Each verse below belongs to the lilies of the field Bible verse theme, from the Sermon on the Mount to the Song of Solomon, quoted word for word from the King James Version.
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?
Matthew 6:25 (KJV)
Jesus opens the lesson by naming the worries that fill most days: food, drink and clothing. His question reframes them. Life is bigger than its supplies, so the worry about the supplies should never be allowed to shrink the life itself.
Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
Matthew 6:26 (KJV)
Before the flowers come the birds. Jesus asks us to watch them and notice that they are fed daily. The argument is from lesser to greater: if the Father looks after sparrows, his children are not forgotten.
Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
Matthew 6:27 (KJV)
A short, honest question. Worry feels productive, yet it cannot add an inch to height or an hour to life. Jesus does not mock the worrier here; he simply shows that anxiety has no power to deliver what it promises.
And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
Matthew 6:28 (KJV)
This is the lilies of the field Bible verse that gives the whole theme its name. Jesus turns from food to clothing and points at wildflowers on the hillside. Their growth is unforced and unadvertised, a living picture of what it looks like to be cared for.
And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Matthew 6:29 (KJV)
In this lilies of the field Bible verse, Solomon stood for the peak of wealth and splendor in Israel’s memory. Jesus says a common flower outshines him. True beauty is God’s gift to what he makes, not something bought, woven or earned by effort.
Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
Matthew 6:30 (KJV)
The lilies of the field Bible verse goes on: even short-lived grass receives careful dressing. Jesus then turns the lesson toward people, who last far longer and matter far more. The gentle phrase little faith describes a weak grip, not a lost one, and invites a stronger trust.
Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
Matthew 6:31 (KJV)
Just after the lilies of the field Bible verse, Jesus names the anxious questions out loud. Many worries are really repeated questions that circle without an answer. Naming them honestly is the first step to handing them over rather than carrying them silently all day long.
(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
Matthew 6:32 (KJV)
The point of the lilies of the field Bible verse is knowledge as well as care. Your Father already knows what you need before you can list it. That changes prayer from informing God into resting in a Father who is already paying attention.
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Matthew 6:33 (KJV)
This verse is the hinge of the passage around the lilies of the field Bible verse. Provision is not ignored; it is placed second. When God’s rule and rightness lead our priorities, the daily needs fall into their proper place and are met as a kind of gift.
Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
Matthew 6:34 (KJV)
Jesus ends the lilies of the field Bible verse passage with a practical rule: live one day at a time. Tomorrow will bring its own trouble and its own grace. Borrowing tomorrow’s worries today only doubles the weight without adding any strength to carry it.
Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?
Luke 12:24 (KJV)
Luke records the same lilies of the field Bible verse with ravens in place of generic birds. Ravens were unclean and unloved, yet God feeds them. If he cares for the overlooked creature, the argument for his care of his own people is even stronger.
Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Luke 12:27 (KJV)
Luke’s wording of the lilies of the field Bible verse is slightly shorter and just as vivid. The command is consider, meaning think carefully about what you see. Scripture invites slow looking at a flower as a way of learning to trust.
If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?
Luke 12:28 (KJV)
Luke repeats the how much more argument. The rhythm of the sentence mirrors the logic: if he does this for grass that burns by tomorrow, what will he not do for those made in his own image and called his children.
Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
Luke 12:32 (KJV)
After the lilies of the field Bible verse, Luke adds a tender word. The flock is small and the fear is real, but the Father is pleased, not reluctant, to give the kingdom. His generosity is a delight to him, not a burden.
I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.
Song of Solomon 2:1 (KJV)
In the Song of Solomon the lily becomes a picture of beauty and delight. Readers have long heard these words as a lyrical image of loveliness, and many Christians also read the lily as a symbol of Christ’s grace and purity.
As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.
Song of Solomon 2:2 (KJV)
The lily here stands out because it grows among thorns. The image speaks of beauty that remains tender and distinct in rough surroundings, and it gives comfort to anyone who is trying to stay gentle in a hard place.
My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies.
