Translation commentary on Matthew 6:34

Do not be anxious: see verse 31 for the same construction.

For tomorrow will be anxious for itself is expressed more naturally in Good News Translation: “it will have enough worries of its own.” New American Bible renders “Let tomorrow take care of itself”; New Jerusalem Bible and New English Bible are similar.

In some languages it is strange to speak of being concerned about tomorrow. The idea of the verse is that you should not be concerned about “what may happen tomorrow” or “what you will need tomorrow.” For tomorrow to be anxious for itself means “for there will be enough things to worry about tomorrow” or “tomorrow you should worry about those things.”

Let the day’s own trouble be sufficient for the day is translated “There is no need to add to the troubles each day brings” by Good News Translation, and Phillips has “One day’s trouble is enough for one day.” New English Bible translates “Each day has troubles enough of its own.” The Greek word translated trouble is not a reference to objective moral evil, but rather describes those things which bring trouble to people; in fact it is frequently used in the Septuagint for a Hebrew word that means “trouble” in general.

The idea here can be expressed in several ways: “It’s enough to be concerned each day with that day’s problems,” “Each day has enough problems without adding to them troubles from other days,” or “Don’t add to the troubles that are before you on any particular day.” The examples cited in the previous paragraph may also be helpful.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

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