do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing

In Russian, the phrase Пусть левая твоя рука не знает, что делает правая (Pust’ levaya tvoya ruka ne znayet, chto delayet pravaya) or “do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing” is widely-used as an idiom in every-day life. The wording of the quote originated in the Russian Synodal Bible (publ. 1876). (Source: Reznikov 2020, p. 63f.)

complete verse (Matthew 6:3)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 6:3:

  • Uma: “So, when we (incl.) give, we (incl.) should offer our (incl.) gift quietly, don’t tell it around.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “But you, when you give to the poor people do not tell it even to your best friend” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “As for you, if you have anything to help the poor, it must be that not even your companions know about it.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “If therefore you give something to the poor, don’t even make it known to your most-esteemed friend” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “What is good when you (sing.) give your aid is that you don’t even inform your best friend,” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “But you, when you help the poor people, do not then tell even your best friends what you have done.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Scriptures Plain & Simple (Matthew 6:1-4)

Barclay Newman, a translator on the teams for both the Good News Bible and the Contemporary English Version, translated passages of the New Testament into English and published them in 2014, “in a publication brief enough to be non-threatening, yet long enough to be taken seriously, and interesting enough to appeal to believers and un-believers alike.” The following is the translation of Matthew 6:1-4:

Do you accompany your good deeds with a toot on your own horn?
       Do you give to the poor in hope of praise from others?
Well, so do hypocrites who seek praise in church and in public.
       Earthly praise is their full reward.

Be secretive and silent when you give to the poor!
Your Father above knows everything —
       so be patient! Your reward is waiting for you.

Translation commentary on Matthew 6:3

When you give alms translates the same structure used in verse 2.

Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing: Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch is similar to Good News Translation: “so that your best friend will not know about it.” A number of commentators believe that Jesus is speaking of a generosity that even one’s most intimate friend must not know about, and at least one commentator notes that the interpretation as a reference to one’s closest friend finds support in a current Arabic proverb. But whether the reference is to one’s best friend or to one’s self, the focus is on the secrecy of the action. Jesus is here calling upon his followers to disregard self in the giving of gifts for the needy. Giving is to be for the sake of the poor and not for personal satisfaction. In giving, one is not to seek praise from God or from people; a person who truly loves God and others does not think of self.

Many translators have felt that their readers will have no trouble understanding a literal translation of this verse. The idea of the secrecy of the action is clear. Others have felt that the idiom needs clarification. Some have followed the model of Good News Translation, where the reference is to one’s best friend, but many prefer to be more general, as in “do it so that no one else will know about it.” The sentence may be “When you give to help some needy person, do it in such a way that no one will know what you have done” or “When you give to people who don’t have all they need to live, give help to them in secret.”

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Matthew 6:3

6:3a

But: There is a contrast between 6:2 and 6:3. The contrast is between the actions of the hypocrites and the way that Jesus wants his followers to act. The Berean Standard Bible and many English versions indicate this contrast with the conjunction But.

Here are some other ways to translate this contrast:

As for you
-or-
However, you

when you give to the needy: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as when you give to the needy uses the same words as the clause translated as “when you give to the needy” in 6:2a. The meaning is the same.

In this clause, the pronoun you is emphasized in the Greek text. If your language has a way to emphasize the pronoun you, you may want to do so here.

Here are some examples:

when you yourself give
-or-
as for you, when you give
-or-
you, when you give to the needy

6:3b

do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing: This clause is a metaphor. Doing things without letting others know is compared to not letting your left hand know what your right hand is doing. One way that they are similar is that one group/side does not know what the other is doing.

Here are some other ways to translate this metaphor:

• Keep the metaphor. For example:

don’t tell your left hand what your right hand is doing (New Living Translation (1996))
-or-
do not let one hand know what the other hand is doing

• Translate this clause as a simile and give the meaning. For example:

give privately in a way that is like your left hand not knowing what your right hand is doing
-or-
give so that even your best friend does not know what you are doing. It is like one of your hands does not know what the other hand is doing.

• Translate the meaning of this clause without the metaphor. Here are some examples:

don’t let anyone know about it (Contemporary English Version)

-or-

give in a hidden/private way so that no one will know that you gave

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