Matthew 6:16-18

Fasting

16 "And t when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. u Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, v anoint your head and wash your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. w And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

  1. Cross References
    Isaiah 58:5
    Is such the fast that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself? Is it to bow down his head like a reed, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the Lord ?
  2. Cross References
    Matthew 6:2
    Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
    Matthew 6:5
    And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
  3. Cross References
    Ruth 3:3
    Wash therefore and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking.
    2 Samuel 12:20
    Then David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. He then went to his own house. And when he asked, they set food before him, and he ate.
  4. Cross References
    Matthew 6:4
    So that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
    Matthew 6:6
    But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.