the Fourth Week of Advent
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Read the Bible
THE MESSAGE
Matthew 6:17
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
- Nave'sDictionaries:
- AmericanEncyclopedias:
- InternationalDevotionals:
- ChipParallel Translations
But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face,
But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face:
But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;
But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
"But as for you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
So when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face.
"But when you fast, put oil on your head [as you normally would to groom your hair] and wash your face
But when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face,
"But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face
But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face
But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
Instead, comb your hair and wash your face.
But you, when you fast, wash your face and groom yourself,
But *thou*, [when] fasting, anoint thy head and wash thy face,
So when you fast, wash your face and make yourself look nice.
But you, when you fast, wash your face and anoint your head;
When you go without food, wash your face and comb your hair,
But when you are fasting, put olive oil on your head and wash your face
But you in fasting, anoint your head and wash your face,
But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thy head, and wash thy face;
But when you go without food, put oil on your head and make your face clean;
But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face;
But when you fast, put oil onanoint">[fn] your head and wash your face,Ruth 3:3; Daniel 10:3;">[xr]
But thou, when thou art fasting, wash thy face and anoint thine head,
But, when thou fastest, wash thou thy face, and anoint thy head:
But thou, when thou fastest, annoynt thyne head, and washe thy face:
But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thy head, and wash thy face;
But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face;
But thou when thou fastest, anoint thy head, and wash thy face.
But, whenever you fast, pour perfume on your hair and wash your face,
But whanne thou fastist, anoynte thin heed, and waische thi face,
But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face;
But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thy head, and wash thy face;
When you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face,
But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face.
When you go without food so you can pray better, put oil on your head and wash your face.
But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face,
But, when, thou, art fasting, anoint thy head, and, thy face, wash, -
But thou, when thou fastest anoint thy head, and wash thy face;
But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
But thou whe thou fastest annoynte thyne heed and washe thy face
`But thou, fasting, anoint thy head, and wash thy face,
But thou, whe thou fastest, annoynte thyne heed, and wash thy face,
but whenever you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face:
But if you go without food for a while, saddle up and ride just like it's any normal day of work.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
anoint: Ruth 3:3, 2 Samuel 14:2, Ecclesiastes 9:8, Daniel 10:2, Daniel 10:3
Reciprocal: Psalms 23:5 - thou anointest Luke 5:35 - and Luke 7:46 - General
Cross-References
Then God said, "I'm not going to breathe life into men and women endlessly. Eventually they're going to die; from now on they can expect a life span of 120 years."
This was back in the days (and also later) when there were giants in the land. The giants came from the union of the sons of God and the daughters of men. These were the mighty men of ancient lore, the famous ones.
God said to Noah, "It's all over. It's the end of the human race. The violence is everywhere; I'm making a clean sweep.
"Build yourself a ship from teakwood. Make rooms in it. Coat it with pitch inside and out. Make it 450 feet long, seventy-five feet wide, and forty-five feet high. Build a roof for it and put in a window eighteen inches from the top; put in a door on the side of the ship; and make three decks, lower, middle, and upper.
Noah did everything God commanded him to do.
The flood continued forty days and the waters rose and lifted the ship high over the Earth. The waters kept rising, the flood deepened on the Earth, the ship floated on the surface. The flood got worse until all the highest mountains were covered—the high-water mark reached twenty feet above the crest of the mountains. Everything died. Anything that moved—dead. Birds, farm animals, wild animals, the entire teeming exuberance of life—dead. And all people—dead. Every living, breathing creature that lived on dry land died; he wiped out the whole works—people and animals, crawling creatures and flying birds, every last one of them, gone. Only Noah and his company on the ship lived.
"Meanwhile I'll make sure the Egyptians keep up their stubborn chase—I'll use Pharaoh and his entire army, his chariots and horsemen, to put my Glory on display so that the Egyptians will realize that I am God ."
