Matthew 6:4 (YLT)

Passage

that thy kindness may be in secret, and thy Father who is seeing in secret Himself shall reward thee manifestly.

Nearby Context

Matthew 6:2 whenever, therefore, thou mayest do kindness, thou mayest not sound a trumpet before thee as the hypocrites do, in the synagogues, and in the streets, that they may have glory from men; verily I say to you--they have their reward!

Matthew 6:3 `But thou, doing kindness, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doth,

Matthew 6:4 that thy kindness may be in secret, and thy Father who is seeing in secret Himself shall reward thee manifestly.

Matthew 6:5 `And when thou mayest pray, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites, because they love in the synagogues, and in the corners of the broad places--standing--to pray, that they may be seen of men; verily I say to you, that they have their reward.

Matthew 6:6 `But thou, when thou mayest pray, go into thy chamber, and having shut thy door, pray to thy Father who <FI>is<Fi> in secret, and thy Father who is seeing in secret, shall reward thee manifestly.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "kindness", "secret", "father", "seeing", "himself", "shall", and "reward". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "kindness" and "secret", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "But thou doing kindness let not thy..." into verse 5's "And when thou mayest pray thou shalt...", so "kindness" and "secret" 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 "kindness" and "secret" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.