Giving to the Needy (Deuteronomy 15:7–11)
2 UDB So whenever you give something to the poor, do not make other people notice it as if playing a trumpet. That is what the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the main roads in order that people might praise them. That is the only reward the hypocrites will receive! BSB BSB: So when you give to the needy, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.
3 UDB Instead of doing as they do, when you give something to the poor, do not let other people know what you are doing. BSB BSB: But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
4 UDB In that way, you will be giving to the poor secretly. As a result, God your Father, who observes you while no one else sees you, will reward you. BSB BSB: so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
The Lord’s Prayer (Luke 11:1–4)
5 UDB "Also, when you pray, do not do what the hypocrites do. They like to stand in the synagogues and on the corners of the main streets to pray, in order that other people will see them and think highly of them. That is the only reward they will get. BSB BSB: And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.
6 UDB But as for you, when you pray, go into your private room and close the door in order to pray to God your Father, whom no one can see. He observes you and will reward you. BSB BSB: But 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.
7 UDB When you pray, do not repeat words many times, as the people who do not know God do when they pray. They think that if they use many words, their gods will listen to them and give them what they ask for. BSB BSB: And when you pray, do not babble on like pagans, for they think that by their many words they will be heard.
8 UDB Do not repeat words as they do, because God your Father knows what you need before you ask him. BSB BSB: Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
9 UDB So pray things like this: 'Father, you who are in heaven, May everyone honor you. BSB BSB: So then, this is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.
10 UDB May you rule over everyone and everything completely. May everything happen on earth just as you desire, just as it happens in heaven. BSB BSB: Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
11 UDB Give us each day the food that we need for that day. BSB BSB: Give us this day our daily bread.
12 UDB Forgive our sins in the same way that we forgive the people who have sinned against us. BSB BSB: And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 UDB Do not let us do wrong things when we are tempted, and rescue us when Satan tries to harm us.' BSB BSB: And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’
14 UDB "Forgive the people who sin against you because if you do, God your Father who is in heaven will forgive your sins. BSB BSB: For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
15 UDB But if you do not forgive other people, neither will God forgive your sins. BSB BSB: But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive yours.
Proper Fasting 16 UDB "When you keep from eating food in order to please God, do not look sad as the hypocrites look. They make their faces appear sad in order that people will see that they are not eating food. Keep in mind that is the only reward those people will get! BSB BSB: When you fast, do not be somber like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.
17 UDB Instead, each of you, when you keep from eating food, should comb your hair and wash your face as usual BSB BSB: But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
18 UDB in order that other people will not notice that you are fasting. But God, your Father, whom no one can see will observe that you are not eating food. He sees you even though no one else sees you, and he will reward you. BSB BSB: so that your fasting will not be obvious to men, but only to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Treasures in Heaven (Luke 12:32–34)
19 UDB "Do not selfishly accumulate large quantities of money and material goods for yourselves on this earth, because the earth is where everything perishes—where moths ruin clothing, rust destroys metals, and thieves steal what belongs to other people. BSB BSB: Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
20 UDB Instead, do deeds that will please God so that you store up treasures in heaven. Nothing perishes in heaven. In heaven no moths can ruin clothing, there is no rust, and there are no thieves who could steal. BSB BSB: But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
21 UDB Remember that whatever is most important to you, that is what you will be thinking about. BSB BSB: For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
The Lamp of the Body (Luke 11:33–36)
22 UDB "Your eyes are like a lamp for your body because they enable you to see things. So if you see things as God sees them, it will be as if your whole body were full of light. BSB BSB: The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.
23 UDB But if your eyes are bad, you are not able to see things well. You will be in complete darkness. How greedy you will be! BSB BSB: But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
24 UDB "No one is able to serve two different masters at the same time. If a person tried to do that, he would hate one of them and love the other one, or he would be loyal to one of them and despise the other one. Similarly, you cannot worship God and money at the same time. BSB BSB: No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Do Not Worry (Luke 12:22–31)
25 UDB "That is why I tell you that you should not worry about things that you need in order to live. Do not worry about whether you will have enough food to eat and things to drink, or enough clothes to wear. The way you conduct your lives is much more important than those things. BSB BSB: Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?
27 UDB None of you can, just by worrying, add years to your life. You cannot add even one minute to your life! So you should not worry about things you need. BSB BSB: Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
28 UDB "You should also not worry about whether you will have enough clothes to wear. Think about the way flowers grow in the fields. They do not work to earn money, and they do not make their own clothes. BSB BSB: And why do you worry about clothes? Consider how the lilies of the field grow: They do not labor or spin.
29 UDB But I tell you that even though King Solomon, who lived long ago, wore very beautiful clothes, his clothes were not as beautiful as one of those flowers. BSB BSB: Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these.
30 UDB God makes the wild plants very beautiful, but they grow in the field for only a short time. One day they grow, and the next day people will throw them into an oven to burn them. But you are more important to God than wild plants are, and you live much longer. So trust in God, you who have so little faith! BSB BSB: If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
32 UDB Those who do not know God are always worrying about things like that. But God, your Father who is in heaven, knows that you need all those things. BSB BSB: For the Gentiles strive after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
33 UDB Instead, make it the most important thing that God should rule over the entire world and that everyone should do what he requires. If you do that, he will give you all the things that you need. BSB BSB: But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.
34 UDB So do not be worried about what will happen to you the next day, because when that day comes you will have enough to be concerned about. So do not worry ahead of time. BSB BSB: Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.