Matthew 6:4

so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Jesus addresses his disciples (and the surrounding crowd) on the Mount, in the middle of the Sermon's instructions on almsgiving, immediately after the left-hand/right-hand command (6:3) and before the warning against public prayer (6:5).

The words — ἐλεημοσύνη (eleēmosunē) is the noun form of ἐλεέω, "to have pity"; the BSB renders it "giving," but the word itself names the act as mercy, not merely a transaction.

The thread — The same "secret / unseen Father" formula recurs in Matthew 6:6 (prayer) and 6:18 (fasting), forming a triad; Jeremiah 17:10 supplies the Old Testament warrant that God examines the heart and rewards by deeds.

Why it lands — The verse requires that a person be willing to give with no witness, no memory of being seen, and no social return — the only audience is God, and the only reward is his acknowledgment.

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

That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

Cross-references

Matthew 6:18 so that your fasting will not be obvious to men, but only to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Matthew 6:6 But when you pray, go into your inner room, shut your door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Jeremiah 17:10 I, the LORD, search the heart; I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve.
Luke 14:14 and you will be blessed. Since they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
Psalms 44:21 would not God have discovered, since He knows the secrets of the heart?
Matthew 25:34 Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
Psalms 139:12 even the darkness is not dark to You, but the night shines like the day, for darkness is as light to You.
Jeremiah 23:24 “Can a man hide in secret places where I cannot see him?” declares the LORD. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the LORD.
Luke 8:17 For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be made known and brought to light.
1 Samuel 2:30 Therefore, the LORD, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever. But now the LORD declares: Far be it from Me! For I will honor those who honor Me, but those who despise Me will be disdained.