Matthew 6:4
in Matthew 6so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
that thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father who seeth in secret shall recompense thee.
KJV
That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
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This verse in Matthew 6
Commentary
16 notes on this verseFor it is impossible that God should leave in obscurity any good work of man; but He makes it manifest in this world, and glorifies it in the next world, because it is the glory of God; as likewise the Devil manifests evil, in which is shown the strength of his great wickedness. But God properly makes public every good deed only in that world the goods of which are not common to the righteous and the wicked; therefore to whomsoever God shall there show favour, it will be manifest that it was as reward of his righteousness.
This site's exposition
sound a trumpet before thee
on Matthew 6:2-4
No trumpet literally sounded in the synagogue offering box, and the bench reads it as a figure for the deliberate self-advertisement of a showy giver, though some note the ram's-horn-shaped chests, called trumpets for their shape, that stood in the temple court for contributions. Left hand not knowing what the right hand does is hyperbole for a giving so free of self-congratulation that the giver himself scarcely tallies it. The Father who sees in secret answers openly, the same phrase repeated for prayer and fasting, framing all three as transactions with God rather than performances for a crowd.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
(Vers. 3, 4.) But when you give alms, let not your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward. Not God's reward, but their own. For they have been praised by men, for whom they have exercised virtues.
A commentator
John ChrysostomHomily on the Gospel of Matthew 19 · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
And then the reward too; consider how great it is. For after He had spoken of the punishment from the one, He points out also the honor derived from the other; from either side urging them, and leading them on to high lessons. Yea, for He is persuading them to know that God is everywhere present, and that not by our present life are our interests limited, but a yet more awful tribunal will receive us when we go hence, and the account of all our doings, and honors, and punishments: and that no one will be hid in doing anything either great or small, though he seem to be hid from men. For all this did He darkly signify, when He said, "Thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly." Setting for him a great and august assemblage of spectators, and what He desires, that very thing bestowing on him in great abundance. "For what," saith He, "dost thou wish? is it not to have some to be spectators of what is going on? Behold then, thou hast some; not angels, nor archangels, but the God of all." And if thou desire to have men also as spectators, neither of this desire doth He deprive thee at the fitting season, but rather in greater abundance affords it unto thee. For, if thou shouldest now make a display, thou wilt be able to make it to ten only, or twenty, or (we will say) a hundred persons: but if thou take pains to lie hid now, God Himself will then proclaim thee in the presence of the whole universe. Wherefore above all, if thou wilt have men see thy good deeds, hide them now, that then all may look on them with the more honor, God making them manifest, and extolling them, and proclaiming them before all. Again, whereas now they that behold will rather condemn thee as vainglorious; when they see thee crowned, so far from condemning, they will even admire thee, all of them. […]
The intent with which He said all this is shown in that He adds, that your alms may be in secret; that is, in that your good conscience only, which human eye cannot see, nor words discover, though many things are said falsely of many. But your good conscience itself is enough for you towards deserving your reward, if you look for your reward from Him who alone can see your conscience. This is that He adds, And your Father which seeth in secret shall reward you. Many Latin copies have, openly. But in the Greek copies, which are earlier, we have not the word openly.
A hypocrite is one who pretends to be something one is not. This person pretends to be righteous yet shows no evidence of righteousness. All attention is focused on how one is being perceived or praised by others. Even pretenders may receive this praise precisely while they are deceiving those to whom they seem to be good. But they receive no reward from God the searcher of the heart—only reproach for their deceit. They may have a human reward, but from God they hear, "Depart from me, you workers of deceit. You may speak my name, but you do not do my works." So you receive your reward with others, you have received the glory of others—so what? If you do good for the express purpose of having human glory, what good have you? The praise of others need not even be sought by one who acts rightly. We ought to follow one who acts rightly, profiting by imitating what we praise.
The Medieval Church1 voice
The reason is given: That thy alms may be in secret, and in your conscience, which is hidden: "No one knows the things of a man" (1 Cor 2:11); and again: "Our glory is this, the testimony of our conscience" (2 Cor 1:12). For thus …
9 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church1 voice
"That thine alms may be in secret, and thy Father Who seeth in secret Himself shall reward thee openly." When will He reward you? When all things are revealed clearly and openly, and then you will be not merely rewarded, but glorified.
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
That thine alms may be in secret,.... May be done in secret, and be kept a secret. The allusion seems to be to the secret chamber, where money was brought privately for the relief of the poor. "There were two chambers in the sanctuary, the one was לשכת חשאים, "the chamber of secrets", and the other the chamber of vessels: the chamber of secrets was that into which pious persons put בחשאי, "in secret", and the poor children of good men were maintained out of it privately (q).'' The Jews say many things in favour of doing alms privately.
Self-conceit and self-complacency, and an adoring of our own shadow, are branches of pride, as dangerous as vain-glory and ostentation before men. We find those had their good works remembered to their honour, who had themselves forgotten them: When saw we thee an hungered, or athirst? What is the promise to those who are thus sincere and humble in their alms-giving.
The necessity of a pure intention in all things, unmixed either with the desire of riches, or worldly care, and fear of want, ver. 19-34. This verse is a general caution against vain glory, in any of our good works: All these are here summed up together, in the comprehensive word righteousness.
quarantine:anchor (2026-07-29) — cites-ver-19-anchored-4-4
it is a subtle sin; vain-glory insinuates itself into what we do ere we are aware.
