Matthew 6:17

'But thou, fasting, anoint thy head, and wash thy face,

Young's Literal Translation

In The King James Version

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

In Context

16'And when ye may fast, be ye not as the hypocrites, of sour countenances, for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear to men fasting; verily I say to you, that they have their reward.

18that thou mayest not appear to men fasting, but to thy Father who [is] in secret, and thy Father, who is seeing in secret, shall reward thee manifestly.

Read all of Matthew 6

Cross References

Ruth 3:3and thou hast bathed, and anointed thyself, and put thy garments upon thee, and gone down to the threshing-floor; let not thyself be known to the man till he complete to eat and to drink;

2 Samuel 14:2and Joab sendeth to Tekoah, and taketh thence a wise woman, and saith unto her, 'Feign thyself a mourner, I pray thee, and put on, I pray thee, garments of mourning, and anoint not thyself with oil, and thou hast been as a woman these many days mourning for the dead,

Daniel 10:2'In those days, I, Daniel, have been mourning three weeks of days;

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