Matthew 18

English Standard Version

Who Is the Greatest?

18 ^(A)At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” ²And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them ³and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you ^(B)turn and ^(C)become like children, you ^(D)will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴^(E)Whoever humbles himself like this child is the ^(F)greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

⁵^(G)“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, ⁶but ^(H)whoever causes one of these ^(I)little ones who believe in me to sin,^[a] it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

Temptations to Sin

⁷“Woe to the world for ^(J)temptations to sin!^[b] ^(K)For it is necessary that temptations come, ^(L)but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! ⁸^(M)And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into ^(N)the eternal fire. ⁹^(O)And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the ^(P)hell^[c] of fire.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

¹⁰“See that you do not despise ^(Q)one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven ^(R)their angels always ^(S)see the face of my Father who is in heaven.^[d] ¹²^(T)What do you think? ^(U)If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? ¹³And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. ¹⁴So ^(V)it is not the will of my^[e] Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

If Your Brother Sins Against You

¹⁵^(W)“If your brother sins against you, ^(X)go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have ^(Y)gained your brother. ¹⁶But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established ^(Z)by the evidence of two or three witnesses. ¹⁷If he refuses to listen to them, ^(AA)tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, ^(AB)let him be to you as ^(AC)a Gentile and ^(AD)a tax collector. ¹⁸Truly, I say to you, ^(AE)whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed^[f] in heaven. ¹⁹Again I say to you, if two of you ^(AF)agree on earth about anything they ask, ^(AG)it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. ²⁰For where two or three are ^(AH)gathered in my name, ^(AI)there am I among them.”

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

²¹Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often ^(AJ)will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? ^(AK)As many as seven times?” ²²Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.^[g]

²³“Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished ^(AL)to settle accounts with his servants.^[h] ²⁴When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ^(AM)ten thousand ^(AN)talents.^[i] ²⁵^(AO)And since he could not pay, his master ordered him ^(AP)to be sold, with his wife and ^(AQ)children and all that he had, and payment to be made. ²⁶So the servant^[j] ^(AR)fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ ²⁷And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and ^(AS)forgave him the debt. ²⁸But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred ^(AT)denarii,^[k] and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ ²⁹So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ ³⁰He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. ³¹When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. ³²Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. ³³^(AU)And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ ³⁴^(AV)And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers,^[l] ^(AW)until he should pay all his debt. ³⁵^(AX)So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother ^(AY)from your heart.”

Footnotes

Matthew 18:6 Greek causes… to stumble; also verses 8, 9
Matthew 18:7 Greek stumbling blocks
Matthew 18:9 Greek Gehenna
Matthew 18:10 Some manuscripts add verse 11: For the Son of Man came to save the lost
Matthew 18:14 Some manuscripts your
Matthew 18:18 Or shall have been bound… shall have been loosed
Matthew 18:22 Or seventy times seven
Matthew 18:23 Or bondservants; also verses 28, 31
Matthew 18:24 A talent was a monetary unit worth about twenty years' wages for a laborer
Matthew 18:26 Or bondservant; also verses 27, 28, 29, 32, 33
Matthew 18:28 A denarius was a day's wage for a laborer
Matthew 18:34 Greek torturers

Psalm 106

English Standard Version

Give Thanks to the Lord, for He Is Good

106 ^(A)Praise the Lord!
^(B)Oh give thanks to the Lord, ^(C)for he is good,
    ^(D)for his steadfast love endures forever!
²Who can utter the mighty deeds of the Lord,
    or declare all his praise?
³Blessed are they who observe justice,
    who ^(E)do righteousness at all times!

⁴^(F)Remember me, O Lord, when you show favor to your people;
    help me when you save them,^[a]
⁵that I may look upon the prosperity of your ^(G)chosen ones,
    that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,
    that I may glory with your inheritance.

⁶^(H)Both we and ^(I)our fathers have sinned;
    we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedness.
⁷Our fathers, when they were in Egypt,
    did not consider your wondrous works;
they ^(J)did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love,
    but ^(K)rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.
⁸Yet he saved them ^(L)for his name's sake,
    ^(M)that he might make known his mighty power.
⁹He ^(N)rebuked the Red Sea, and it ^(O)became dry,
    and he ^(P)led them through the deep as through a desert.
¹⁰So he ^(Q)saved them from the hand of the foe
    and ^(R)redeemed them from the power of the enemy.
¹¹And ^(S)the waters covered their adversaries;
    not one of them was left.
¹²Then ^(T)they believed his words;
    they ^(U)sang his praise.

