Matthew 6:27 (DBY)

Passage

But which of you by carefulness can add to his growth one cubit?

Nearby Context

Matthew 6:25 For this cause I say unto you, Do not be careful about your life, what ye should eat and what ye should drink; nor for your body what ye should put on. Is not the life more than food, and the body than raiment?

Matthew 6:26 Look at the birds of the heaven, that they sow not, nor reap, nor gather into granaries, and your heavenly Father nourishes them. Are *ye* not much more excellent than they?

Matthew 6:27 But which of you by carefulness can add to his growth one cubit?

Matthew 6:28 And why are ye careful about clothing? Observe with attention the lilies of the field, how they grow: they toil not, neither do they spin;

Matthew 6:29 but I say unto you, that not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed as one of these.

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 26's "Look at the birds of the heaven..." into verse 28's "And why are ye careful about clothing...", so "carefulness" and "growth" 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 "carefulness" and "growth" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.