independentparticipialrelativepurposecausecomparativecontentconditionalphrase modifierdashed = verbless / suspended
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Almsgiving in secret — the thesis of hidden righteousness 6:1–4
v. 1 — the governing thesis: piety not for the human audience
1
Προσέχετε δὲ τὴν δικαιοσύνην ὑμῶν μὴ ποιεῖν ἔμπροσθεν τῶν ἀνθρώπωνindependent — the heading of vv. 1–18 — δικαιοσύνην (critical text) against Byz. ἐλεημοσύνην; the comprehensive term unpacked as alms, prayer, fasting
πρὸς τὸ θεαθῆναι αὐτοῖς·purpose — πρὸς τό + infinitive — θεάομαι, to be made a spectacle (cf. 'theater'); the corrupting aim
εἰ δὲ μή γε,conditional — elliptical idiom ('but if not indeed') — leans forward on the apodosis
μισθὸν οὐκ ἔχετε παρὰ τῷ πατρὶ ὑμῶν τῷ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς.independent — μισθός fronted — the keyword of vv. 1–18: heavenly recompense forfeited by self-display
vv. 2–4 — almsgiving: the trumpet, the secret hand, the Father who repays
2
Ὅταν οὖν ποιῇς ἐλεημοσύνην,conditional — temporal ὅταν (typed cnd; no temporal key) — leans forward on the prohibition; οὖν draws the first application
μὴ σαλπίσῃς ἔμπροσθέν σου,independent — prohibitive aorist — the figurative fanfare of self-advertisement; the address narrows to the singular
ὥσπερ οἱ ὑποκριταὶ ποιοῦσιν ἐν ταῖς συναγωγαῖς καὶ ἐν ταῖς ῥύμαις,comparative — the negative foil — ὑποκριτής, the play-actor performing piety in the watched places
ὅπως δοξασθῶσιν ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων·purpose — the hypocrites' true aim — human δόξα, the counterfeit of God's
ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν,independent — the ἀμήν-formula — Jesus' authoritative verdict, the refrain of all three piety units
ἀπέχουσιν τὸν μισθὸν αὐτῶν.content — commercial ἀπέχω, 'paid in full, receipt given' — human glory exhausts the wage; nothing remains from God
3
σοῦ δὲ ποιοῦντος ἐλεημοσύνηνparticipial — genitive absolute, temporal — leans forward on γνώτω; the emphatic σοῦ against the hypocrites
μὴ γνώτω ἡ ἀριστερά σουindependent — third-person prohibition — the secret-keeping hyperbole: hidden even from oneself
τί ποιεῖ ἡ δεξιά σου,content — indirect question — the giving hand acts unwatched
4
ὅπως ᾖ σου ἡ ἐλεημοσύνη ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ·purpose — the disciple's ὅπως balancing the hypocrites' ὅπως of v. 2 — ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ, the leitmotif of vv. 1–18
καὶ ὁ πατήρ σου ὁ βλέπων ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ ἀποδώσει σοι.independent — the promise-refrain (vv. 4, 6, 18) — ἀποδώσει answers ἀπέχουσιν; Byz. adds ἐν τῷ φανερῷ, not printed
Prayer in secret, and the Lord's Prayer 6:5–15
vv. 5–6 — the closet against the corner: where to pray
5
Καὶ ὅταν προσεύχησθε,conditional — temporal ὅταν (typed cnd) — leans forward; the second act of piety on the same frame
οὐκ ἔσεσθε ὡς οἱ ὑποκριταί·independent — imperatival future — 'you are not to be'; the stock antitype returns
ὅτι φιλοῦσιν ἐν ταῖς συναγωγαῖς καὶ ἐν ταῖς γωνίαις τῶν πλατειῶν ἑστῶτες προσεύχεσθαι,cause — ὅτι-causal on the ὑποκριταί — φιλοῦσιν, they are fond of it; the posture is customary, the venue is the point
ὅπως φανῶσιν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις·purpose — the aim is visibility, not communion — φαίνω, the verb the fasting unit will replay
ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν,independent — the verdict-formula, second occurrence
ἀπέχουσιν τὸν μισθὸν αὐτῶν.content — the paid-in-full refrain — being seen was the whole wage
6
σὺ δὲ ὅταν προσεύχῃ,conditional — temporal ὅταν with the emphatic contrastive σὺ δέ fronted inside it — leans forward on εἴσελθε
