Matthew 6:19
“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Context
Jesus shifts to the subject of wealth and priorities, beginning a teaching that contrasts earthly and heavenly treasure and leads to the truth that where our treasure is, there our heart will be.
What Does Matthew 6:19 Mean?
Jesus warns against hoarding earthly treasure because such wealth is fragile and temporary -- vulnerable to moth, rust, and theft. He names the threats plainly: moth destroys fine garments, rust corrodes stored goods, and thieves break in to steal. Whatever we pile up on earth is exposed to loss, decay, and ruin. Nothing here lasts.
This is the first half of a contrast that continues in the next verse, where Jesus points to treasures in heaven that cannot be lost. He is not condemning possessions themselves or the responsible use of money, but the misguided effort to make earthly wealth our security and life's goal. To "lay up treasures" for ourselves on earth is to invest our hearts in things that will inevitably perish. The folly is not in having, but in trusting and treasuring what cannot endure. Jesus invites a clear-eyed look at the nature of material things: they are passing away even as we cling to them. This teaching frees us from the exhausting and ultimately futile pursuit of accumulating what we cannot keep. The question is where we are storing up what we value most. Earthly treasure makes a poor and perishable foundation; Jesus calls us to set our hearts on what time, decay, and theft can never touch.
In the Original Language
The Greek thesaurizo, "lay up," means to store up or accumulate treasure. "Corrupt" renders aphanizo, to ruin or make disappear -- vividly picturing the destruction of earthly goods.
Cross References
“Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.”
- Luke 12:33
“Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;”
- 1 Timothy 6:17
“Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.”
- James 5:2
Application
Hold your possessions loosely and refuse to make perishable wealth your security; invest your heart instead in what decay and loss can never touch.