Matthew 6:18 is the eighteenth verse of the sixth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament and is part of the Sermon on the Mount. This verse concludes the discussion of fasting.

In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:

That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto

thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father,

which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

The World English Bible translates the passage as:

So that you are not seen



by men to be fasting,

but by your Father who is in secret, and your

Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.

The previous verse stated that, unlike the hypocrites, Jesus followers should present a clean and normal appearance even when fasting. This verse closely parallels Matthew 6:4 and Matthew 6:6, and like them the message is that even if one's piety is kept secret from those around you, that God will still know about it and reward you.