SEV Biblia, Chapter 6:25
¶ Por tanto os digo: No os acongojis por vuestra vida, qu habis de comer, o qu habis de beber; ni por vuestro cuerpo, qu habis de vestir: ¿no es la vida ms que el alimento, y el cuerpo que el vestido?
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Matthew 6:25
Verse 25. Therefore] dia touto, on this account; viz., that ye may not serve mammon, but have unshaken confidence in God, I say unto you,-Take no thought] Be not anxiously careful, mh merimnate; this is the proper meaning of the word. merimna anxious solicitude, from merizein ton noun dividing or distracting the mind. My old MS. Bible renders it, be not bysy to your life. Prudent care is never forbidden by our Lord, but only that anxious distracting solicitude, which, by dividing the mind, and drawing it different ways, renders it utterly incapable of attending to any solemn or important concern. To be anxiously careful concerning the means of subsistence is to lose all satisfaction and comfort in the things which God gives, and to act as a mere infidel. On the other hand, to rely so much upon providence as not to use the very powers and faculties with which the Divine Being has endowed us, is to tempt God. If we labour without placing our confidence in our labour, but expect all from the blessing of God, we obey his will, co-operate with his providence, set the springs of it a-going on our behalf, and thus imitate Christ and his followers by a sedate care and an industrious confidence. In this and the following verses, our Lord lays down several reasons why men should not disquiet themselves about the wants of life, or concerning the future.
The first is, the experience of greater benefits already received. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Can he who gave us our body, and breathed into it the breath of life, before we could ask them from him, refuse us that which is necessary to preserve both, and when we ask it in humble confidence? The clause what ye must eat, is omitted by two MSS., most of the ancient versions, and by many of the primitive fathers. Griesbach has left it in the text with a note of doubtfulness. It occurs again in ver. 31, and there is no variation in any of the MSS. in that place. Instead of, Is not the life more than, &c., we should read, Of more value; so the word pleion is used in Num. xxii. 15, and by the best Greek writers; and in the same sense it is used in chap. xxi. 37. See the note there.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 25. Therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your life , etc.] Since ye cannot serve both God and mammon, obey one, and neglect the other. Christ does not forbid labour to maintain, support, and preserve, this animal life; nor does he forbid all thought and care about it, but all anxious, immoderate, perplexing, and distressing thoughts and cares; such as arise from diffidence and unbelief, and tend to despair; which are dishonourable to God, as the God of nature and providence, and uncomfortable to men: what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on . The several and the only things, which are necessary for the support and comfort of human life, are mentioned; as meat, drink, and clothing; Eating and drinking are necessary to preserve life; and raiment, to cover and defend the body, from the injuries of the heavens: and having these, men have everything necessary, and ought herewith to be content; nor should they be anxiously thoughtful about these: for is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment ? And yet, God has given these without mans thought: and since these are better, and much more excellent, than food and raiment, as all must and will acknowledge; and God has given these the greater gifts, it may be depended upon, that he will give the lesser; that he will give meat and drink; to uphold that valuable life, which he is the author of; and raiment to clothe that body, which he, with so much wisdom and power, has accurately and wonderfully made.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 25-34 - There is scarcely any sin against which our Lord Jesus more warns his disciples, than disquieting, distracting, distrustful cares about the things of this life. This often insnares the poor as much as the love of wealth does the rich. But there is a carefulness about tempora things which is a duty, though we must not carry these lawful cares to far. Take no thought for your life. Not about the length of it; but refer it to God to lengthen or shorten it as he pleases; our times ar in his hand, and they are in a good hand. Not about the comforts of this life; but leave it to God to make it bitter or sweet as he pleases. Food and raiment God has promised, therefore we may expec them. Take no thought for the morrow, for the time to come. Be no anxious for the future, how you shall live next year, or when you ar old, or what you shall leave behind you. As we must not boast of tomorrow, so we must not care for to-morrow, or the events of it. God has given us life, and has given us the body. And what can he not d for us, who did that? If we take care about our souls and for eternity which are more than the body and its life, we may leave it to God to provide for us food and raiment, which are less. Improve this as a encouragement to trust in God. We must reconcile ourselves to ou worldly estate, as we do to our stature. We cannot alter the disposal of Providence, therefore we must submit and resign ourselves to them Thoughtfulness for our souls is the best cure of thoughtfulness for the world. Seek first the kingdom of God, and make religion your business say not that this is the way to starve; no, it is the way to be wel provided for, even in this world. The conclusion of the whole matte is, that it is the will and command of the Lord Jesus, that by dail prayers we may get strength to bear us up under our daily troubles, an to arm us against the temptations that attend them, and then let non of these things move us. Happy are those who take the Lord for their God, and make full proof of it by trusting themselves wholly to his wise disposal. Let thy Spirit convince us of sin in the want of thi disposition, and take away the worldliness of our hearts __________________________________________________________________