"Do you see it now? Do you see that I'm the one? Do you see that there's no other god beside me? I bring death and I give life, I wound and I heal— there is no getting away from or around me! I raise my hand in solemn oath; I say, ‘I'm always around. By that very life I promise: When I sharpen my lightning sword and execute judgment, I take vengeance on my enemies and pay back those who hate me. I'll make my arrows drunk with blood, my sword will gorge itself on flesh, Feasting on slain and captive alike, the proud and vain enemy corpses.'"
Above the floodwaters is God 's throne from which his power flows, from which he rules the world.
"I, I'm the One comforting you. What are you afraid of—or who? Some man or woman who'll soon be dead? Some poor wretch destined for dust? You've forgotten me, God , who made you, who unfurled the skies, who founded the earth. And here you are, quaking like an aspen before the tantrums of a tyrant who thinks he can kick down the world. But what will come of the tantrums? The victims will be released before you know it. They're not going to die. They're not even going to go hungry. For I am God , your very own God, who stirs up the sea and whips up the waves, named God -of-the-Angel-Armies. I teach you how to talk, word by word, and personally watch over you, Even while I'm unfurling the skies, setting earth on solid foundations, and greeting Zion: ‘Welcome, my people!'"
Gill's Notes on the Bible
But thou, when thou fastest,.... Christ allows of fasting, but what is of a quite different kind from that of the Jews; which lay not in an outward abstinence from food, and other conveniences of life, and refreshments of nature; but in an abstinence from sin, in acknowledgment and confession of it; and in the exercise of faith and hope in God, as a God pardoning iniquity, transgression and sin; wherefore cheerfulness, and a free use of the creatures, without an abuse of them, best became such persons.
Anoint thine head, and wash thy face; directly contrary to the Jewish canons, which forbid these things, with others, on fast days:
"On the day of atonement, (say i they,) a man is forbidden eating and drinking, וברחיצהובסיכה "and washing and anointing", and putting on of shoes, and the use of the bed.''
And the same were forbidden on other fasts: in anointings, the head was anointed first, and this rule and reason are given for it:
"he that would anoint his whole body, סך ראשו תחילה, "let him anoint his head first", because it is king over all its members k.''
Anointing and washing were signs of cheerfulness and joy; see Ruth 3:3.
i Misn. Yoma, c. 8. sect. 1. & Taanith, c. 1. sect. 4, 5, 6. T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 77. 2. Taanith, fol. 12. 2. Moses Kotsensis Mitzvot Tora, pr. affirm. 32. k T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 61. 1.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
But thou when thou fastest, anoint ... - That is, appear as you do daily. Do not assume any new appearance, or change your visage or dress. The Jews and all neighboring nations were much in the habit of washing and anointing their bodies. This washing was performed at every meal; and where it could be effected, the head, or other parts of the body, was daily anointed with sweet or olive oil. In a warm climate, exposed to the great heat of the sun, this practice conduced much to health, preserved the skin smooth and tender, and afforded a most grateful sensation and odor. See Mark 7:2-3; James 5:14; Mark 11:13; John 12:3.
The meaning of this whole commandment is, when you regard it to be your duty to fast, do it as a thing expressing deep feeling or sorrow for sin, not by assuming unfelt gravity and moroseness, but in your ordinary dress and appearance; not to attract attention, but as an expression of feeling toward God, and he will approve and reward it.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Matthew 6:17. Anoint thine head and wash thy face — These were forbidden in the Jewish canon on days of fasting and humiliation; and hypocrites availed themselves of this ordinance, that they might appear to fast. Our Lord, therefore, cautions us against this: as if he had said, Affect nothing - dress in thy ordinary manner, and let the whole of thy deportment prove that thou desirest to recommend my soul to God, and not thy face to men. That factitious mourning, which consists in putting on black clothes, crapes, c., is utterly inconsistent with the simplicity of the Gospel of Christ and if practised in reference to spiritual matters, is certainly forbidden here: but sin is so common, and so boldly persisted in, that not even a crape is put on, as an evidence of deploring its influence, or of sorrow for having committed it.
