do not forgive others their offences, not even your Father will forgive your offences.
16 Cum autem ieiunatis, nolite fieri sicut hypocritæ tristes. Exterminant enim facies suas, ut appareant hominibus ieiunantes. Amen dico vobis, quia receperunt mercedem suam.
‘And, when you fast, do not put on gloomy looks, as hypocrites do who disfigure their faces so that they may be seen by people to be fasting. That, I tell you, is their reward!
17 Tu autem, cum ieiunas, unge caput tuum, et faciem tuam lava,
But, when one of you fasts, they should anoint their head and wash their face,
18 ne videaris hominibus ieiunans, sed Patri tuo, qui est in abscondito: et Pater tuus, qui videt in abscondito, reddet tibi.
so that they may not be seen by people to be fasting, but by their Father who dwells in secret; and their Father, who sees what is secret, will reward them.
19 Nolite thesaurizare vobis thesauros in terra: ubi ærugo, et tinea demolitur: et ubi fures effodiunt, et furantur.
‘Do not store up treasures for yourselves on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
20 Thesaurizate autem vobis thesauros in cælo: ubi neque ærugo, neque tinea demolitur, et ubi fures non effodiunt, nec furantur.
But store up treasures for yourselves in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal.
21 Ubi enim est thesaurus tuus, ibi est et cor tuum.
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
22 Lucerna corporis tui est oculus tuus. Si oculus tuus fuerit simplex: totum corpus tuum lucidum erit.
The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is unclouded, your whole body will be lit up;
23 Si autem oculus tuus fuerit nequam: totum corpus tuum tenebrosum erit. Si ergo lumen, quod in te est, tenebræ sunt: ipsæ tenebræ quantæ erunt!
but, if your eye is diseased, your whole body will be darkened. And, if the inner light is darkness, how intense must that darkness be!
24 Nemo potest duobus dominis servire: aut enim unum odio habebit, et alterum diliget: aut unum sustinebit, et alterum contemnet. Non potestis Deo servire, et mammonæ.
No one can serve two masters, for either they will hate one and love the other, or else they will attach themselves to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
25 Ideo dico vobis, ne soliciti sitis animæ vestræ quid manducetis, neque corpori vestro quid induamini. Nonne anima plus est quam esca: et corpus plus quam vestimentum?
‘This is why I say to you, Do not be anxious about your life – what you can get to eat or drink, or about your body – what you can get to wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
26 Respicite volatilia cæli, quoniam non serunt, neque metunt, neque congregant in horrea: et Pater vester cælestis pascit illa. Nonne vos magis pluris estis illis?
Look at the wild birds – they neither sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns; and yet your heavenly Father feeds them! Aren’t you more precious than they?
27 Quis autem vestrum cogitans potest adiicere ad staturam suam cubitum unum?
But which of you, by being anxious, can prolong their life a single moment?
28 Et de vestimento quid soliciti estis? Considerate lilia agri quomodo crescunt: non laborant, neque nent.
And why be anxious about clothing? Study the wild lilies, and how they grow. They neither toil nor spin;
29 Dico autem vobis, quoniam nec Salomon in omni gloria sua coopertus est sicut unum ex istis.
yet I tell you that even Solomon in all his splendour was not robed like one of these.
30 Si autem fœnum agri, quod hodie est, et cras in clibanum mittitur, Deus sic vestit: quanto magis vos modicæ fidei?
If God so clothes even the grass of the field, which is living today and tomorrow will be thrown into the oven, won’t he much more clothe you, you of little faith?
31 Nolite ergo soliciti esse, dicentes: Quid manducabimus, aut quid bibemus, aut quo operiemur?
Do not then ask anxiously “What can we get to eat?” or “What can we get to drink?” or “What can we get to wear?”
32 Hæc enim omnia Gentes inquirunt. Scit enim Pater vester, quia his omnibus indigetis.
All these are the things for which the nations are seeking, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
33 Quærite ergo primum regnum Dei, et iustitiam eius: et hæc omnia adiicientur vobis.
But first seek his kingdom and the righteousness that he requires, and then all these things will be added for you.
34 Nolite ergo soliciti esse in crastinum. Crastinus enim dies solicitus erit sibi ipsi. Sufficit diei malitia sua.
Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own anxieties. Every day has trouble enough of its own.
