Bible Strands
Matthew 6:27
Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jesus speaks to his disciples during the Sermon on the Mount, positioning this statement between the illustration of God feeding the birds and the command to observe the lilies. He directly addresses their anxiety over daily provision.
The words — μεριμνῶν (merimnōn) translates literally to "being anxious" and describes a state of divided concern. προσθεῖναι (prostheinai) means "to add," which the text pairs with "a single hour" to show worry's total inability to alter lifespan.
The thread — This identical question appears in Luke 12:25, while the broader theme of human powerlessness to extend life or alter God's fixed order runs through Ecclesiastes 3:14 and Psalm 39:5.
Why it lands — The text states that worry cannot extend life and therefore demands the reader abandon anxiety as a futile strategy. It requires a direct shift of focus from imagined futures to the present care of the Father who already provides.
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
Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
Cross-references
- Luke 12:25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
- Ecclesiastes 3:14 I know that everything God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God does it so that they should fear Him.
- Psalms 39:5 You, indeed, have made my days as handbreadths, and my lifetime as nothing before You. Truly each man at his best exists as but a breath. Selah
- Matthew 5:36 Nor should you swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black.
- 1 Corinthians 12:18 But in fact, God has arranged the members of the body, every one of them, according to His design.