Matthew 6:27 (KJV)

Passage

Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

Nearby Context

Matthew 6:25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

Matthew 6:26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

Matthew 6:27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

Matthew 6:28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

Matthew 6:29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 26's "Behold the fowls of the air for..." into verse 28's "And why take ye thought for raiment...", so "taking" and "thought" 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 "taking" and "thought" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.