Matthew 6:27 (DRB)

Passage

And which of you by taking thought, can add to his stature one cubit?

Nearby Context

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?

Matthew 6:26 Behold the birds of the air, for they neither sow, nor do they reap, nor gather into barns: and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not you of much more value than they?

Matthew 6:27 And which of you by taking thought, can add to his stature one cubit?

Matthew 6:28 And for raiment why are you solicitous? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they labour not, neither do they spin.

Matthew 6:29 But I say to you, that not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed as one of these.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "taking", "thought", "stature", and "cubit". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "taking" and "thought", 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 air for..." into verse 28's "And for raiment why are you solicitous...", so "taking" and "thought" 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 "taking" and "thought" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.