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Private Prayer

“Whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray while standing in synagogues[a] and on street corners so that people can see them. Truly I say to you, they have their reward! But whenever you pray, go into your inner room,[b] close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.[c] When[d] you pray, do not babble repetitiously like the Gentiles, because they think that by their many words they will be heard.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 6:5 sn See the note on synagogues in 4:23.
  2. Matthew 6:6 sn The term translated inner room refers to an inside room of a house, normally without any windows opening outside, the most private location possible (BDAG 988 s.v. ταμεῖον 2).
  3. Matthew 6:6 tc See the tc note on “will reward you” in 6:4: The problem is the same and the ms support differs only slightly.
  4. Matthew 6:7 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.