Matthew 6:29
in Matthew 6Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
KJV
And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
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This verse in Matthew 6
Commentary
15 notes on this verse(Vers. 28-29.) Consider how the lilies of the field grow: they do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed like one of these. How beautifully does the lily shine? But the viola, with its purple color, surpasses any dye, it is a judgement of the eyes more than of speech.
This site's exposition
the lilies of the field
on Matthew 6:28-30
The lilies of the field, likely the wild anemones or crown daisies common on Galilee's hillsides, neither toil nor spin, yet Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these, a comparison that ranks God's plainest handiwork above the wealthiest king's court dress recorded in 1 Kings 10:14-29. If God so clothes grass burned as fuel the next day, the argument concludes still more forcefully for disciples than for flowers. O ye of little faith is the second sounding of a rebuke that returns at 8:26, 14:31, and 16:8, always spoken to disciples already following him rather than to the crowds still deciding whether to.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
Or the meaning may be, that Solomon though he toiled not for his own raiment, yet he gave command for the making of it. But where command is, there is often found both offence of them that minister, and wrath of him that commands. When then any are without these things, then they are arrayed as are the lilies.
A commentator
John ChrysostomHomily on the Gospel of Matthew 22 · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
But if Solomon was surpassed by their beauty, and that not once nor twice, but throughout all his reign;-for neither can one say, that at one time He was clothed with such apparel, but after that He was so no more; rather not so much as on one day did He array Himself so beautifully: for this Christ declared by saying, "in all his reign:" and if it was not that He was surpassed by this flower, but vied with that, but He gave place to all alike (wherefore He also said, "as one of these:" for such as between the truth and the counterfeit, so great is the interval between those robes and these flowers):-if then he acknowledged his inferiority, who was more glorious than all kings that ever were: when wilt thou be able to surpass, or rather to approach even faintly to such perfection of form? After this He instructs us, not to aim at all at such ornament. See at least the end thereof; after its triumph "it is cast into the oven:" and if of things mean, and worthless, and of no great use, God hath displayed so great care, how shall He give up thee, of all living creatures the most important? Hereby He teaches us not only to take no thought, but not even to be dazzled at the costliness of men's apparel. Why, such comeliness is of grass, such beauty of the green herb: or rather, the grass is even more precious than such apparelling. Why then pride thyself on things, whereof the prize rests with the mere plant, with a great balance in its favor?
Spiritually, by the birds of the air are meant the Saints who are born again in the water of holy Baptisme; and by devotion raise themselves above the earth and seek the skies. The Apostles are said to be of more value than these, because they are the heads of the Saints. By the lilies also may be understood the Saints, who without the toil of legal ceremonies pleased God by faith alone; of whom it is said, My Beloved, who feedeth among the lilies. (Cant. 2:16.) Holy Church also is understood by the lilies, because of the whiteness of its faith, and the odour of its good conversation, of which it is said in the same place, As the lily among the thorns. By the grass are denoted the unbelievers, of whom it is said, The grass hath dried up, and the flowers thereof faded. (Is. 40:7.) By the oven eternal damnation; so that the sense be, If God bestows temporal goods on the unbelievers, how much more shall He bestow on you eternal goods!
For, in sooth, what regal purple, what silk, what web of divers colours from the loom, may vie with flowers? What work of man has the red blush of the rose? the pure white of the lily? How the Tyrian dye yields to the violet, sight alone and not words can express.
The Medieval Church1 voice
(non occ.) And for the greater exaltation of God's providence in those things that are beyond human industry, He adds, I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
8 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church2 voices
But I say to you, that not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed as one of these. Here the benefit of divine providence is set forth. For God so provides that the whole effort of man could not equal it, because things made …
"And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." He shames …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory,....
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
Solomon in all his glory - Some suppose that as the robes of state worn by the eastern kings were usually white, as were those of the nobles among the Jews, that therefore the lily was chosen for the comparison.
