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Selected Verse: Matthew 6:17 - Strong Concordance
| Verse |
Translation |
Text |
| Mt 6:17 |
Strong Concordance |
But [1161] thou [4771], when thou fastest [3522], anoint [218] thine [4675] head [2776], and [2532] wash [3538] thy [4675] face [4383]; |
| |
King James |
But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; |
Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse
| A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882] |
| But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face--as the Jews did, except when mourning (Dan 10:3); so that the meaning is, "Appear as usual"--appear so as to attract no notice. |
| Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834] |
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 Mar 7:2-3; Jam 5:14; Mar 11:13; Joh 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. |
| Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65] |
| Anoint thy head - So the Jews frequently did. Dress thyself as usual. |
| Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826 |
| 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, etc., 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. |
3 I ate [0398] no pleasant [02532] bread [03899], neither came [0935] flesh [01320] nor wine [03196] in my mouth [06310], neither did I anoint [05480] myself at all [05480], till three [07969] whole [03117] weeks [07620] were fulfilled [04390].
3 Then [3767] took [2983] Mary [3137] a pound [3046] of ointment [3464] of spikenard [3487] [4101], very costly [4186], and anointed [218] the feet [4228] of Jesus [2424], and [2532] wiped [1591] his [846] feet [4228] with her [846] hair [2359]: and [1161] the house [3614] was filled [4137] with [1537] the odour [3744] of the ointment [3464].
13 And [2532] seeing [1492] a fig tree [4808] afar off [3113] having [2192] leaves [5444], he came [2064], if [1487] haply [686] he might find [2147] any thing [5100] thereon [1722] [846]: and [2532] when he came [2064] to [1909] it [846], he found [2147] nothing [3762] but [1508] leaves [5444]; for [1063] the time [2540] of figs [4810] was [2258] not [3756] yet.
14 Is [770] any [5100] sick [770] among [1722] you [5213]? let him call [4341] for the elders [4245] of the church [1577]; and [2532] let them pray [4336] over [1909] him [846], anointing [218] him [846] with oil [1637] in [1722] the name [3686] of the Lord [2962]:
2 And [2532] when they saw [1492] some [5100] of his [846] disciples [3101] eat [2068] bread [740] with defiled [2839], that is to say [5123], with unwashen [449], hands [5495], they found fault [3201].
3 For [1063] the Pharisees [5330], and [2532] all [3956] the Jews [2453], except [3362] they wash [3538] their hands [5495] oft [4435], eat [2068] not [3756], holding [2902] the tradition [3862] of the elders [4245].