εἴσελθε εἰς τὸ ταμεῖόν σουindependent — ταμεῖον — the storeroom, a windowless private chamber: the anti-corner
καὶ κλείσας τὴν θύραν σου πρόσευξαι τῷ πατρί σου τῷ ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ·independent — the antecedent participle kept with its imperative — the Father himself dwells 'in the hidden place'
καὶ ὁ πατήρ σου ὁ βλέπων ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ ἀποδώσει σοι.independent — the promise-refrain, second occurrence — verbatim with v. 4
vv. 7–8 — the manner: not the pagans' word-count, for the Father already knows
7
Προσευχόμενοι δὲ μὴ βατταλογήσητε ὥσπερ οἱ ἐθνικοί·independent — prohibitive aorist — βατταλογέω, the rare onomatopoeic 'heap up empty phrases'; the foil shifts from hypocrites to pagans
δοκοῦσιν γὰρcause — the pagan theory of prayer exposed
ὅτι ἐν τῇ πολυλογίᾳ αὐτῶν εἰσακουσθήσονται.content — πολυλογία — verbal quantity as leverage on the deity; prayer as coercive technique
8
μὴ οὖν ὁμοιωθῆτε αὐτοῖς·independent — the inference drawn — ὁμοιόω, do not come to resemble them
οἶδεν γὰρ ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶνcause — the ground that makes verbosity pointless — prayer is filial trust, not information
ὧν χρείαν ἔχετεcontent — headless relative attracted into the genitive (ὧν) — the object of the knowing
πρὸ τοῦ ὑμᾶς αἰτῆσαι αὐτόν.phrase modifier — πρὸ τοῦ + infinitive of time on the knowing — the Father's knowledge outruns the request (echoed at v. 32)
vv. 9–13 — the model prayer: address, three σου-petitions, three ἡμῖν-petitions
9
Οὕτως οὖν προσεύχεσθε ὑμεῖς·independent — οὕτως — a pattern, not a fixed formula merely; emphatic ὑμεῖς against the Gentiles
Πάτερ ἡμῶν ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς,content — the address — filial intimacy balanced by heavenly transcendence; verbless vocative line
ἁγιασθήτω τὸ ὄνομά σου·content — first σου-petition — divine-passive third imperative: God cause his own name to be hallowed
10
ἐλθέτω ἡ βασιλεία σου·content — second petition — the consummation of the reign Jesus proclaims
γενηθήτω τὸ θέλημά σου,content — third petition — God's will realized on earth
ὡς ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς·comparative — verbless comparison — heaven the model of obedience; may govern the third petition or all three
11
τὸν ἄρτον ἡμῶν τὸν ἐπιούσιον δὸς ἡμῖν σήμερον·content — the turn to ἡμῖν-petitions — ἐπιούσιος the famous crux ('needful' / 'for the coming day' / 'daily'), left open
12
καὶ ἄφες ἡμῖν τὰ ὀφειλήματα ἡμῶν,content — sins as debts — the Aramaic idiom (ḥôbā) behind ὀφειλήματα
ὡς καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀφήκαμεν τοῖς ὀφειλέταις ἡμῶν·comparative — the aorist ἀφήκαμεν — forgiveness already rendered (Luke has the present); the ὡς vv. 14–15 will unpack
13
καὶ μὴ εἰσενέγκῃς ἡμᾶς εἰς πειρασμόν,content — the testing petition — not to be brought into trial that would overwhelm
ἀλλὰ ῥῦσαι ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ τοῦ πονηροῦ.content — τοῦ πονηροῦ read personally (Satan) with Matthew's usage; the doxology of the later liturgical text (absent from א B D Z) is not printed
vv. 14–15 — the reciprocity logion: the ὡς of v. 12 spelled out both ways
14
Ἐὰν γὰρ ἀφῆτε τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τὰ παραπτώματα αὐτῶν,conditional — third-class protasis — leans forward; γάρ appends the logion to the fifth petition
ἀφήσει καὶ ὑμῖν ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν ὁ οὐράνιος·independent — the positive apodosis — the Father's forgiveness bound to the disciple's
15
ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ἀφῆτε τοῖς ἀνθρώποις,conditional — the mirrored protasis — some witnesses add τὰ παραπτώματα αὐτῶν; not printed
