^32 (A)Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, ^(B)forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

⁸ but ^(A)God shows his love for us in that ^(B)while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Who Is the Greatest?

18 ^(A)At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” ² And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them ³ and 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, ⁶ but ^(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? ¹³ And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. ¹⁴ So ^(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. ¹⁶ But 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. ¹⁷ If 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. ¹⁸ Truly, 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. ¹⁹ Again 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. ²⁰ For where two or three are ^(AH)gathered in my name, ^(AI)there am I among them.”

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

²¹ Then 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?” ²² Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.

²³ “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished ^(AL)to settle accounts with his servants.^{[g] 24} When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ^(AM)ten thousand ^(AN)talents.^{[h] 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. ²⁶ So the servant^{[i] (AR)}fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ ²⁷ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and ^(AS)forgave him the debt. ²⁸ But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred ^(AT)denarii,^[j] and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ ²⁹ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ ³⁰ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. ³¹ When 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. ³² Then 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,^{[k] (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.”

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

15 Now ^(A)the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. ² And the Pharisees and the scribes ^(B)grumbled, saying, ^(C)“This man receives sinners and ^(D)eats with them.”

³ So he told them this parable: ^4 (E)“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, ^(F)if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine ^(G)in the open country, and ^(H)go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? ⁵ And when he has found it, ^(I)he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. ⁶ And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for ^(J)I have found my sheep that was lost.’ ⁷ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who ^(K)repents than over ninety-nine ^(L)righteous persons who need no repentance.

The Parable of the Lost Coin

⁸ “Or what woman, having ten silver coins,^[a] if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? ⁹ And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ ¹⁰ Just so, I tell you, there is joy before ^(M)the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

The Parable of the Prodigal Son

¹¹ And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. ¹² And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me ^(N)the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided ^(O)his property between them. ¹³ Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in ^(P)reckless living. ¹⁴ And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵ So he went and hired himself out to^[b] one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶ And he ^(Q)was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.

¹⁷ “But ^(R)when he ^(S)came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! ¹⁸ I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, ^(T)I have sinned against ^(U)heaven and before you. ^19 (V)I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ ²⁰ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ^(W)ran and ^(X)embraced him and ^(Y)kissed him. ²¹ And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. ^(Z)I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’^{[c] 22} But the father said to his servants,^[d] ‘Bring quickly ^(AA)the best robe, and put it on him, and put ^(AB)a ring on his hand, and ^(AC)shoes on his feet. ²³ And bring ^(AD)the fattened calf and kill it, and ^(AE)let us eat and celebrate. ²⁴ For this my son ^(AF)was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.

²⁵ “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶ And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. ²⁷ And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ ²⁸ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, ²⁹ but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might ^(AG)celebrate with my friends. ³⁰ But when this son of yours came, ^(AH)who has devoured ^(AI)your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ ³¹ And he said to him, ‘Son, ^(AJ)you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. ³² It was fitting ^(AK)to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother ^(AL)was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”