Matthew 6 · Verse 17

Matthew 6:17

But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;

Matthew 6:17, King James Version

Matthew 6:17 in other translations

BSB	But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
WEB	But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
ASV	But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thy head, and wash thy face;
YLT	‘But thou, fasting, anoint thy head, and wash thy face,
DARBY	But thou, when fasting, anoint thy head and wash thy face,
BBE	But when you go without food, put oil on your head and make your face clean;
Webster	But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thy head, and wash thy face;

What does Matthew 6:17 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

17. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face--as the Jews did, except when mourning (Da 10:3); so that the meaning is, "Appear as usual"--appear so as to attract no notice.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Barnes' Notes

Verse 17. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint, etc. That is, appear as you do daily. Do not assume any new appearance, or change your visage or dress. The Jews and all neighbouring 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 odour. See Mk 7:2,3, Jas 5:14 Mk 6:13, Jn 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 towards God, and he will approve and reward it.

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 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, 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.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Matthew 6:16-18

Religious fasting is a duty required of the disciples of Christ, but it is not so much a duty itself, as a means to dispose us for other duties. Fasting is the humbling of the soul, Psa 35:13; that is the inside of the duty; let that, therefore, be thy principal care, and as to the outside of it, covet not to let it be seen. God sees in secret, and will reward openly.

Read the full comment on Matthew 6:16-18 →

Matthew 6:17 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

σὺsuYou yourselfG4771

δὲdehoweverG1161

νηστεύωνnēsteuōnfastingG3522

ἄλειψαίaleipsaido anoint yourselfG218

σουsouyourG4771

τὴνtēn<the>G3588

κεφαλὴνkephalēnheadG2776

καὶkaiandG2532

τὸtotheG3588

πρόσωπόνprosōponfaceG4383

σουsouof youG4771

νίψαιnipsaido wash, yourselfG3538

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Matthew 6:17

Ruth 3:3
Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: but make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking.
Ecclesiastes 9:8
Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment.
2 Samuel 12:20
Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the Lord, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat.
Daniel 10:2-3
In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks. I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.
2 Samuel 14:2
And Joab sent to Tekoah, and fetched thence a wise woman, and said unto her, I pray thee, feign thyself to be a mourner, and put on now mourning apparel, and anoint not thyself with oil, but be as a woman that had a long time mourned for the dead:

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

anoint.
Ru 3:3; 2Sa 14:2; Ec 9:8; Da 10:2,3

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Matthew 6:16
Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
Matthew 6:17
But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;
Matthew 6:18
That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

Read all of Matthew 6

Matthew 6:17 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Mas tú, cuando ayunas, unge tu cabeza y lava tu rostro;
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Mais toi, quand tu jeûnes, oins ta tête et lave ton visage,
German Elberfelder 1871	Du aber, wenn du fastest, so salbe dein Haupt und wasche dein Angesicht,
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Tu autem, cum jejunas, unge caput tuum, et faciem tuam lava,