Matthew 6:2

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

Thus whenever you do charitable giving, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in synagogues and on streets so that people will praise them. I tell you the truth, they have their reward!

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

Ὅταν οὖν ποιῇς ἐλεημοσύνην, μὴ σαλπίσῃς ἔμπροσθέν σου, ὥσπερ οἱ ὑποκριταὶ ποιοῦσιν ἐν ταῖς συναγωγαῖς καὶ ἐν ταῖς ῥύμαις, ὅπως δοξασθῶσιν ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων. Ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, Ἀπέχουσιν τὸν μισθὸν αὐτῶν.

Transliteration

Hotan oun poiēs eleēmosynēn, mē salpisēs emprosthen of you, hōsper the hypokritai poiousin in the synagōgais and in the rhymais, hopōs doxasthōsin by the anthrōpōn. Amēn legō to you, Apechousin the misthon of them.

Grammar Details

• *Hotan oun poiēs*: temporal conjunction + inferential particle + present subjunctive, 2nd singular - whenever therefore you do/give
• *eleēmosynēn*: accusative, feminine, singular - alms/charitable giving
• *mē salpisēs*: negative particle + aorist subjunctive, 2nd singular - do not sound a trumpet
• *emprosthen*: preposition - before/in front of
• *hōsper*: comparative adverb - just as/like
• *hypokritai*: nominative, masculine, plural - hypocrites/actors
• *poiousin*: present active indicative, 3rd plural - they do/practice
• *synagōgais*: dative, feminine, plural - synagogues/assemblies
• *rhymais*: dative, feminine, plural - streets/alleys
• *hopōs doxasthōsin*: purpose conjunction + aorist passive subjunctive, 3rd plural - so that they may be glorified/honored
• *Amēn legō*: Hebrew term + present active indicative, 1st singular - truly I say
• *Apechousin*: present active indicative, 3rd plural - they have in full/receive completely
• *misthon*: accusative, masculine, singular - reward/payment

Word Meanings

• *Hotan*: whenever/when
• *salpisēs*: sound a trumpet/announce loudly/proclaim
• *hypokritai*: hypocrites/actors/pretenders
• *synagōgais*: synagogues/meeting places/assemblies
• *rhymais*: streets/alleys/roads
• *doxasthōsin*: be glorified/be praised/be honored
• *Amēn*: truly/verily/certainly
• *Apechousin*: have received in full/have collected completely/have exhausted their reward

