Matthew 6:3 (GNV)

Passage

But when thou doest thine almes, let not thy left hand knowe what thy right hand doeth,

Nearby Context

Matthew 6:1 Take heede that ye giue not your almes before men, to be seene of them, or els ye shall haue no reward of your Father which is in heaue.

Matthew 6:2 Therefore when thou giuest thine almes, thou shalt not make a trumpet to be blowen before thee, as the hypocrites doe in the Synagogues and in the streetes, to be praysed of men. Verely I say vnto you, they haue their rewarde.

Matthew 6:3 But when thou doest thine almes, let not thy left hand knowe what thy right hand doeth,

Matthew 6:4 That thine almes may be in secret, and thy Father that seeth in secret, hee will rewarde thee openly.

Matthew 6:5 And when thou prayest, be not as the hypocrites: for they loue to stand, and pray in the Synagogues, and in the corners of the streetes, because they would be seene of men. Verely I say vnto you, they haue their rewarde.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "thou", "doest", "thine", "almes", "left", "hand", "knowe", and "right". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "thou" and "doest", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "Therefore when thou giuest thine almes thou..." into verse 4's "That thine almes may be in secret...", so "thou" and "doest" 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 "thou" and "doest" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.