Repaired 2026-08-10: was anchored 6:25-34; content is Henry on 6:1-4 (almsgiving). Original quote_text was a silent splice (dropped words mid-quote without ellipsis); respanned to a contiguous verbatim source span. Source digitization carries OCR artifacts around this passage.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
Which seeth in secret - We should ever remember that the eye of the Lord is upon us, and that he sees not only the act, but also every motive that led to it. Shall reward thee openly - Will give thee the fullest proofs of his acceptance of thy work of faith, and labor of love, by increasing that substance which, for his sake, thou sharest with the poor; and will manifest his approbation in thy own heart, by the witness of his Spirit.
In this part of the Sermon on the Mount the Lord Jesus gives us instruction on two subjects: one is that of giving alms; the other is that of prayer. Both were subjects to which the Jews attached great importance; both in themselves deserve the serious attention of all professing Christians. Let us observe that our Lord takes it for granted that all who call themselves his disciples will give alms. He assumes as a matter of course that they will think it a solemn duty to give, according to their means, to relieve the wants of others. The only point he handles is the manner in which the duty should be done. This is a weighty lesson: it condemns the selfish stinginess of many in the matter of giving money. How many are “rich towards themselves,” but poor towards God! How many never give a farthing to do good to the bodies and souls of men! And have such persons any right to be called Christians in their present state of mind? It may well be doubted. A giving Saviour should have giving disciples. Let us observe again that our Lord takes it for granted that all who call themselves his disciples will pray. He assumes this also as a matter of course: he only gives directions as to the best way of praying. This is another lesson which deserves to be continually remembered: it teaches plainly that prayerless people are not genuine Christians. It is not enough to join in the prayers of the congregation on Sundays, or attend the prayers of a family on week days: there must be private prayer also. Without this we may be outward members of Christ’s church, but we are not living members of Christ. But what are the rules laid down for our guidance about almsgiving and praying? They are few and simple; but they contain much matter for thought. In giving, everything like ostentation is to be abhorred and avoided. “When thou doest thine alms do not sound a trumpet before thee.”
In this part of the Sermon on the Mount the Lord Jesus gives us instruction on two subjects: one is that of giving alms; the other is that of prayer. Both were subjects to which the Jews attached great importance; both in themselves deserve the serious attention of all professing Christians. Let us observe that our Lord takes it for granted that all who call themselves his disciples will give alms. He assumes as a matter of course that they will think it a solemn duty to give, according to their means, to relieve the wants of others.
Modern Voices1 voice
Lastly, the most serious point about them is this: that the new miser is flattered for his meanness and the old one never was. It was never called self-denial in the old miser that he lived on bones. It is called self-denial in the new …
The words behind it
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ὅπως | hopos | so that | G3704 → | 52 times |
| ᾖ | e | may be | G1510 → | 2333 times |
| σου | sou | your | G4771 → | 2973 times |
| ἡ | he | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἐλεημοσύνη | eleemosune | giving | G1654 → | 13 times |
| ἐν | en | in | G1722 → | 2738 times |
| τῷ | to | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| κρυπτῷ. | krupto | secret. | G2927 → | 17 times |
| καὶ | kai | And | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ὁ | ho | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| πατήρ | pater | Father | G3962 → | 410 times |
| σου | sou | of you | G4771 → | 2973 times |
| ὁ | ho | the [One] | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| βλέπων | blepon | seeing | G991 → | 132 times |
| ἐν | en | in | G1722 → | 2738 times |
| τῷ | to | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| κρυπτῷ | krupto | secret | G2927 → | 17 times |
| ἀποδώσει | apodosei | will reward | G591 → | 48 times |
| σοι | soi | you | G4771 → | 2973 times |
ὅπωςso that
hoposG3704 →52 times
ᾖmay be
eG1510 →2333 times
σουyour
souG4771 →2973 times
ἡ<the>
heG3588 →19766 times
ἐλεημοσύνηgiving
eleemosuneG1654 →13 times
ἐνin
enG1722 →2738 times
τῷ<the>
toG3588 →19766 times
κρυπτῷ.secret.
kruptoG2927 →17 times
καὶAnd
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ὁthe
hoG3588 →19766 times
πατήρFather
paterG3962 →410 times
σουof you
souG4771 →2973 times
ὁthe [One]
hoG3588 →19766 times
βλέπωνseeing
bleponG991 →132 times
ἐνin
enG1722 →2738 times
τῷ<the>
toG3588 →19766 times
κρυπτῷsecret
kruptoG2927 →17 times
ἀποδώσειwill reward
apodoseiG591 →48 times
σοιyou
soiG4771 →2973 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 6:6But when you pray, go into your inner room, shut your door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 4:33
So he went in, closed the door behind the two of them, and prayed to the LORD.
- Matthew 14:23
After He had sent them away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. When evening came, He was there alone,
- Isaiah 65:24
Even before they call, I will answer, and while they are still speaking, I will hear.
- 2 Kings 4:33
Through
Jeremiah 17:10I, the LORD, search the heart; I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 16:7
But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or height, for I have rejected him; the LORD does not see as man does. For man sees the outward appearance, but the…
- Romans 8:27
And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
- Jeremiah 11:20
O LORD of Hosts, who judges righteously, who examines the heart and mind, let me see Your vengeance upon them, for to You I have committed my cause.
- Revelation 2:23
Then I will strike her children dead, and all the churches will know that I am the One who searches minds and hearts, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.
- Hebrews 4:12–13
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it pierces even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
- 1 Samuel 16:7
Where this verse is studied
About Matthew
This page draws on 15 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Augustine of Hippo, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Augustine of Hippo, SERMON ON THE MOUNT 2.2.5; GK Chesterton, A Miscellany of Men, The Miser and His Friends (1912); J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Matthew; Jerome, Commentary on Matthew; John Chrysostom, Homily on the Gospel of Matthew 19; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Lightfoot, Horae Hebraicae et Talmudicae on Matthew; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Pseudo-Chrysostom, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Matthew and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Matthew.