Matthew 18:15-20
English Standard Version
If Your Brother Sins Against You
15 (A)“If your brother sins against you, (B)go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have (C)gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established (D)by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, (E)tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, (F)let him be to you as (G)a Gentile and (H)a tax collector. 18 Truly, I say to you, (I)whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed[a] in heaven. 19 Again I say to you, if two of you (J)agree on earth about anything they ask, (K)it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are (L)gathered in my name, (M)there am I among them.”
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- Matthew 18:18 Or shall have been bound… shall have been loosed
Matthew 18:15-20
The Message
15-17 “If a fellow believer hurts you, go and tell him—work it out between the two of you. If he listens, you’ve made a friend. If he won’t listen, take one or two others along so that the presence of witnesses will keep things honest, and try again. If he still won’t listen, tell the church. If he won’t listen to the church, you’ll have to start over from scratch, confront him with the need for repentance, and offer again God’s forgiving love.
18-20 “Take this most seriously: A yes on earth is yes in heaven; a no on earth is no in heaven. What you say to one another is eternal. I mean this. When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Father in heaven goes into action. And when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I’ll be there.”
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Matthew 18:15-20
New King James Version
Dealing with a Sinning Brother
15 “Moreover (A)if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, (B)you have gained your brother. 16 But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that (C)‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ 17 And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a (D)heathen and a tax collector.
18 “Assuredly, I say to you, (E)whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
19 (F)“Again[a] I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, (G)it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered (H)together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”
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- Matthew 18:19 NU, M Again, assuredly, I say
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
