Short answer: Matthew 6:34 tells Jesus' hearers to stop borrowing tomorrow's troubles today. Each day brings enough of its own. It is the closing line of a longer argument about anxiety, and it depends on the verse before it: because God's kingdom and provision are being sought first, tomorrow can be left in his hands.
The World English Bible renders it:
Therefore don't be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Each day's own evil is sufficient. (Matthew 6:34)
The King James Version gives the phrase many know: "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."
The context
This verse ends a tightly argued passage in the Sermon on the Mount beginning at Matthew 6:25 — "don't be anxious for your life: what you will eat, or what you will drink; nor yet for your body, what you will wear."
Between there and verse 34, Jesus points at birds that do not sow and lilies that do not spin, and notes that the Father knows what his hearers need. Verse 33 supplies the alternative: "seek first God's Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well."
Verse 34 begins with "Therefore." It is a conclusion, not a fresh command. Left in the paragraph, it says something stronger: worry about tomorrow is misplaced because tomorrow already has an owner.
What it means, phrase by phrase
"Don't be anxious for tomorrow." The Greek verb (merimnaō) runs through the whole passage. It describes a divided, distracted mind pulled apart by care — not careful attention, but a mind that cannot settle.
"For tomorrow will be anxious for itself." A striking personification. Tomorrow is granted its own capacity to worry, as though it were a person with its own agenda.
"Each day's own evil is sufficient." "Evil" here means trouble or hardship, not moral wickedness. Notice the realism: Jesus does not say the days are trouble-free. He assumes each carries its own load, and observes that the load is enough. Adding tomorrow's to today's does not distribute the weight. It doubles it.
Does this forbid planning?
No, and the distinction is one Christians across traditions have generally agreed on. Scripture repeatedly commends foresight. Proverbs sends the sluggard to the ant, which stores provisions in summer (Proverbs 6:6–8). Jesus himself speaks approvingly of a builder who counts the cost before starting a tower (Luke 14:28).
The target of Matthew 6:34 is not prudence but anxiety — the habit of living in a future that has not arrived, over which you have no power, without reference to God. Planning takes action about tomorrow. Worry takes the emotion of tomorrow and drags it into today, where it does no work. A rough test: planning ends in a decision. Worry ends in another lap around the same track.
Cross-references
- Matthew 6:25–33 — the full argument, without which verse 34 is unmoored.
- Matthew 6:11 — "Give us today our daily bread." The Lord's Prayer trained them to ask one day at a time.
- Philippians 4:6 — "In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God."
How to apply it today
The most practical thing in this verse is its unit of measurement: the day. Jesus does not command an emotion; he addresses where your mind is permitted to live. Most anxiety is time travel — the payment in March, the scan result in two weeks. You have not been given grace for March. When worry surfaces, ask whether there is an action you can take today. If so, take it — that is planning, and Jesus does not object. If it is tomorrow's trouble, this verse gives you permission, on Christ's own authority, to set it down until it arrives.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Matthew 6:34 mean I shouldn't plan for the future? No. Jesus commends counting the cost before building (Luke 14:28), and Proverbs praises the ant that stores food in summer. The verse targets anxiety — living emotionally in a future you cannot control — not prudent preparation.
What does "sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof" mean? It is the King James rendering of the verse's final clause. "Evil" here means trouble or hardship rather than moral wickedness. Jesus is saying each day carries enough difficulty on its own, so there is no need to import tomorrow's into today.
How is Matthew 6:34 connected to Matthew 6:33? Verse 34 begins with "Therefore," making it the conclusion of verse 33's command to seek first God's kingdom. Freedom from worry is not self-generated calm; it follows from having reordered what you are pursuing and from trusting the Father who supplies what is needed.