οὐδὲ ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν ἀφήσει τὰ παραπτώματα ὑμῶν.independent — the dark obverse in stark symmetry — withheld forgiveness forfeits the Father's (cf. 18:35)
Fasting in secret 6:16–18
v. 16 — the hypocrites' advertised fast
16
Ὅταν δὲ νηστεύητε,conditional — temporal ὅταν (typed cnd) — leans forward; the third act of piety on the now-familiar frame
μὴ γίνεσθε ὡς οἱ ὑποκριταὶ σκυθρωποί·independent — σκυθρωπός — the affected dismal countenance; present prohibition: no settled practice of it
ἀφανίζουσιν γὰρ τὰ πρόσωπα αὐτῶνcause — the wordplay — ἀφανίζουσιν/φανῶσιν: they 'unsee' their faces in order to 'be seen'
ὅπως φανῶσιν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις νηστεύοντες·purpose — the third tell-tale ὅπως — the supplementary participle: seen 'as fasting'
ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν,independent — the verdict-formula, third and last occurrence
ἀπέχουσιν τὸν μισθὸν αὐτῶν.content — the refrain closes the triad — the human notice was the entire wage
vv. 17–18 — the anointed head: the fast no one sees
17
σὺ δὲ νηστεύωνparticipial — temporal participle with the emphatic contrastive σὺ δέ — leans forward on the imperatives
ἄλειψαί σου τὴν κεφαλὴνindependent — ordinary grooming — oil the sign of normality and joy, not mourning
καὶ τὸ πρόσωπόν σου νίψαι,independent — the coordinate command — the πρόσωπον the hypocrites disfigured, here simply washed
18
ὅπως μὴ φανῇς τοῖς ἀνθρώποις νηστεύων ἀλλὰ τῷ πατρί σου τῷ ἐν τῷ κρυφαίῳ·purpose — purpose of both commands, hung on the last — φανῇς inverted from v. 16; κρυφαίῳ, the synonym varying κρυπτῷ
καὶ ὁ πατήρ σου ὁ βλέπων ἐν τῷ κρυφαίῳ ἀποδώσει σοι.independent — the promise-refrain sealing the triad (vv. 4, 6, 18) — Byz. adds ἐν τῷ φανερῷ, not printed
Treasure, the eye, and two masters 6:19–24
vv. 19–21 — the two treasuries and the heart that follows
19
Μὴ θησαυρίζετε ὑμῖν θησαυροὺς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς,independent — asyndeton turns from piety to possessions — cognate accusative: 'treasure up treasures'
ὅπου σὴς καὶ βρῶσις ἀφανίζειrelative — locative ὅπου on the earth — σής the garment-moth, βρῶσις the 'eating' corrosion; ἀφανίζει echoes v. 16
καὶ ὅπου κλέπται διορύσσουσιν καὶ κλέπτουσιν·relative — διορύσσω — digging through the mud-brick wall, the manner of ancient burglary
20
θησαυρίζετε δὲ ὑμῖν θησαυροὺς ἐν οὐρανῷ,independent — the positive antithesis — the same verb, the secure treasury
ὅπου οὔτε σὴς οὔτε βρῶσις ἀφανίζειrelative — point-for-point reversal of v. 19 — οὔτε ... οὔτε
καὶ ὅπου κλέπται οὐ διορύσσουσιν οὐδὲ κλέπτουσιν·relative — all three threats negated — the imperishable investment
21
ὅπου γάρ ἐστιν ὁ θησαυρός σου, ἐκεῖ ἔσται καὶ ἡ καρδία σου.cause — the maxim grounding both commands, kept whole (ὅπου ... ἐκεῖ) — the heart inexorably follows the treasure; the singular σου presses it home
vv. 22–23 — the eye as the body's lamp: single or evil
22
Ὁ λύχνος τοῦ σώματός ἐστιν ὁ ὀφθαλμός.independent — the gnomic heading of the second image — the eye admits light to the whole self
ἐὰν οὖν ᾖ ὁ ὀφθαλμός σου ἁπλοῦς,conditional — protasis leaning forward — ἁπλοῦς, 'single/sound' but also 'generous': the pun bridges vision and giving
ὅλον τὸ σῶμά σου φωτεινὸν ἔσται·independent — the bright apodosis — ὅλον, the entire person illumined
23
ἐὰν δὲ ὁ ὀφθαλμός σου πονηρὸς ᾖ,conditional — the mirrored protasis — ὀφθαλμὸς πονηρός, the Semitic idiom for the grudging, stingy eye (cf. 20:15)
ὅλον τὸ σῶμά σου σκοτεινὸν ἔσται.independent — the dark apodosis — word-for-word inversion
εἰ οὖν τὸ φῶς τὸ ἐν σοὶ σκότος ἐστίν,conditional — first-class protasis pressing the paradox — the inner faculty of light itself darkened
