Matthew 6:23 (GNV)

Passage

But if thine eye be wicked, then all thy body shalbe darke. Wherefore if the light that is in thee, be darkenes, howe great is that darkenesse?

Nearby Context

Matthew 6:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Matthew 6:22 The light of the body is the eye: if then thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be light.

Matthew 6:23 But if thine eye be wicked, then all thy body shalbe darke. Wherefore if the light that is in thee, be darkenes, howe great is that darkenesse?

Matthew 6:24 No man can serue two masters: for eyther he shall hate the one, and loue the other, or els he shall leane to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serue God and riches.

Matthew 6:25 Therefore I say vnto you, be not carefull for your life, what ye shall eate, or what ye shall drinke: nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more worth then meate? and the bodie then raiment?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "light", "thine", "wicked", "body", "shalbe", "darke", "wherefore", and "thee". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "light" and "thine", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

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