Matthew 6:23 (YLT)

Passage

but if thine eye may be evil, all thy body shall be dark; if, therefore, the light that <FI>is<Fi> in thee is darkness--the darkness, how great!

Nearby Context

Matthew 6:21 for where your treasure is, there will be also your heart.

Matthew 6:22 `The lamp of the body is the eye, if, therefore, thine eye may be perfect, all thy body shall be enlightened,

Matthew 6:23 but if thine eye may be evil, all thy body shall be dark; if, therefore, the light that <FI>is<Fi> in thee is darkness--the darkness, how great!

Matthew 6:24 `None is able to serve two lords, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to the one, and despise the other; ye are not able to serve God and Mammon.

Matthew 6:25 `Because of this I say to you, be not anxious for your life, what ye may eat, and what ye may drink, nor for your body, what ye may put on. Is not the life more than the nourishment, and the body than the clothing?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "light", "darkness", "thine", "evil", "body", "shall", "therefore", and "thee". It is saying that the contrast between light and darkness marks a real divide in how people respond to God's work.

The nearby context moves from verse 22's "The lamp of the body is the..." into verse 24's "None is able to serve two lords...", so "light" and "darkness" 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 "light" and "darkness" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.