Song of Solomon 2:16 (KJV)
The lilies appear again as the setting of love and belonging. Whatever the lily means in nature, in this verse it surrounds the picture of a shepherd who feeds his flock in a lovely place, which echoes the care Jesus describes.
I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.
Hosea 14:5 (KJV)
God promises that he himself will be the dew that makes the lily grow. Growth is possible because he supplies the moisture. The lily also sends down roots, a reminder that quiet beauty is held up by hidden strength.
But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:19 (KJV)
Paul gives the apostolic version of the lilies of the field Bible verse. God supplies need, not every want, and he does it out of his riches, not ours. The measure of supply is the glory of God, which cannot run dry.
Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
1 Peter 5:7 (KJV)
The shortest verse gives the plainest instruction: hand your worry to God, because he is personally concerned about you. The lilies of the field Bible verse proves the principle outwardly; this verse applies it to the inner life of anxious people.
The lilies of the field Bible verse is found in Matthew 6:28-29 and, in a shorter form, in Luke 12:27. Jesus tells his listeners to consider how wildflowers grow without labor and yet wear a beauty greater than Solomon’s royal robes. It is a short picture, only a few lines long, but it carries the weight of an entire sermon about worry, trust and what a life centered on God looks like.
The passage is not a lesson about botany or fashion. It is a lesson about the Father. Every detail points beyond the flower to the one who clothes it. When people search for the lilies of the field Bible verse they are often hunting for comfort, and that is exactly what the passage was spoken to give: a reason to put down the anxious calculation and rest in a God who already sees you.
The lilies of the field Bible verse appears in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount, the long teaching in Matthew 5 to 7 where Jesus describes the life of the kingdom. Just before the lilies, he has been talking about treasure, the eye and the impossibility of serving two masters. The warning about God and money prepares the ground. If money is not our master, then the worry it produces loses its grip on us.
That context matters. Jesus is not scolding poor people for being poor, and he is not telling anyone to stop planning. He is speaking to a crowd of ordinary working people who knew real scarcity. His words about the lilies of the field Bible verse are a pastoral invitation, offered to people with empty cupboards, that the Father they pray to in the next chapter, the one who hears the Lord’s Prayer, truly cares about daily bread.
People reading the lilies of the field Bible verse often ask which flower Jesus pointed to. The Greek word is krinon, which may refer to several brightly colored wildflowers of Galilee, such as anemones, poppies or true lilies. The King James Version simply says lilies, and the setting was likely a springtime hillside covered in color. Scholars debate the exact species, and the passage does not require us to settle the question to understand it.
What matters is that they were common. Nobody planted these flowers, watered them or sold them. They appeared across hillsides without human help and faded in a few days. This detail is the engine of the lilies of the field Bible verse: the ordinary and the temporary are still clothed with beauty, which tells us something good about the God who stands behind them. You can read more about plant imagery in our collection of Bible verses about flowers.
In the lilies of the field Bible verse Jesus says the lilies toil not, neither do they spin. Spinning was the work of making thread for cloth, so the phrase means the flowers do none of the labor that goes into producing clothing. The contrast with human life is plain: we work to cover ourselves, while the lily simply grows and is covered. Jesus is not praising idleness; he is describing who ultimately provides.
This matters for anyone who feels guilty about rest or exhausted by effort. The lilies of the field Bible verse does not cancel honest work, which the Bible praises elsewhere. It removes the idea that our work is the only thing standing between our families and ruin. Work is a means God uses, but he remains the source. When that truth settles in, effort becomes more peaceful, because the outcome is no longer entirely on our shoulders.
Solomon, named in the lilies of the field Bible verse, was the richest king Israel ever had. His throne was covered in ivory and gold, and his court dazzled visiting rulers, as the books of Kings and Chronicles describe. When Jesus says that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like a wildflower, he chooses the strongest comparison his audience could imagine. Human splendor, even at its height, is a pale copy of what God does freely in a field.
