Bible Strands
Matthew 6:5
And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jesus addresses his disciples within the Sermon on the Mount, moving from almsgiving (v. 4) to prayer, and immediately to the positive instruction in v. 6.
The words — ὑποκριταί (hupokritai) is the theatrical term for an actor wearing a mask; here it names those whose prayer is performance for an audience rather than address to God.
The thread — The same pattern appears in Matthew 6:2 (trumpeting almsgiving) and in Luke 18:10–13, where the Pharisee's self-congratulatory prayer is set against the tax collector's humble cry.
Why it lands — The verse says public display has already been compensated: the applause is the full payment, and nothing further is owed. It removes any residual credit from the act of praying in public.
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
And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
Cross-references
- Matthew 6:2 So when you give to the needy, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.
- Luke 18:10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
- Luke 18:13 But the tax collector stood at a distance, unwilling even to lift up his eyes to heaven. Instead, he beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner!’
- Mark 11:25 And when you stand to pray, if you hold anything against another, forgive it, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your trespasses as well.”
- Isaiah 55:6 Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.
- Jeremiah 29:12 Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
- Isaiah 1:15 When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you multiply your prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.
- James 4:6 But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
- Daniel 6:10 Now when Daniel learned that the document had been signed, he went into his house, where the windows of his upper room opened toward Jerusalem, and three times a day he got down on his knees, prayed, and gave thanks to his God, just as he had done before.
- Matthew 7:7 Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.