SIL Translator’s Notes on Matthew 6:21

6:21

For: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as For introduces the basis for the commands in 6:19–20. Jesus commanded his followers:

19aDo not lay up treasures on earth, 20abut lay up treasures in heaven. 21For/Because where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

In some languages, it is more natural to put the basis for the commands (in 6:21) before the commands. For example:

21Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 19So/Therefore,⌋ do not lay up for yourselves…

In some languages, no conjunction or phrase is needed to introduce 6:21.

where your treasure is, there your heart will be also: This sentence refers to the fact that a person’s thoughts and actions will be focused on those things that he values most. A person who desires material things will spend his life trying to accumulate material things. A person who desires things that please God will spend his life trying to please God.

Here are some other ways to translate this sentence:

The place where your treasures are stored, at that same place will also be your heart/thoughts

-or-

Your thoughts will want to be at the place where the things you value are.

heart: The word the Berean Standard Bible translates as heart refers to your inner life, your thoughts and desires. For the word heart, use a term that is normally used in your language for “inner life.” It may be a different organ such as “liver” or “throat.” Or it may be a more general term such as “insides” or “spirit.” See how you translated heart in 5:8.

© 2023 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

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