There is a gentle humbling here and a gentle comfort. The humbling is that no amount of money or status can produce the beauty of a living flower. The comfort is that the beauty God gives is not reserved for kings. The lilies of the field Bible verse tells ordinary people that they are not poor in the way that matters, because the one who dresses the field is their Father.
Jesus adds a sobering detail to the lilies of the field Bible verse: the grass of the field is here today and tomorrow is cast into the oven. In Galilee dried grass and wildflowers were gathered as cheap fuel for the clay ovens used for baking bread. The beauty was real, but the life of the plant was short. Jesus does not hide this, and that honesty gives the passage its weight.
The point is that God dresses even what is passing. If he takes this much care over something that will be burned for fuel by evening, then the lives of people, made in his image and meant for eternity, are far more precious in his sight. This is the how much more argument that drives the lilies of the field Bible verse. It does not deny that life is fragile; it declares that fragility does not make us forgotten.
In the lilies of the field Bible verse, the phrase little faith is one of Jesus’ favorite expressions for his disciples. It is a mild rebuke, closer to a teacher’s raised eyebrow than a verdict. It names a trust that exists but is underfed. Notice that he does not say no faith, because the disciples do trust him; they simply forget what they know when the bills come due.
This is a kind and realistic diagnosis. Worry is rarely unbelief in God; it is more often forgetfulness about what God has already done. The lilies of the field Bible verse helps because it gives the forgetful heart something to look at. A flower on the table or a field in spring becomes a daily reminder, and faith grows when it is fed with ordinary evidence of a faithful Father. See also our page on Bible verses about faith.
Jesus pairs the lilies with the birds. The birds do not sow, reap or store food in barns, yet the heavenly Father feeds them. The birds show provision in the area of food, the lilies in the area of clothing, so between them Jesus covers the two great daily needs. Together the images form one argument, and the lilies of the field Bible verse is incomplete without them.
Birds are also a good teacher because they are active. A sparrow spends its day searching for seeds and building a nest. Jesus is not describing laziness. He is describing creatures who do what their Creator designed them to do and live from his supply. Faith, in this picture, does not mean sitting still; it means working without the panic and trusting without presuming.
Some readers worry that the lilies of the field Bible verse encourages people to stop working or stop saving. The rest of Scripture says otherwise. Proverbs praises the ant that prepares its food, Paul tells the Thessalonians to work with their hands, and Jesus himself spent years as a carpenter. The teaching is about anxiety, not about diligence.
The line to draw is between wise preparation and fearful preoccupation. Planning a budget, saving for a rainy day and applying for a job are all acts of stewardship. Lying awake counting disasters is something else. The lilies of the field Bible verse invites us to do the first with a calm heart and to let go of the second. If money fears are weighing on you, our page on Bible verses about worrying about money may help.
In the lilies of the field Bible verse, the King James rendering take no thought can sound strange to modern ears. In 1611 the word thought carried the sense of anxious care, and the Greek word merimnao means to be pulled in different directions by concern. The same word describes Martha being distracted in Luke 10. It is anxiety, not thinking, that Jesus forbids.
That clarifies a lot. Jesus is not telling anyone to stop using their mind or to stop planning. He is naming a state of inner division, where worry splits the attention and drains the peace. The lilies of the field Bible verse is a cure for that division. It gives the mind a single quiet picture to rest on, a flower in a field, and from that picture it draws the courage to face the day with a steadier heart.
The lilies of the field Bible verse is not the end of the passage. They lead to Matthew 6:33, where Jesus tells us to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. The flowers answer the question what about my needs, and this verse answers the question what should I do instead of worrying. We redirect our energy toward what God cares about, and trust him with the rest.
Seeking first does not mean seeking only. It means ordering our priorities so that God’s purposes sit at the top. A person who does this still works, still eats and still plans, but now holds those things loosely. If you want to explore this thread more deeply, our collection of Bible verses about seeking God is a good next step after the lilies of the field Bible verse.
Right after the lilies of the field Bible verse, Jesus says that after all these things do the Gentiles seek. In his day, this meant people without the knowledge of Israel’s God, who lived as though the universe were indifferent and every need had to be secured by their own effort. Jesus draws a sharp line: his followers have a Father who knows, so they do not have to live that way.
