Matthew 6:17

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

Wycliffe Modern Spelling

In The King James Version

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

In Context

16But when ye fast, do not ye be made as (the) hypocrites (be, looking) sorrowful, for they deface themselves, [or they put their faces out of kindly (or natural) terms], to seem fasting to men; truly I say to you, they have received their meed, (or I tell you the truth, they have received their reward).

18that thou be not seen fasting to men, but (only) to thy Father that is in huddles, (or so that thou not be seen to be fasting by men, but only by thy Father who is in secret), and thy Father that seeth in privy, [or in huddles], (or in secret), shall yield to thee.

Read all of Matthew 6

Cross References

Ruth 3:3Therefore be thou washed, and anointed, and be thou clothed with more honest clothes, and go thou down into the cornfloor; the man see not thee, till he have ended to eat and to drink. (And so be thou washed, and anointed, and be thou clothed with more honourable, or your best, clothes, and then go thou down to the threshing floor; but do not let the man see thee until he hath finished eating and drinking.)

2 Samuel 14:2and he sent to Tekoah, and took from thence a wise woman, and he said to her, Feign thee to mourn, and be thou clothed with a cloak of dole, and be thou not anointed with oil, that thou be as a woman by mourning now in full much time a dead man (or so that thou be like a woman now after a great deal of time mourning for her husband).

Daniel 10:2In those days I, Daniel, mourned by the days of three weeks; (In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three 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 →

This Verse In Other Editions

Study Matthew 6:17