Greek Textus Receptus
δια 1223 PREP τουτο 5124 D-ASN λεγω 3004 5719 V-PAI-1S υμιν 5213 P-2DP μη 3361 PRT-N μεριμνατε 3309 5720 V-PAM-2P τη 3588 T-DSF ψυχη 5590 N-DSF υμων 5216 P-2GP τι 5101 I-ASN φαγητε 5315 5632 V-2AAS-2P και 2532 CONJ τι 5101 I-ASN πιητε 4095 5632 V-2AAS-2P μηδε 3366 CONJ τω 3588 T-DSN σωματι 4983 N-DSN υμων 5216 P-2GP τι 5101 I-ASN ενδυσησθε 1746 5672 V-AMS-2P ουχι 3780 PRT-I η 3588 T-NSF ψυχη 5590 N-NSF πλειον 4119 A-NSN-C εστιν 2076 5748 V-PXI-3S της 3588 T-GSF τροφης 5160 N-GSF και 2532 CONJ το 3588 T-NSN σωμα 4983 N-NSN του 3588 T-GSN ενδυματος 1742 N-GSN
Vincent's NT Word Studies
25. Take no thought (mh merimnate). The cognate noun is merimna, care, which was formerly derived from meriv, a part; merixw, to divide; and was explained accordingly as a dividing care, distracting the heart from the true object of life. This has been abandoned, however, and the word is placed in a group which carries the common notion of earnest thoughtfulness. It may include the ideas of worry and anxiety, and may emphasize these, but not necessarily. See, for example, "careth for the things of the Lord" (1 Cor. vii. 32). "That the members should have the same care one for another" (1 Cor. xii. 25). "Who will care for your state?" (Philip. ii. 20). In all these the sense of worry would be entirely out of place. In other cases that idea is prominent, as, "the care of this world," which chokes the good seed (Matt. xiii. 22, compare Luke viii. 14). Of Martha; "Thou are careful" (Luke x. 41). Take thought, in this passage, was a truthful rendering when the A.V. was made, since thought was then used as equivalent to anxiety or solicitude. So Shakespeare ("Hamlet"):"The native hue of resolution Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought."
And Bacon (Henry VII.): "Hawis, an alderman of London, was put in trouble, and died with thought and anguish." Somers'"Tracts" (in Queen Elizabeth's reign): "Queen Catherine Parr died rather of thought."
The word has entirely lost this meaning. Bishop Lightfoot ("On a Fresh Revision of the New Testament") says: "I have heard of a political economist alleging this passage as an objection to the moral teaching of the sermon on the mount, on the ground that it encouraged, nay, commanded, a reckless neglect of the future." It is uneasiness and worry about the future which our Lord condemns here, and therefore Rev. rightly translates be not anxious. This phase of the word is forcibly brought out in 1 Peter, v. 7, where the A.V. ignores the distinction between the two kinds of care. "Casting all your care (merimnan, Rev., anxiety) upon Him, for He careth (autw melei) for you," with a fatherly, tender, and provident care."
Robertson's NT Word Studies
6:25 {Be not anxious for your life} (me merimnate tei yucei h-mwn). this is as good a translation as the Authorized Version was poor; "Take no thought for your life." The old English word "thought" meant anxiety or worry as Shakespeare says:
"The native hue of resolution Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought."
Vincent quotes Bacon (Henry VII): "Harris, an alderman of London, was put in trouble and died with thought and anguish." But words change with time and now this passage is actually quoted (Lightfoot) "as an objection to the moral teaching of the Sermon on the Mount, on the ground that it encouraged, nay, commanded, a reckless neglect of the future." We have narrowed the word to mere planning without any notion of anxiety which is in the Greek word. The verb merimnaw is from meris, merizw, because care or anxiety distracts and divides. It occurs in Christ's rebuke to Martha for her excessive solicitude about something to eat (#Lu 10:41). The notion of proper care and forethought appears in #1Co 7:32; 12:25; Php 2:20. It is here the present imperative with the negative, a command not to have the habit of petulant worry about food and clothing, a source of anxiety to many housewives, a word for women especially as the command not to worship mammon may be called a word for men. The command can mean that they must stop such worry if already indulging in it. In verse #31 Jesus repeats the prohibition with the ingressive aorist subjunctive: "Do not become anxious,"Do not grow anxious." Here the direct question with the deliberative subjunctive occurs with each verb (fag"men, pi"men, peribal"metha). this deliberative subjunctive of the direct question is retained in the indirect question employed in verse #25. A different verb for clothing occurs, both in the indirect middle (peribal"metha, fling round ourselves in #31, endusesqe, put on yourselves in #25).
{For your life} (tei yucei). "Here psuchi stands for the life principle common to man and beast, which is embodied in the swma: the former needs food, the latter clothing" (McNeile). yuce in the Synoptic Gospels occurs in three senses (McNeile): either the life principle in the body as here and which man may kill (#Mr 3:4) or the seat of the thoughts and emotions on a par with kardia and dianoia (#Mt 22:37) and pneuma (#Lu 1:46; cf. #Joh 12:27; 13:21) or something higher that makes up the real self (#Mt 10:28; 16:26). In #Mt 16:25 (#Lu 9:25) yuce appears in two senses paradoxical use, saving life and losing it.