¹³But they soon ^(V)forgot his works;
    they did not wait for ^(W)his counsel.
¹⁴But they had ^(X)a wanton craving in the wilderness,
    and ^(Y)put God to the test in the desert;
¹⁵he ^(Z)gave them what they asked,
    but sent ^(AA)a wasting disease among them.

¹⁶When men in the camp ^(AB)were jealous of Moses
    and Aaron, ^(AC)the holy one of the Lord,
¹⁷^(AD)the earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,
    and covered the company of Abiram.
¹⁸^(AE)Fire also broke out in their company;
    the flame burned up the wicked.

¹⁹They ^(AF)made a calf in Horeb
    and worshiped a metal image.
²⁰They ^(AG)exchanged the glory of God^[b]
    for the image of an ox that eats grass.
²¹They ^(AH)forgot God, their Savior,
    who had done great things in Egypt,
²²wondrous works in ^(AI)the land of Ham,
    and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.
²³Therefore ^(AJ)he said he would destroy them—
    had not Moses, his ^(AK)chosen one,
^(AL)stood in the breach before him,
    to turn away his wrath from destroying them.

²⁴Then they ^(AM)despised ^(AN)the pleasant land,
    having ^(AO)no faith in his promise.
²⁵They ^(AP)murmured in their tents,
    and did not obey the voice of the Lord.
²⁶Therefore he ^(AQ)raised his hand and swore to them
    that he would make them fall in the wilderness,
²⁷and would make their offspring fall among the nations,
    ^(AR)scattering them among the lands.

²⁸Then they ^(AS)yoked themselves to the ^(AT)Baal of Peor,
    and ate sacrifices offered to ^(AU)the dead;
²⁹they provoked the Lord to anger with their deeds,
    and a plague broke out among them.
³⁰Then ^(AV)Phinehas stood up and intervened,
    and the plague was stayed.
³¹And that was ^(AW)counted to him as righteousness
    from generation to generation forever.

³²They ^(AX)angered him at the waters of Meribah,
and it went ill with Moses on their account,
³³for they ^(AY)made his spirit bitter,^[c]
and he ^(AZ)spoke rashly with his lips.

³⁴They did not ^(BA)destroy the peoples,
    ^(BB)as the Lord commanded them,
³⁵but they ^(BC)mixed with the nations
    and learned to do as they did.
³⁶They served their idols,
    which became ^(BD)a snare to them.
³⁷They ^(BE)sacrificed their sons
    and their daughters to ^(BF)the demons;
³⁸they poured out innocent blood,
    the blood of their sons and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,
    and the land was ^(BG)polluted with blood.
³⁹Thus they ^(BH)became unclean by their acts,
    and ^(BI)played the whore in their deeds.

⁴⁰Then ^(BJ)the anger of the Lord was kindled against ^(BK)his people,
    and he abhorred his ^(BL)heritage;
⁴¹he ^(BM)gave them into the hand of the nations,
    so that those who hated them ruled over them.
⁴²Their enemies ^(BN)oppressed them,
    and they were brought into subjection under their power.
⁴³^(BO)Many times he delivered them,
    but they were rebellious in their ^(BP)purposes
    and were ^(BQ)brought low through their iniquity.

⁴⁴Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress,
    when he ^(BR)heard their cry.
⁴⁵For their sake he ^(BS)remembered his covenant,
    and ^(BT)relented according to ^(BU)the abundance of his steadfast love.
⁴⁶He caused them to be ^(BV)pitied
    by all those who held them captive.

⁴⁷^(BW)Save us, O Lord our God,
and ^(BX)gather us from among the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name
and glory in your praise.

⁴⁸^(BY)Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting!
^(BZ)And let all the people say, “Amen!”
^(CA)Praise the Lord!

Footnotes

Psalm 106:4 Or Remember me, O Lord, with the favor you show to your people; help me with your salvation
Psalm 106:20 Hebrew exchanged their glory
Psalm 106:33 Or they rebelled against God's Spirit