Matthew 18-19 (Amplified Bible)

Matthew 18

 ¹AT THAT time the disciples came up and asked Jesus, Who then is [really] the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?

    ²And He called a little child to Himself and put him in the midst of them,

    ³And said, Truly I say to you, unless you repent (change, turn about) and become like little children [trusting, lowly, loving, forgiving], you can never enter the kingdom of heaven [at all].

    ⁴Whoever will humble himself therefore and become like this little child [trusting, lowly, loving, forgiving] is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

    ⁵And whoever receives and accepts and welcomes one little child like this for My sake and in My name receives and accepts and welcomes Me.

    ⁶But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in and ^[a]acknowledge and cleave to Me to stumble and sin [that is, who entices him or hinders him in right conduct or thought], it would be better (^[b]more expedient and profitable or advantageous) for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be sunk in the depth of the sea.

    ⁷Woe to the world for such temptations to sin and influences to do wrong! It is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the person on whose account or by whom the temptation comes!

    ⁸And if your hand or your foot causes you to stumble and sin, cut it off and throw it away from you; it is better (more profitable and wholesome) for you to enter life maimed or lame than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into everlasting fire.

    ⁹And if your eye causes you to stumble and sin, pluck it out and throw it away from you; it is better (more profitable and wholesome) for you to enter life with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the hell (Gehenna) of fire.

    ¹⁰Beware that you do not despise or feel scornful toward or think little of one of these little ones, for I tell you that in heaven their angels always are in the presence of and look upon the face of My Father Who is in heaven.

    ^11[c]For the Son of man came to save [^[d]from the penalty of eternal death] that which was lost.

    ¹²What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray and gets lost, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountain and go in search of the one that is lost?

    ¹³And if it should be that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not get lost.

    ¹⁴Just so it is not the will of My Father Who is in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost and perish.

    ¹⁵If your brother wrongs you, go and show him his fault, between you and him privately. If he listens to you, you have won back your brother.

    ¹⁶But if he does not listen, take along with you one or two others, so that every word may be confirmed and upheld by the testimony of two or three witnesses.

    ¹⁷If he pays no attention to them [refusing to listen and obey], tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a pagan and a tax collector.^(A)

    ¹⁸Truly I tell you, whatever you forbid and declare to be improper and unlawful on earth must be ^[e]what is already forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit and declare proper and lawful on earth must be ^[f]what is already permitted in heaven.

    ¹⁹Again I tell you, if two of you on earth agree (harmonize together, make a symphony together) about whatever [anything and ^[g]everything] they may ask, it will come to pass and be done for them by My Father in heaven.

    ²⁰For wherever two or three are gathered (drawn together as My followers) in (into) My name, there I AM in the midst of them.^(B)

    ²¹Then Peter came up to Him and said, Lord, how many times may my brother sin against me and I forgive him and ^[h]let it go? [As many as] up to seven times?

    ²²Jesus answered him, I tell you, not up to seven times, but seventy times seven!^(C)

    ²³Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a human king who wished to settle accounts with his attendants.

    ²⁴When he began the accounting, one was brought to him who owed him 10,000 talents [probably about $10,000,000],

    ²⁵And because he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and his children and everything that he possessed, and payment to be made.

    ²⁶So the attendant fell on his knees, begging him, Have patience with me and I will pay you everything.

    ²⁷And his master's heart was moved with compassion, and he released him and forgave him [cancelling] the debt.

    ²⁸But that same attendant, as he went out, found one of his fellow attendants who owed him a hundred denarii [about twenty dollars]; and he caught him by the throat and said, Pay what you owe!

    ²⁹So his fellow attendant fell down and begged him earnestly, Give me time, and I will pay you all !

    ³⁰But he was unwilling, and he went out and had him put in prison till he should pay the debt.

    ³¹When his fellow attendants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and told everything that had taken place to their master.

    ³²Then his master called him and said to him, You contemptible and wicked attendant! I forgave and cancelled all that [great] debt of yours because you begged me to.

