Matthew 6:27 (ASV)

Passage

And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit unto the measure of his life?

Nearby Context

Matthew 6:25 Therefore I say unto you, be not anxious for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than the food, and the body than the raiment?

Matthew 6:26 Behold the birds of the heaven, that they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not ye of much more value then they?

Matthew 6:27 And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit unto the measure of his life?

Matthew 6:28 And why are ye anxious concerning raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

Matthew 6:29 yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "anxious", "cubit", "measure", and "life". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "anxious" and "cubit", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 26's "Behold the birds of the heaven that..." into verse 28's "And why are ye anxious concerning raiment...", so "anxious" and "cubit" belong inside that flow. In Matthew context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "anxious" and "cubit" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.