Matthew 6:25

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — Jesus addresses his disciples (and the crowd) in the Sermon on the Mount, directly after the warning that one cannot serve both God and money (6:24) and directly before the birds-of-the-air illustration (6:26).

The words — μεριμνᾶτε (merimnate) is a strong imperative meaning "be anxious, be divided in concern," not a mild "worry." The object ψυχῇ (psuchē) means the whole person, not merely biological survival.

The thread — The same anxiety theme recurs in Philippians 4:6 (anxiety replaced by prayer), 1 Peter 5:7 (cast anxiety on God), and Romans 8:32 (God's generosity as the ground for trust).

Why it lands — It is a command, not a suggestion: the reader is told to stop managing provision as their primary task and to re-anchor that role in the Father who feeds the birds.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

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?

Cross-references

Philippians 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Romans 8:32 He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, freely give us all things?
1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
Psalms 55:22 Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken.
Luke 12:22 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear.
Matthew 6:31 Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
Matthew 6:27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
Mark 4:19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
Matthew 6:34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.
Matthew 10:19 But when they hand you over, do not worry about how to respond or what to say. In that hour you will be given what to say.