    ³³And should you not have had pity and mercy on your fellow attendant, as I had pity and mercy on you?

    ³⁴And in wrath his master turned him over to the torturers (the jailers), till he should pay all that he owed.

    ³⁵So also My heavenly Father will deal with every one of you if you do not freely forgive your brother from your heart his offenses.

   

Matthew 19

 ¹NOW WHEN Jesus had finished saying these things, He left Galilee and went into the part of Judea that is beyond the Jordan;

    ²And great throngs accompanied Him, and He cured them there.

    ³And Pharisees came to Him and put Him to the test by asking, Is it lawful and right to dismiss and repudiate and divorce one's wife for any and ^[i]every cause?

    ⁴He replied, Have you never read that He Who made them from the beginning made them male and female,

    ⁵And said, For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be united firmly (joined inseparably) to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh?^(D)

    ⁶So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder (separate).

    ⁷They said to Him, Why then did Moses command [us] to give a certificate of divorce and thus to dismiss and repudiate a wife?^(E)

    ⁸He said to them, Because of the hardness (stubbornness and perversity) of your hearts Moses permitted you to dismiss and repudiate and divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been ^[j]so [ordained].

    ⁹I say to you: whoever dismisses (repudiates, divorces) his wife, except for unchastity, and marries another commits adultery, ^[k]and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

    ¹⁰The disciples said to Him, If the case of a man with his wife is like this, it is neither profitable nor advisable to marry.

    ¹¹But He said to them, Not all men can accept this saying, but it is for those to whom [the capacity to receive] it has been given.

    ¹²For there are eunuchs who have been born incapable of marriage; and there are eunuchs who have been made so by men; and there are eunuchs who have made themselves incapable of marriage for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let him who is able to accept this accept it.

    ¹³Then little children were brought to Jesus, that He might put His hands on them and pray; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them.

    ¹⁴But He said, Leave the children alone! Allow the little ones to come to Me, and do not forbid or restrain or hinder them, for of such [as these] is the kingdom of heaven composed.

    ¹⁵And He put His hands upon them, and then went on His way.

    ¹⁶And behold, there came a man up to Him, saying, Teacher, what excellent and perfectly and essentially good deed must I do to possess eternal life?^(F)

    ¹⁷And He said to him, Why do you ask Me about the perfectly and essentially good? There is only One Who is good [perfectly and essentially]--God. If you would enter into the Life, you must continually keep the commandments.

    ¹⁸He said to Him, What ^[l]sort of commandments? [Or, which ones?] And Jesus answered, You shall not kill, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness,^(G)

    ¹⁹Honor your father and your mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as [you do] yourself.^(H)

    ²⁰The young man said, I have observed all these from my youth; what still do I lack?

    ²¹Jesus answered him, If you would be perfect [that is, ^[m]have that spiritual maturity which accompanies self-sacrificing character], go and sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; and come, ^[n]be My disciple [side with My party and follow Me].

    ²²But when the young man heard this, he went away sad (grieved and in much distress), for he had great possessions.

    ²³And Jesus said to His disciples, Truly I say to you, it will be difficult for a rich man to get into the kingdom of heaven.

    ²⁴Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to go into the kingdom of heaven.

    ²⁵When the disciples heard this, they were utterly puzzled (astonished, bewildered), saying, Who then can be saved [^[o]from eternal death]?

    ²⁶But Jesus looked at them and said, With men this is impossible, but all things are possible with God.^(I)

    ²⁷Then Peter answered Him, saying, Behold, we have left [our] all and have become ^[p]Your disciples [sided with Your party and followed You]. What then shall we receive?

    ²⁸Jesus said to them, Truly I say to you, in the new age [the ^[q]Messianic rebirth of the world], when the Son of Man shall sit down on the throne of His glory, you who have [become My disciples, sided with My party and] followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones and judge the twelve tribes of Israel.

    ²⁹And anyone and everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for My name's sake will receive ^[r]many [even a hundred] times more and will inherit eternal life.

    ³⁰But many who [now] are first will be last [then], and many who [now] are last will be first [then].