These verses are a striking example of the combined wisdom and compassion of our Lord Jesus Christ’s teaching. He knows the heart of a man: he knows that we are always ready to turn off warnings against worldliness by the argument that we cannot help being anxious about the things of this life. “Have we not our families to provide for? Must not our bodily wants be supplied? How can we possibly get through life if we think first of our souls?” The Lord Jesus foresaw such thoughts and furnished an answer.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these--What incomparable teaching!--best left in its own transparent clearness and rich simplicity.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-run:20w-of-33
These verses are a striking example of the combined wisdom and compassion of our Lord Jesus Christ’s teaching. He knows the heart of a man: he knows that we are always ready to turn off warnings against worldliness by the argument that we cannot help being anxious about the things of this life. “Have we not our families to provide for? Must not our bodily wants be supplied? How can we possibly get through life if we think first of our souls?” The Lord Jesus foresaw such thoughts and furnished an answer. He forbids us to keep up an anxious spirit about the things of this world. Four times over he says, “Take no thought about life.”About life, about food, about clothing, about the morrow, “take no thought.” Do not be over-careful, be not over-anxious. Prudent provision for the future is right; wearing, corroding, self-tormenting anxiety is wrong. He reminds us of the providential care that God continually takes of everything that he has created. Has he given us “life?” Then he will surely not let us want anything necessary for its maintenance. Has he given us a “body?”Then he will surely not let us die for want of clothing. He that calls us into being will doubtless find meat to feed us. He points out the uselessness of over-anxiety. Our life is certainly in God’s hand; all the care in the world will not make us continue a minute beyond the time which God has appointed. We cannot add one hour to our lives; we shall not die till our work is done. He sends us to the birds of the air for instruction. They make no provision for the future: “they sow not neither do they reap; they lay up no stores against time yet to come; they do not gather into barns.They literally live from day to day on what they can pick up by using the instinct God has put in them.
Modern Voices1 voice
A commentator
GK ChestertonThe Everlasting Man, Part 2 Ch. 3: The Strangest Story in the World (1925) (1925)
proposed
There is perhaps nothing so perfect in all language or literature as the use of these three degrees in the parable of the lilies of the field; in which he seems first to take one small flower in his hand and note its simplicity and …
The words behind it
15 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| λέγω | lego | I say | G3004 → | 1325 times |
| δὲ | de | however | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| ὑμῖν | humin | to you | G4771 → | 2973 times |
| ὅτι | hoti | that | G3754 → | 1292 times |
| οὐδὲ | oude | not even | G3761 → | 141 times |
| Σολομὼν | solomon | Solomon | G4672 → | 12 times |
| ἐν | en | in | G1722 → | 2738 times |
| πάσῃ | pase | all | G3956 → | 1235 times |
| τῇ | tea | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| δόξῃ | doxe | glory | G1391 → | 165 times |
| αὐτοῦ | autou | of him | G846 → | 5565 times |
| περιεβάλετο | periebaleto | was adorned | G4016 → | 23 times |
| ὡς | hos | like | G5613 → | 500 times |
| ἓν | hen | one | G1520 → | 343 times |
| τούτων. | touton | of these. | G3778 → | 1381 times |
λέγωI say
legoG3004 →1325 times
δὲhowever
deG1161 →2765 times
ὑμῖνto you
huminG4771 →2973 times
ὅτιthat
hotiG3754 →1292 times
οὐδὲnot even
oudeG3761 →141 times
ΣολομὼνSolomon
solomonG4672 →12 times
ἐνin
enG1722 →2738 times
πάσῃall
paseG3956 →1235 times
τῇthe
teaG3588 →19766 times
δόξῃglory
doxeG1391 →165 times
αὐτοῦof him
autouG846 →5565 times
περιεβάλετοwas adorned
periebaletoG4016 →23 times
ὡςlike
hosG5613 →500 times
ἓνone
henG1520 →343 times
τούτων.of these.
toutonG3778 →1381 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
About Matthew
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 14 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; GK Chesterton, The Everlasting Man, Part 2 Ch. 3: The Strangest Story in the World (1925); Glossa Ordinaria, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Matthew; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Matthew; Jerome, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; John Chrysostom, Homily on the Gospel of Matthew 22; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Pseudo-Chrysostom, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Remigius of Rheims, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Matthew and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Matthew.