Matthew 6:17 (YLT)

Passage

`But thou, fasting, anoint thy head, and wash thy face,

Nearby Context

Matthew 6:15 but if ye may not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Matthew 6:16 `And when ye may fast, be ye not as the hypocrites, of sour countenances, for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear to men fasting; verily I say to you, that they have their reward.

Matthew 6:17 `But thou, fasting, anoint thy head, and wash thy face,

Matthew 6:18 that thou mayest not appear to men fasting, but to thy Father who <FI>is<Fi> in secret, and thy Father, who is seeing in secret, shall reward thee manifestly.

Matthew 6:19 `Treasure not up to yourselves treasures on the earth, where moth and rust disfigure, and where thieves break through and steal,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "thou", "fasting", "anoint", "head", "wash", and "face". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "thou" and "fasting", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 16's "And when ye may fast be ye..." into verse 18's "that thou mayest not appear to men...", so "thou" and "fasting" 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 "fasting" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.