τὸ σκότος πόσον.independent — verbless exclamation — πόσον: the deepest gloom is a corrupted light
v. 24 — the verdict: no slave of two lords
24
Οὐδεὶς δύναται δυσὶ κυρίοις δουλεύειν·independent — the section's climax — δουλεύω, slave-service: total bondage, not employment
ἢ γὰρ τὸν ἕνα μισήσει καὶ τὸν ἕτερον ἀγαπήσει,cause — the first disjunct — μισέω in the Semitic relative sense, 'love less'
ἢ ἑνὸς ἀνθέξεται καὶ τοῦ ἑτέρου καταφρονήσει.cause — the second disjunct — ἀντέχομαι/καταφρονέω: clinging and scorn, each master demanding all
οὐ δύνασθε θεῷ δουλεύειν καὶ μαμωνᾷ.independent — the application, flat and final — μαμωνᾶς, the Aramaic loanword for wealth personified as a rival deity
Do not be anxious — seek first the kingdom 6:25–34
v. 25 — the thesis drawn from the two masters: do not be anxious
25
Διὰ τοῦτο λέγω ὑμῖν,independent — διὰ τοῦτο — the inference from v. 24: freedom from mammon means freedom from worry
μὴ μεριμνᾶτε τῇ ψυχῇ ὑμῶνcontent — the governing prohibition — μεριμνάω, the keyword of vv. 25–34; present: no settled habit of worry
τί φάγητε ἢ τί πίητε,content — deliberative indirect questions — the doublet ἢ τί πίητε read with the longer text
μηδὲ τῷ σώματι ὑμῶν τί ἐνδύσησθε.content — elliptical — μεριμνᾶτε carried over; food, drink, clothing: the three cares the chapter dismantles
οὐχὶ ἡ ψυχὴ πλεῖόν ἐστιν τῆς τροφῆς καὶ τὸ σῶμα τοῦ ἐνδύματος;independent — οὐχί expects 'yes' — the a fortiori: the giver of the greater will supply the lesser
vv. 26–30 — the birds, the cubit, the lilies: three arguments against worry
26
ἐμβλέψατε εἰς τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦindependent — the first look-imperative — ἐμβλέπω, fix the gaze; creation as argument
ὅτι οὐ σπείρουσιν οὐδὲ θερίζουσιν οὐδὲ συνάγουσιν εἰς ἀποθήκας,content — the observation — the whole agricultural economy absent
καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν ὁ οὐράνιος τρέφει αὐτά·content — adversative καί inside the observation — 'your' Father feeds even them
οὐχ ὑμεῖς μᾶλλον διαφέρετε αὐτῶν;independent — the a fortiori question — διαφέρω, to surpass in value; cf. 10:31
27
τίς δὲ ἐξ ὑμῶν μεριμνῶν δύναται προσθεῖναι ἐπὶ τὴν ἡλικίαν αὐτοῦ πῆχυν ἕνα;independent — worry's impotence — the participle of means kept in-line; ἡλικία taken of lifespan (a 'cubit' of time) rather than stature
28
καὶ περὶ ἐνδύματος τί μεριμνᾶτε;independent — the turn to the third care — τί, the accusing 'why?'
καταμάθετε τὰ κρίνα τοῦ ἀγροῦindependent — the second look-imperative — καταμανθάνω, study closely; the wildflowers of Galilee
πῶς αὐξάνουσιν·content — indirect question — effortless growth the object of study
οὐ κοπιῶσιν οὐδὲ νήθουσιν·content — asyndetic expansion of the observation — κοπιάω the field-labor, νήθω the spinning: all human clothing-work covered
29
λέγω δὲ ὑμῖνindependent — the solemn heightening — the λέγω-formula without ἀμήν
ὅτι οὐδὲ Σολομὼν ἐν πάσῃ τῇ δόξῃ αὐτοῦ περιεβάλετο ὡς ἓν τούτων.content — the climax of the lily-image — royal magnificence (1 Kgs 10) outdone by a single wildflower
30
εἰ δὲ τὸν χόρτον τοῦ ἀγροῦ σήμερον ὄντα καὶ αὔριον εἰς κλίβανον βαλλόμενον ὁ θεὸς οὕτως ἀμφιέννυσιν,conditional — first-class protasis leaning forward — the σήμερον/αὔριον of the grass anticipates v. 34's αὔριον
οὐ πολλῷ μᾶλλον ὑμᾶς, ὀλιγόπιστοι;independent — elliptical apodosis — ἀμφιέννυσιν supplied; ὀλιγόπιστοι, the Matthean rebuke: anxiety is little faith
vv. 31–33 — the renewed prohibition, its double ground, and the counter-command
31
μὴ οὖν μεριμνήσητεindependent — the prohibition renewed as ingressive aorist — do not even begin
λέγοντες·participial — the participle voicing worry as self-talk — anxiety speaks in questions
Τί φάγωμεν;content — the first deliberative — v. 25's three cares now quoted verbatim
