King James Bible
"Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?"
Jesus commands his disciples to stop anxiously worrying about life's necessities. The phrase 'take no thought' (Greek: merimnao) means to be anxiously preoccupied, not to avoid all planning. This teaching follows his warning about serving two masters, connecting trust in God with freedom from material anxiety. Christ itemizes the basic human needs—food, drink, and clothing—that typically consume our mental energy. In first-century Palestine, where most lived at subsistence level, these concerns dominated daily life, making Jesus's command particularly radical. Through rhetorical questions, Jesus establishes a hierarchy of values: life itself transcends food, and the body's existence surpasses clothing. This argument from the greater to the lesser suggests that God, who gave life and body, will surely provide their lesser requirements.