This is an invitation to live differently from the surrounding culture of worry. Modern life rewards constant striving, and advertising tells us there is always one more thing to secure. The lilies of the field Bible verse gently contradicts that noise. It asks whether we truly believe the Father knows what we need, and if we do, how that belief should change the way we spend our evenings and our mornings.
Luke 12 records the same teaching in a different setting. It follows the parable of the rich fool, a man who stored up grain and planned to retire in comfort, only to hear that his life would be required of him that night. Luke places the lilies right after that story, so the lesson becomes sharper: security cannot be built from barns.
Luke also uses ravens instead of birds and ends with the beautiful line about the little flock. The lilies of the field Bible verse in Luke reads like a pastoral follow-up to a warning. Having shown how foolish it is to trust in stored goods, Jesus now shows how safe it is to trust the Father. For another angle on this theme, read our page on the Consider the Lilies Bible verse.
Luke 12:32 tells the little flock not to fear, for it is the Father’s good pleasure to give them the kingdom. Two things stand out. First, the flock is small. Jesus knows his followers will often feel outnumbered and underpowered. Second, the Father is pleased to give. The kingdom is not wrung out of a reluctant God; it is handed over joyfully.
This changes how we read the lilies of the field Bible verse and all the earlier lines about provision. The lilies are not an example of grudging maintenance. They display a God who delights in beauty and generosity. When we remember that his good pleasure is toward us, the lilies of the field Bible verse stops sounding like a command to calm down and starts sounding like an invitation to be loved, which is a far better reason for peace.
The Song of Solomon uses lilies in a different way. In 2:1 the speaker says I am the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valleys, and the lily becomes a symbol of beauty and delight. The book is a love poem, and flowers sit at the center of its imagery. It is a different context from the Sermon on the Mount, but the same affection for creation runs through both.
Many Christians through the centuries have read these lily verses as pointing to Christ and his church, though the first sense is human love. Either way, the Song shows that the lily is a loved flower in Scripture, not a throwaway detail. When you combine it with the lilies of the field Bible verse, you see that God treats beauty as something worth noticing and worth praising.
Song of Solomon 2:2 pictures a lily among thorns. The thorns are sharp and crowded, but the lily is still lovely. The image has encouraged readers for generations because it describes a kind of beauty that is not dependent on easy conditions. Gentleness and grace can survive, and even stand out, in hard places.
This pairs well with the teaching in Matthew. The lilies of the field Bible verse tells us that God clothes the flower, and the Song tells us that the flower can grow among thorns. Put together, they suggest that the care of God is not limited to comfortable environments. If you feel surrounded by pressure at work or at home, this picture invites you to stay soft and trust that the one who tends the lily tends you. Our page on Bible verses about God’s faithfulness carries the same comfort.
Hosea 14:5 is another lily passage that is often overlooked. God says that he will be as the dew unto Israel, and that Israel shall grow as the lily and cast forth his roots as Lebanon. In the dry Middle Eastern summer, dew was the moisture that sustained plants through the night. God here promises to be that quiet, steady supply.
The verse adds something valuable to the lilies of the field Bible verse. Beauty is paired with roots. The lily blossoms above ground because the roots reach deep below it, and the roots hold because the dew keeps coming. Spiritual life works the same way: public grace depends on private dependence. Take time each day to receive from God, and the growth you need will take care of itself.
The lilies of the field Bible verse is one of many places where Scripture sends us outside to learn. Job tells us to ask the beasts and the birds, Proverbs sends us to the ant, and Psalm 19 says the heavens declare the glory of God. Creation is not a replacement for the Bible, but it is a teacher that reinforces what the Bible says.
This gives practical meaning to Jesus’ command to consider. A walk in a park, a window box or a vase of flowers can become a prayer prompt. You do not need to travel to a mountaintop. You simply need to pay attention long enough to let the flower preach. Explore more of this theme on our page for Bible verses about creation.
