Matthew 6:14 (LSB)

Passage

For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

Nearby Context

Matthew 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Matthew 6:13 And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’]

Matthew 6:14 For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

Matthew 6:15 But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

Matthew 6:16 “Now whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "transgressions", "forgive", "others", "heavenly", and "father". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "transgressions" and "forgive", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 13's "And do not lead us into temptation..." into verse 15's "But if you do not forgive others...", so "transgressions" and "forgive" 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 "transgressions" and "forgive" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.