Matthew 6:7

But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
But	δὲ de	G1161	but · conjunction
when ye pray	προσευχόμενοι proseuchomenoi	G4336	to pray to God · verb — present middle or passive deponent participle, nominative plural masculine
use	βατταλογήσητε battalogēsēte	G945	to stutter · verb — aorist active subjunctive, 2nd person plural
not	μὴ mē	G3361	(adverb) not · particle — negative
vain repetitions	βαττολογέω battologéō	G945	to stutter
as	ὥσπερ hōsper	G5618	just as · conjunction
the heathen	ἐθνικοί· ethnikoi	G1482	national ("ethnic") · adjective — nominative plural masculine
for	γὰρ gar	G1063	properly · conjunction
they think	δοκοῦσιν dokousin	G1380	compare the base of G1166 (δεικνύω)) of the same meaning · verb — present active indicative, 3rd person plural
that	ὅτι hoti	G3754	demonstrative · conjunction
they shall be heard	εἰσακουσθήσονται. eisakousthēsontai	G1522	to listen to · verb — future passive indicative, 3rd person plural
for	ἐν en	G1722	"in · preposition
their	αὐτῶν autōn	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive plural masculine
much speaking	πολυλογίᾳ polulogia	G4180	loquacity · noun — dative singular feminine

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Ecclesiastes 5:2-3 Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: there…
Ecclesiastes 5:7 For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but fear thou God.
1 Kings 18:26-29 And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O…
Matthew 6:32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
Matthew 26:44 And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.
Daniel 9:18-19 O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not…
Matthew 26:42 He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be d…
Acts 19:34 But when they knew that he was a Jew, all with one voice about the space of two hours cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Matthew 6:5-8

In prayer we have more immediately to do with God than in giving alms, and therefore are yet more concerned to be sincere, which is what we are here directed to. When thou prayest (Mat 6:5). It is taken for granted that all the disciples of Christ pray. As soon as ever Paul was converted, behold he prayeth. You may as soon find a living man that does not breathe, as a living Christian that does not pray. For this shall every one that is godly pray. If prayerless, then graceless. "Now, when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are, nor do as they do," Mat 6:2. Note, Those who would not do as the hypocrites do in their ways and actions must not be as the hypocrites are in their fr…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Matthew 6:7

But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions--"Babble not" would be a better rendering, both for the form of the word--which in both languages is intended to imitate the sound--and for the sense, which expresses not so much the repetition of the same words as a senseless multiplication of them; as appears from what follows. as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking--This method of heathen devotion is still observed by Hindu and Mohammedan devotees. With the Jews, says LIGHTFOOT, it was a maxim, that "Every one who multiplies prayer is heard." In the Church of Rome, not only is it carried to a shameless extent, but, as THOLUCK justly observes, the very…

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John Gill on Matthew 6:7

But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions,.... Saying the same things over and over again, as the Heathens do, as the worshippers of Baal, from morning till noon, 1 Kings 18:26. This our Lord observes, to dissuade from such practices, because the Gentiles, who were odious to the Jews, used them, and the Jews were guilty of the same; had they not, there would not have been any need of such advice: for they think they shall be heard for their much speaking; as did the Jews, who, under pretence of "long prayers", devoured widows' houses; and with whom it is an axiom, that "everyone , that multiplies prayer is heard" (h); and whoever prolongs his prayer, his prayer does not return empty; and…

The Church Fathers

(Mor. xxxiii. 23.) True prayer consists rather in the bitter groans of repentance, than in the repetition of set forms of words.
— Gregory the Dialogist ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

(Collat. ix. 36.) We should indeed pray often, but in short form, lest if we be long in our prayers, the enemy that lies in wait for us, might suggest something for our thoughts.
— John Cassian ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Nevertheless, the proceeding of a discussion on the necessaries of faith is not idle, because it is not unfruitful. In edification no loquacity is base, if it be base at any time. And so, if the discourse be concerning some particular good, the subject requires us to review also the contrary of that good.
— Tertullian, Of Patience

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Heathen — (Heb. plural goyum). At first the word goyim denoted generally all the nations of the world (Gen. 18:18; comp. Gal. 3:8). The Jews afterwards became a people distinguished in a marked manner from the…
Commandments · DISCOURSE — DISCOURSE
Gentiles · UNCLASSIFIED SCIPTURES RELATING TO — UNCLASSIFIED SCIPTURES RELATING TO
Heathen, The · Cautions against imitating — Cautions against imitating
Motive · Right, required — Right, required
Pharisees · .By Jesus — .By Jesus
Prayer · .Profuse, to be avoi — .Profuse, to be avoi
Religion · TRUE — TRUE
Vanity · The worship of the wicked is — The worship of the wicked is
Works, Good · Saints: Should avoid ostentation in — Saints: Should avoid ostentation in

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Matthew 6:7

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Matthew 6:5-8

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Matthew 6:7

John Gill on Matthew 6:7

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Matthew 6:7

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Matthew 6:5-8

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Matthew 6:7

John Gill on Matthew 6:7

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Matthew 6:5-8

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Matthew 6:7-8