ἤ· Τί πίωμεν;content — the second
ἤ· Τί περιβαλώμεθα;content — the third — περιβάλλω, the verb of Solomon's arraying (v. 29)
32
πάντα γὰρ ταῦτα τὰ ἔθνη ἐπιζητοῦσιν·cause — first ground — such striving is pagan (ἐπιζητέω, the intensive hunt; cf. the ἐθνικοί of v. 7)
οἶδεν γὰρ ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν ὁ οὐράνιοςcause — second ground — and needless: the Father's prior knowledge, echoing v. 8
ὅτι χρῄζετε τούτων ἁπάντων.content — the need acknowledged, not denied — ἁπάντων, every one of them
33
ζητεῖτε δὲ πρῶτον τὴν βασιλείαν καὶ τὴν δικαιοσύνην αὐτοῦ,independent — the counter-command — ζητεῖτε against the Gentiles' ἐπιζητοῦσιν; αὐτοῦ read with both nouns, and δικαιοσύνη closes the inclusio with v. 1
καὶ ταῦτα πάντα προστεθήσεται ὑμῖν.independent — imperative + καί + future = promise — divine passive: God adds the add-ons (προστίθημι, the verb worry could not perform in v. 27)
v. 34 — the closing maxim: today's trouble is enough
34
μὴ οὖν μεριμνήσητε εἰς τὴν αὔριον,independent — the keyword's last occurrence — worry confined to a horizon of one day
ἡ γὰρ αὔριον μεριμνήσει ἑαυτῆς·cause — tomorrow personified, doing its own worrying — μεριμνάω construed with the genitive
ἀρκετὸν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἡ κακία αὐτῆς.independent — verbless closing gnome — κακία here 'trouble, hardship': each day carries its full quota already
Analysis. Matthew 6 is the Sermon's central panel, and the layout follows the matthew7 convention for continuous discourse: no verb of saying frames the chapter, so the sermon's own imperatives stand flush-left in purple with their grounds and purposes indenting beneath them. What the shape shows is one architecture repeated three times over the acts of piety (vv. 2–4, 5–6, 16–18): an anchor-less ὅταν-protasis leaning forward on its prohibition, the hypocrites' foil in a ὥσπερ/ὡς-line with their tell-tale ὅπως-purpose one step deeper, the ἀμὴν-λέγω verdict with ἀπέχουσιν hanging blue beneath it, and each unit closing on the same flush promise-line — καὶ ὁ πατήρ σου ὁ βλέπων ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ ἀποδώσει σοι. The Lord's Prayer (vv. 9b–13) prints as a single blue cnt-column, address plus the petitions all hung on προσεύχεσθε — the three σου-petitions, then bread, debts (with its ὡς-line), and the twin testing petition; the reciprocity logion follows as the mirrored ἐάν-pair of vv. 14–15. The possessions section (vv. 19–24) sets the θησαυρίζετε prohibition and command as parallel columns with their ὅπου-relatives, the heart-maxim as their shared γάρ (kept whole, like matthew7's measure-for-measure line), the eye-parable as leaning protasis pairs, and the two-masters verdict flat at 0; the anxiety section (vv. 25–34) is a drumbeat of μὴ μεριμνᾶτε/μεριμνήσητε lines at discourse depth, with the birds and lilies observations hung as cnt under their imperatives of looking (ἐμβλέψατε, καταμάθετε), the anxious self-talk quoted blue under λέγοντες, and the ὀλιγόπιστοι a fortiori leaning forward at v. 30. Cruxes taken or flagged: v. 1 reads δικαιοσύνην (the critical text) against Byzantine ἐλεημοσύνην; the Byzantine ἐν τῷ φανερῷ additions at vv. 4, 6, 18 are not printed, and the v. 13 doxology is omitted with the earliest witnesses (א B D Z) as a liturgical accretion; ἐπιούσιος (v. 11) is glossed 'daily/needful' with the derivation left open; τοῦ πονηροῦ (v. 13) is rendered personally ('the evil one') with Matthew's usage; ἡλικία with πῆχυς (v. 27) is taken of lifespan rather than stature; ὅταν-clauses are typed cnd (no temporal key) as elsewhere; and αὐτοῦ at v. 33 is read with both βασιλείαν and δικαιοσύνην — closing the inclusio with v. 1's δικαιοσύνη that frames the whole chapter.