Matthew 6:17

Instead, when you fast, wash your face and look smart,

Free Bible Version

In The King James Version

But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;

In Context

16When you fast, don't be like the hypocrites who put on sad faces and make themselves look terrible so that everyone can see they're fasting. I tell you the truth, they already have their reward.

18so that people won't see you're fasting, and your unseen Father who sees what happens in private will reward you.

Read all of Matthew 6

Cross References

Ruth 3:3Have a bath, put on some perfume, wear your best clothes, and go down to the threshing floor—but don't let him recognize you. Once he's finished eating and drinking,

2 Samuel 14:2So Joab sent a messenger to Tekoa to bring back a wise woman who lived there. He told her, “Pretend to be a mourner. Put on clothes for mourning, and don't use any scented oils. Be like a woman who has been in mourning for the dead a long time.

Daniel 10:2When this happened, I, Daniel, had been in mourning for three full weeks.

Matthew Henry on Matthew 6:17-19

The Sermon on the Mount. 16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; 18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. We are here cautioned against hypocrisy in fasting, as before in almsgiving, and in… Read the whole commentary →

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Study Matthew 6:17