Matthew 6:28
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| Matthew 6:28 | |
|---|---|
← 6:27 6:29 → | |
 Christ's sermon on the mount: The parable of the lily (1866). | |
| Book | Gospel of Matthew |
| Christian Bible part | New Testament |
Matthew 6:28 is the twenty-eighth verse of the sixth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament and is part of the Sermon on the Mount. This verse continues the discussion of worry about material provisions.
In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:
- And why take ye thought for raiment?
- Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow;
- they toil not, neither do they spin:
The World English Bible translates the passage less poetically as:
- Why are you anxious about clothing?
- Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow.
- They don't toil, neither do they spin.
The Novum Testamentum Graece text is:
- καὶ περὶ ἐνδύματος τί μεριμνᾶτε;
- καταμάθετε τὰ κρίνα τοῦ ἀγροῦ πῶς αὐξάνουσιν
- οὐ κοπιῶσιν οὐδὲ νήθουσιν
A similar passage appears in Luke 12:27, which in the King James Version reads:
- Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Commentary
Two verses earlier at Matthew 6:26 Jesus told his followers not to worry about food, because even the birds are provided for by God. In this verse Jesus presents the example of the lilies, who also do no labour. Spin in this verse is a reference to spinning thread, a labour-intensive but necessary part of making clothing. Spinning was traditionally women's work, something made explicit in Luke's version of this verse. This then is one of the few pieces of evidence that Jesus' message is meant equally for women as for men.[1]
Pope Francis sees Jesus' consideration of the lilies as an example of "the sensitivity of Jesus before the creatures of his Father".[2]
Many varieties of flowers grow wild in abundance in Galilee. The translation of lilies is traditional, but far from certain. Modern scholars have proposed a number of different flowers that Jesus could be here referring to (the Greek word is κρίνον, krinon), according to Fowler these include the autumn crocus, scarlet poppy, Turk's cap lily, Anemone coronaria, the narcissus, the gladiolus, and the iris.[3] Another candidate is the autumn-flowering Sternbergia lutea, one of the English common names of which is ‘lily-of-the field’.[4] France notes that flowers were less specifically defined in that era, and lily could be a word referring to any showy variety.[5] The verse could also just mean flowers in general, rather than a specific variety. "In the field" implies that these are the wildflowers growing in the fields, rather than the cultivated ones growing in gardens. Harrington notes that some have read this verse as originally referring to beasts rather than flowers.[6]