Referenced Verses

• Matt 6:5 : 5 Private Prayer“Whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray while standing in synagogues and on street corners so that people can see them. Truly I say to you, they have their reward!
• Matt 6:16 : 16 Proper Fasting“When you fast, do not look sullen like the hypocrites, for they make their faces unattractive so that people will see them fasting. I tell you the truth, they have their reward!
• Matt 7:5 : 5 You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
• Matt 15:7 : 7 Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you when he said,
• Matt 16:3 : 3 and in the morning,‘It will be stormy today, because the sky is red and darkening.’ You know how to judge correctly the appearance of the sky, but you cannot evaluate the signs of the times.
• Matt 22:18 : 18 But Jesus realized their evil intentions and said,“Hypocrites! Why are you testing me?
• Matt 23:6 : 6 They love the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues
• Matt 23:13-29 : 13 “But woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You keep locking people out of the kingdom of heaven! For you neither enter nor permit those trying to enter to go in. 15 “Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You cross land and sea to make one convert, and when you get one, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves! 16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say,‘Whoever swears by the temple is bound by nothing. But whoever swears by the gold of the temple is bound by the oath.’ 17 Blind fools! Which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold sacred? 18 And,‘Whoever swears by the altar is bound by nothing. But if anyone swears by the gift on it he is bound by the oath.’ 19 You are blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and the one who dwells in it. 22 And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and the one who sits on it. 23 “Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You give a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, yet you neglect what is more important in the law– justice, mercy, and faithfulness! You should have done these things without neglecting the others. 24 Blind guides! You strain out a gnat yet swallow a camel! 25 “Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside may become clean too! 27 “Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs that look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of the bones of the dead and of everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you look righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. 29 “Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous.
• Matt 24:51 : 51 and will cut him in two, and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
• Mark 7:6 : 6 He said to them,“Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written:‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
• Mark 12:39 : 39 and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.
• Luke 6:24 : 24 “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your comfort already.
• Luke 6:42 : 42 How can you say to your brother,‘Brother, let me remove the speck from your eye,’ while you yourself don’t see the beam in your own? You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
• Luke 11:41 : 41 But give from your heart to those in need, and then everything will be clean for you.
• Luke 11:43 : 43 Woe to you Pharisees! You love the best seats in the synagogues and elaborate greetings in the marketplaces!
• Luke 12:33 : 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide yourselves purses that do not wear out– a treasure in heaven that never decreases, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.
• Luke 12:56 : 56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky, but how can you not know how to interpret the present time?
• Luke 13:15 : 15 Then the Lord answered him,“You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from its stall, and lead it to water?
• Luke 20:46 : 46 “Beware of the experts in the law. They like walking around in long robes, and they love elaborate greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.
• John 5:41 : 41 “I do not accept praise from people,
• John 5:44 : 44 How can you believe, if you accept praise from one another and don’t seek the praise that comes from the only God?
• John 7:18 : 18 The person who speaks on his own authority desires to receive honor for himself; the one who desires the honor of the one who sent him is a man of integrity, and there is no unrighteousness in him.
• John 13:29 : 29 Some thought that, because Judas had the money box, Jesus was telling him to buy whatever they needed for the feast, or to give something to the poor.)
• Acts 9:36 : 36 Peter Raises Dorcas Now in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha(which in translation means Dorcas). She was continually doing good deeds and acts of charity.
• Acts 10:2 : 2 He was a devout, God-fearing man, as was all his household; he did many acts of charity for the people and prayed to God regularly.
• Acts 10:4 : 4 Staring at him and becoming greatly afraid, Cornelius replied,“What is it, Lord?” The angel said to him,“Your prayers and your acts of charity have gone up as a memorial before God.
• Acts 10:31 : 31 and said,‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your acts of charity have been remembered before God.
• Acts 11:29 : 29 So the disciples, each in accordance with his financial ability, decided to send relief to the brothers living in Judea.
• Acts 24:17 : 17 After several years I came to bring to my people gifts for the poor and to present offerings,
• Rom 12:8 : 8 if it is exhortation, he must exhort; if it is contributing, he must do so with sincerity; if it is leadership, he must do so with diligence; if it is showing mercy, he must do so with cheerfulness.
• 2 Cor 9:6-9 : 6 My point is this: The person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the person who sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each one of you should give just as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, because God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace overflow to you so that because you have enough of everything in every way at all times, you will overflow in every good work. 9 Just as it is written,“He has scattered widely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness remains forever.” 10 Now God who provides seed for the sower and bread for food will provide and multiply your supply of seed and will cause the harvest of your righteousness to grow. 11 You will be enriched in every way so that you may be generous on every occasion, which is producing through us thanksgiving to God, 12 because the service of this ministry is not only providing for the needs of the saints but is also overflowing with many thanks to God. 13 Through the evidence of this service they will glorify God because of your obedience to your confession in the gospel of Christ and the generosity of your sharing with them and with everyone. 14 And in their prayers on your behalf they long for you because of the extraordinary grace God has shown to you. 15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
• Gal 2:10 : 10 They requested only that we remember the poor, the very thing I also was eager to do.
• Eph 4:28 : 28 The one who steals must steal no longer; instead he must labor, doing good with his own hands, so that he will have something to share with the one who has need.
• 1 Thess 2:6 : 6 nor to seek glory from people, either from you or from others,
• 1 Tim 6:18 : 18 Tell them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, to be generous givers, sharing with others.
• Phlm 1:7 : 7 I have had great joy and encouragement because of your love, for the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.
• Heb 13:16 : 16 And do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for God is pleased with such sacrifices.
• Jas 2:15-16 : 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacks daily food, 16 and one of you says to them,“Go in peace, keep warm and eat well,” but you do not give them what the body needs, what good is it?
• 1 Pet 4:11 : 11 Whoever speaks, let it be with God’s words. Whoever serves, do so with the strength that God supplies, so that in everything God will be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.
• 1 John 3:17-19 : 17 But whoever has the world’s possessions and sees his fellow Christian in need and shuts off his compassion against him, how can the love of God reside in such a person? 18 Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue but in deed and truth. 19 And by this we will know that we are of the truth and will convince our conscience in his presence,
• 1 Sam 15:30 : 30 Saul again replied,“I have sinned. But please honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel. Go back with me so I may worship the LORD your God.”
• Job 31:16-20 : 16 If I have refused to give the poor what they desired, or caused the eyes of the widow to fail, 17 If I ate my morsel of bread myself, and did not share any of it with orphans– 18 but from my youth I raised the orphan like a father, and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow! 19 If I have seen anyone about to perish for lack of clothing, or a poor man without a coat, 20 whose heart did not bless me as he warmed himself with the fleece of my sheep,
• Ps 37:21 : 21 Evil men borrow, but do not repay their debt, but the godly show compassion and are generous.
• Ps 112:9 : 9 He generously gives to the needy; his integrity endures. He will be vindicated and honored.
• Prov 19:17 : 17 The one who is gracious to the poor lends to the LORD, and the LORD will repay him for his good deed.
• Prov 20:6 : 6 Many people profess their loyalty, but a faithful person– who can find?
• Eccl 11:2 : 2 Divide your merchandise among seven or even eight investments, for you do not know what calamity may happen on earth.
• Isa 9:17 : 17 So the Lord was not pleased with their young men, he took no pity on their orphans and widows; for the whole nation was godless and did wicked things, every mouth was speaking disgraceful words. Despite all this, his anger does not subside, and his hand is ready to strike again.
• Isa 10:6 : 6 I sent him against a godless nation, I ordered him to attack the people with whom I was angry, to take plunder and to carry away loot, to trample them down like dirt in the streets.
• Isa 58:7 : 7 I want you to share your food with the hungry and to provide shelter for homeless, oppressed people. When you see someone naked, clothe him! Don’t turn your back on your own flesh and blood!
• Isa 58:10-12 : 10 You must actively help the hungry and feed the oppressed. Then your light will dispel the darkness, and your darkness will be transformed into noonday. 11 The LORD will continually lead you; he will feed you even in parched regions. He will give you renewed strength, and you will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring that continually produces water. 12 Your perpetual ruins will be rebuilt; you will reestablish the ancient foundations. You will be called,‘The one who repairs broken walls, the one who makes the streets inhabitable again.’
• Hos 8:1 : 1 God Will Raise Up the Assyrians to Attack Israel Sound the alarm! An eagle looms over the temple of the LORD! For they have broken their covenant with me, and have rebelled against my law.
• Matt 5:18 : 18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth pass away not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter will pass from the law until everything takes place.