Matthew 6:18 (DBY)

Passage

so that thou mayest not appear fasting unto men, but to thy Father who is in secret; and thy Father who sees in secret shall render [it] to thee.

Nearby Context

Matthew 6:16 And when ye fast, be not as the hypocrites, downcast in countenance; for they disfigure their faces, so that they may appear fasting to men: verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

Matthew 6:17 But *thou*, [when] fasting, anoint thy head and wash thy face,

Matthew 6:18 so that thou mayest not appear fasting unto men, but to thy Father who is in secret; and thy Father who sees in secret shall render [it] to thee.

Matthew 6:19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust spoils, and where thieves dig through and steal;

Matthew 6:20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust spoils, and where thieves do not dig through nor steal;

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "thou", "mayest", "appear", "fasting", "father", "secret", and "sees". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "thou" and "mayest", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "But thou when fasting anoint thy head..." into verse 19's "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon...", so "thou" and "mayest" 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 "thou" and "mayest" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.