Psalm 130

A song of ascents.

Thanksgiving and Prayer

³ I thank my God every time I remember you.^{(A) 4} In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray^(B) with joy ⁵ because of your partnership^(C) in the gospel from the first day^(D) until now, ⁶ being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion^(E) until the day of Christ Jesus.^(F)

⁷ It is right^(G) for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart^(H) and, whether I am in chains^(I) or defending^(J) and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. ⁸ God can testify^(K) how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

⁹ And this is my prayer: that your love^(L) may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,^{(M) 10} so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,^{(N) 11} filled with the fruit of righteousness^(O) that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant

²¹ Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me?^(A) Up to seven times?”^(B)

²² Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.^[a](C)

²³ “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like^(D) a king who wanted to settle accounts^(E) with his servants. ²⁴ As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold^[b] was brought to him. ²⁵ Since he was not able to pay,^(F) the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold^(G) to repay the debt.

²⁶ “At this the servant fell on his knees before him.^(H) ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ ²⁷ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

²⁸ “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins.^[c] He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.

²⁹ “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’

³⁰ “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. ³¹ When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.

³² “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. ³³ Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ ³⁴ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

³⁵ “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”^(I)

Psalm 133

A song of ascents. Of David.