Matthew 6:21

In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

The World English Bible translates the passage as:

for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

For additional translations see here: Matthew 6:21

March for Jesus 2012 in Strasbourg, France, showing some banners taken from the French text of Matthew 6:21.

In the previous two verses Jesus explained why one should store one's treasure in heaven rather than on earth. This verse states that if one places one's treasure in heaven that is where one's heart or attention will be. This is an implicit warning, which is made clear later in the chapter, that if one's treasure is on earth, one's heart and attention will also be on earthly matters, to the exclusion of God. While the previous verses stated that placing one's treasures in heaven was wise, this one shifts to warning that not doing so might lead to a life of futility seeking treasures that will not matter in light of eternity. Matthew 6:24 makes this explicit. This verse also makes clear that treasure is not some specific collection of objects, but is rather anything that one values in life.

In the book "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J. K. Rowling, it is written that the inscription on the tombstone of Ariana Dumbledore reads "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also".[1] This is taken from the King James Version of Matthew 6:21 or Luke 12:34, which are identical.[2][3]

• Luz, Ulrich. Matthew 1-7: A Commentary. trans. Wilhlem C. Linss. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortess, 1989.
• Morris, Leon. The Gospel According to Matthew. Grand Rapids: W.B. Eerdmans, 1992.