Matthew 6:25-26
"Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?"
Matthew 6:25-26 (NKJV)
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?"
Matthew 6:25-26 (NIV)
Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
Matthew 6:25-26 (KJV)
"That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life, whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn't life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren't you far more valuable to him than they are?"
Matthew 6:25-26 (NLT)
"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?"
Matthew 6:25-26 (ESV)
"For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is life not more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the sky, that they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather crops into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more important than they?"
Matthew 6:25-26 (NASB)Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org
"Therefore I tell you, stop being worried or anxious (perpetually uneasy, distracted) about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, as to what you will wear. Is life not more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow [seed] nor reap [the harvest] nor gather [the crops] into barns, and yet your heavenly Father keeps feeding them. Are you not worth much more than they?"
Matthew 6:25-26 (AMP)Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMP), Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org
Therefore I tell you, stop being perpetually uneasy (anxious and worried) about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink; or about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life greater [in quality] than food, and the body [far above and more excellent] than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father keeps feeding them. Are you not worth much more than they?
Matthew 6:25-26 (AMPC)Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMPC), Copyright © 1954, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org
"If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don't fuss about what's on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds."
Matthew 6:25-26 (MSG)Scripture quotations from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.
New Covenant Meaning
You Are Worth More Than Birds
Jesus points to birds as His primary evidence for the Father's care. Birds cannot plant a crop, cannot harvest a field, cannot store food against a hard winter. They have no ability to secure their own provision through effort. And yet the heavenly Father feeds them. Jesus then makes the comparison direct: are you not of more value than they? This is an argument from lesser to greater. If God cares for creatures that cannot earn or secure their own provision, then His care for His children, who are worth far more in His sight, is not in question. The argument does not rest on your performance. It rests on your value in His eyes.
Anxiety Is a Statement About Who You Think Your Father Is
Jesus frames this entire section around the idea of who your heavenly Father is. He says "your heavenly Father feeds them." The word "Father" is deliberate. Worry has a specific theological root: it comes from living as though God is either unable to provide or uninterested in doing so. A child with a good and capable father does not lie awake at night worrying whether there will be food tomorrow. The anxiety Jesus addresses is not irrational in a vacuum. It is the natural result of not knowing your Father or not trusting who He is. The antidote is not willpower. It is a deeper knowing of the Father.
Matthew 6:25-26 sits in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount, right after Jesus has said you cannot serve both God and money (v. 24). The worry He addresses is specifically anxiety about material provision: food, drink, clothing. In the New Covenant, Romans 8:15 describes the Spirit of adoption by which we cry "Abba, Father." Adopted children do not beg at the door of a stranger. They come freely to a Father who has already committed to care for them. Jesus was not giving a general life philosophy about positive thinking. He was telling people who their Father is. When you know that, the anxiety about provision does not have the same grip. You are not an orphan trying to survive. You are a child with a Father who feeds birds and calls you worth far more.
Application for Your Life
Bring Your Specific Worry to the Father Today
Jesus names specific categories: food, drink, clothing. These are concrete daily needs. He is not speaking to abstract philosophical worry. He is speaking to the real, pressing anxiety about whether there will be enough. If you have a specific worry today about money, about provision, about whether the need will be met, bring it to God specifically and lay this verse over it: Your heavenly Father feeds birds that cannot plant or harvest. You are worth more than they are. He knows what you need (v. 32). Let the specific promise meet the specific worry.
Trade the Worry Habit for the Declaration Habit
Worry is a habit of rehearsing what might go wrong. The practice Jesus offers in these verses is the opposite: look at the evidence of God's care, receive the declaration of your value to Him, and let that be the thing you rehearse. Philippians 4:6-7 says to present your requests to God with thanksgiving, and the peace of God will guard your heart and mind. The trade is real: bring the anxiety to God, replace it with gratitude and declaration, and the guard of peace takes over. This is not denial of the difficulty. It is faith that redirects attention from the problem to the Father.
Prayer Based on This Verse
Father, I hear You telling me not to worry. I am not going to argue with You. You are right. You feed the birds of the air. They cannot sow or reap or store up anything, and You take care of them. I am worth more than they are, and You know exactly what I need. I bring my specific anxiety to You right now: [name what you are worried about]. I lay it at Your feet. I am not an orphan trying to survive. I am Your child, and You are my Father. I trust You with this. Guard my heart and my mind from the worry that wants to come back. I choose to believe You. In Jesus name. Amen.