Matthew 6:23 (DRB)

Passage

But if thy eye be evil thy whole body shall be darksome. If then the light that is in thee, be darkness: the darkness itself how great shall it be!

Nearby Context

Matthew 6:21 For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also.

Matthew 6:22 The light of thy body is thy eye. If thy eye be single, thy whole body shall be lightsome.

Matthew 6:23 But if thy eye be evil thy whole body shall be darksome. If then the light that is in thee, be darkness: the darkness itself how great shall it be!

Matthew 6:24 No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other: or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

Matthew 6:25 Therefore I say to you, be not solicitous for your life, what you shall eat, nor for your body, what you shall put on. Is not the life more than the meat: and the body more than the raiment?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "light", "darkness", "evil", "whole", "body", "shall", "darksome", and "thee". It is saying that the contrast between light and darkness marks a real divide in how people respond to God's work.

The nearby context moves from verse 22's "The light of thy body is thy..." into verse 24's "No man can serve two masters For...", so "light" and "darkness" 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 "light" and "darkness" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.