Here are a few simple habits that put the lilies of the field Bible verse into practice. First, name your specific worry out loud in prayer and hand it over, using 1 Peter 5:7 as your pattern. Second, keep a single flower or a photo of a field somewhere you see it daily as a reminder. Third, write down one thing God provided this week, however small, and thank him for it.
Fourth, order your day around what matters first. Do the thing that honors God and love of neighbor before you check the anxieties. Fifth, take one day at a time as Matthew 6:34 advises, and refuse to rehearse tomorrow’s troubles tonight. None of these steps is dramatic. Together they form a pattern of trust that, over weeks, changes the tone of an anxious mind and strengthens the heart.
There are a few ways this passage gets misused. Some treat it as a promise that believers will never face hardship or hunger, but Scripture records faithful people who suffered need, including Paul. Others treat it as a rebuke that makes anxious people feel guilty, yet Jesus speaks with tenderness, not scorn. And some treat it as a prosperity promise, which ignores the call to seek the kingdom first.
The best reading keeps the whole passage together. God cares, God knows, and God provides what we need as we seek him. That does not exempt us from pain, and it does not demand perfect calm. It offers a steady relationship with a Father who is committed to our good. Read this way, the lilies of the field Bible verse is a source of strength for the weary instead of a weight on their shoulders.
If you carry a heavy load today, return to the lilies of the field Bible verse and read it slowly. Picture the hillside, the wind and the brilliant color on short stems. Hear Jesus saying that the Father who dressed these flowers sees you and has not forgotten your name. Let the picture do its quiet work, and allow your shoulders to drop a little.
Then take a step forward in the day you actually have. Pray, work, love the people in front of you, and trust the rest. The flowers did not strain to become beautiful, and you do not have to strain to be loved. Look around for a lily this week, and let it remind you that the Father who made it holds you, too. For more on this, see our page on Bible verses about provision.
If the lilies of the field Bible verse spoke to you, these related collections will help you keep going: Bible verses about worry, Bible verses about provision, God will provide Bible verse, Bible verses about nature, Bible verses about trusting God, Bible verses about anxiety, Bible verses about casting your cares, Bible verses about peace and worry, Bible verses about God as provider, Consider the lilies Bible verse.
To study these verses in more depth, try Bible Gateway, Bible Hub, Bible Study Tools, Blue Letter Bible.
The lilies of the field Bible verse is found in Matthew 6:28-29. A parallel passage in Luke 12:27 says consider the lilies. In both, Jesus uses wildflowers as an example of how God provides and cares for his people, and he tells his listeners not to be anxious about clothing, food or tomorrow.
The lilies of the field Bible verse means that God, who clothes wildflowers with beauty they never earned, will care for the needs of his people. Jesus uses the lilies to teach trust and to challenge anxiety, ending with a call to seek God’s kingdom first and trust him for daily needs.
The Greek word likely refers to colorful wildflowers growing in Galilee, such as anemones or true lilies. The KJV renders it lilies. The exact species is uncertain, but the point is clear: they are common, unplanted flowers that God dresses beautifully without any human effort.
No. Scripture elsewhere praises hard work and wise preparation, and Paul commands believers to work. Jesus is warning against anxious, fearful worry, not against diligence. The lilies of the field Bible verse invites us to work and plan while trusting God as the true source of provision.
Solomon was the wealthiest and most splendid king in Israel’s history. In the lilies of the field Bible verse, by saying that a wildflower is dressed better than Solomon in all his glory, Jesus shows that God’s gifts surpass the finest human achievements, and that ordinary people are cared for by a generous Father.
The Song uses the lily as an image of beauty and love. The speaker calls herself the lily of the valleys and describes a love like a lily among thorns. Many readers also see the lily as a symbol of Christ’s grace, though the first sense is poetic and romantic.
Name the worry in prayer, hand it to God as 1 Peter 5:7 invites, and focus on today’s tasks instead of tomorrow’s fears. Keep a reminder of the lilies of the field Bible verse in view, practice gratitude for daily provision, and seek God’s purposes first as Matthew 6:33 teaches.
