OET interlinear MAT 6:3

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / youcrowd

σοῦ & σου & σου

˱of˲_you & ˱of˲_you & ˱of˲_you

Even though Jesus is speaking to many disciples, he is addressing an individual situation, so you and your are singular throughout this verse. But if the singular form would not be natural in your language for someone who is speaking to a group of people, you could use the plural forms of you and your in your translation.

Note 2 topic: grammar-connect-time-simultaneous

ποιοῦντος ἐλεημοσύνην

doing alms

Here, the phrase giving alms identifies the situation in which people should follow this command. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word or phrase that makes this relationship clearer. Alternate translation: “whenever you give alms” or “as you are giving alms”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / personification

μὴ γνώτω ἡ ἀριστερά σου τί ποιεῖ ἡ δεξιά σου

not /let/_know the left_‹hand› ˱of˲_you what /is/_doing the right_‹hand› ˱of˲_you

Here Jesus speaks of your left hand and your right hand as if they were people who could know and do things on their own. He means that giving alms should be done so secretly that even other body parts, if they could know things, would not know about it. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable figure of speech or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “do not let your best friend know what you are doing” or “do it so privately that, if your left hand were a person, it would not know what you had done”