Matthew 6:32 (DRB)

Passage

For after all these things do the heathens seek. For your Father knoweth that you have need of all these things.

Nearby Context

Matthew 6:30 And if the grass of the field, which is to day, and to morrow is cast into the oven, God doth so clothe: how much more you, O ye of little faith?

Matthew 6:31 Be not solicitous therefore, saying: What shall we eat: or what shall we drink, or wherewith shall we be clothed?

Matthew 6:32 For after all these things do the heathens seek. For your Father knoweth that you have need of all these things.

Matthew 6:33 Seek ye therefore first the kingdom of God, and his justice, and all these things shall be added unto you.

Matthew 6:34 Be not therefore solicitous for to morrow; for the morrow will be solicitous for itself. Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "after", "things", "heathens", "seek", "father", "knoweth", and "need". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "after" and "things", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 31's "Be not solicitous therefore saying What shall..." into verse 33's "Seek ye therefore first the kingdom of...", so "after" and "things" 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 "after" and "things" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.