Matthew 6:27 (LSB)

Passage

And which of you by worrying can add a single cubit to his life span?

Nearby Context

Matthew 6:25 “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

Matthew 6:26 Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?

Matthew 6:27 And which of you by worrying can add a single cubit to his life span?

Matthew 6:28 And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin,

Matthew 6:29 yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "worrying", "single", "cubit", "life", and "span". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "worrying" and "single", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 26's "Look at the birds of the air..." into verse 28's "And why are you worried about clothing...", so "worrying" and "single" 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 "worrying" and "single" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.