Matthew 18
Christian Standard Bible
Who Is the Greatest?
18 At that time[a](A) the disciples(B) came to Jesus and asked, “So who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” (C) 2 He called a small child and had him stand among them. 3 “Truly I tell you,” he said, “unless you turn and become like little children,(D) you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.(E) 4 Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child—this one is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever welcomes[b] one child like this in my name welcomes me.
6 “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to fall away—it would be better for him if a heavy millstone were hung around his neck and he were drowned in the depths of the sea.(F) 7 Woe to the world because of offenses. For offenses will inevitably come, but woe to that person by whom the offense comes.(G) 8 If your hand or your foot causes you to fall away, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or lame than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into the eternal fire.(H) 9 And if your eye causes you to fall away, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hellfire.[c](I)
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
10 “See to it that you don’t despise one of these little ones,(J) because I tell you that in heaven their angels(K) continually view the face of my Father in heaven.[d](L) 12 What do you think?(M) If someone has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, won’t he leave the ninety-nine on the hillside and go and search for the stray?(N) 13 And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over that sheep[e] more than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. 14 In the same way, it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones perish.
Restoring a Brother
15 “If your brother sins against you,[f] go tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won your brother.(O) 16 But if he won’t listen, take one or two others with you, so that by the testimony[g] of two or three witnesses every fact may be established.[h](P) 17 If he doesn’t pay attention to them, tell the church.[i](Q) If he doesn’t pay attention even to the church, let him be like a Gentile and a tax collector to you.(R) 18 Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will have been bound[j] in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will have been loosed[k] in heaven.(S) 19 Again, truly I tell you, if two of you on earth agree about any matter that you[l] pray for, it will be done for you[m] by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there among them.”
The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant
21 Then Peter approached him and asked, “Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? As many as seven times?” (T)
22 “I tell you, not as many as seven,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven.[n]
23 “For this reason, the kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began to settle accounts, one who owed ten thousand talents[o] was brought before him. 25 Since he did not have the money to pay it back, his master commanded that he, his wife, his children, and everything he had be sold to pay the debt.(U)
26 “At this, the servant fell facedown before him and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 Then the master of that servant had compassion, released him, and forgave him the loan.
28 “That servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii.[p](V) He grabbed him, started choking him, and said, ‘Pay what you owe!’
29 “At this, his fellow servant fell down[q] and began begging him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ 30 But he wasn’t willing. Instead, he went and threw him into prison until he could pay what was owed. 31 When the other servants saw what had taken place, they were deeply distressed and went and reported to their master everything that had happened. 32 Then, after he had summoned him, his master said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. 33 Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’(W) 34 And because he was angry, his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured until he could pay everything that was owed. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to you unless every one of you forgives his brother or sister[r] from your heart.”(X)
Footnotes
- 18:1 Lit hour
- 18:5 Or receives
- 18:9 Lit gehenna of fire
- 18:10 Some mss include v. 11: For the Son of Man has come to save the lost.
- 18:13 Lit over it
- 18:15 Other mss omit against you
- 18:16 Lit mouth
- 18:16 Dt 19:15
- 18:17 Or congregation
- 18:18 Or earth will be bound
- 18:18 Or earth will be loosed
- 18:19 Lit they
- 18:19 Lit for them
- 18:22 Or but seventy-seven times
- 18:24 A talent is worth about 6,000 denarii, or twenty years’ wages for a laborer
- 18:28 A denarius = one day’s wage
- 18:29 Other mss add at his feet
- 18:35 Other mss add their trespasses
Matthew 18
Lexham English Bible
The Question About Who Is Greatest
18 At that time the disciples came up to Jesus, saying, “Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And calling a child to himself, he had him stand in their midst 3 and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you turn around and become like young children, you will never enter into the kingdom of heaven! 4 Therefore whoever humbles himself like this child, this person is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, 5 and whoever welcomes one child such as this in my name welcomes me. 6 But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him that a large millstone[a] be hung on[b] his neck and he be drowned in the depths of the sea. 7 Woe to the world because of causes for stumbling, for it is a necessity that causes for stumbling come; nevertheless, woe to the person through whom the cause for stumbling comes. 8 And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it[c] from you! It is better for you to enter into life crippled or lame than, having two hands or two feet, to be thrown into the eternal fire! 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it[d] from you! It is better for you to enter into life one-eyed than, having two eyes, to be thrown into fiery hell!
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
10 “See to it that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I tell you that their angels in heaven constantly see the face of my Father who is in heaven.[e] 12 What do you think? If a certain man has[f] a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go and[g] look for the one that wandered away? 13 And if he happens to find it, truly I say to you that he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that did not wander away. 14 In the same way it is not the will of[h] your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.
Confronting a Brother Who Sins Against You
15 “Now if your brother sins against you, go correct him between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take with you in addition one or two others, so that by the testimony[i] of two or three witnesses every matter may be established. 17 And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it[j] to the church. But if he refuses to listen to the church also, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.
18 “Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will be released in heaven. 19 Again, truly I say to you that if two of you agree on earth about any matter that they ask, it will be done for them from my Father who is in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there in the midst of them.”
The Parable of the Unforgiving Slave
21 Then Peter came up to him and[k] said,[l] “Lord, how many times will my brother sin against me and I will forgive him? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven![m]
23 “For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man—a king—who wanted to settle accounts with his slaves. 24 And when[n] he began to settle them,[o] someone was brought to him who owed ten thousand talents. 25 And because[p] he did not have enough[q] to repay it,[r] the master ordered him to be sold, and his[s] wife and his[t] children and everything that he had, and to be repaid. 26 Then the slave threw himself to the ground and[u] began to do obeisance to him, saying, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay back everything to you!’ 27 So the master of that slave, because he[v] had compassion, released him and forgave him the loan. 28 But that slave went out and[w] found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii, and taking hold of him, he began to choke him,[x] saying, ‘Pay back everything that you owe!’ 29 Then his fellow slave threw himself to the ground and[y] began to implore[z] him, saying, ‘Be patient with me and I will repay you!’ 30 But he did not want to, but rather he went and[aa] threw him into prison until he would repay what was owed. 31 So when[ab] his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were extremely distressed, and went and[ac] reported to their master everything that had happened. 32 Then his master summoned him and[ad] said to him, ‘Wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you implored me! 33 Should you not also have shown mercy to your fellow slave as I also showed mercy to you?’ 34 And because he[ae] was angry, his master handed him over to the merciless jailers[af] until he would repay everything that was owed. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from your hearts!”
Footnotes
- Matthew 18:6 Literally “a millstone of a donkey”
- Matthew 18:6 Some manuscripts have “around”
- Matthew 18:8 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Matthew 18:9 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Matthew 18:10 Many later Greek manuscripts include vs. 11, “For the Son of Man came to save those who are lost.”
- Matthew 18:12 Literally “there are to a certain man”
- Matthew 18:12 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“go”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Matthew 18:14 Literally “in the presence of”
- Matthew 18:16 Literally “the mouth”
- Matthew 18:17 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Matthew 18:21 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“came up”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Matthew 18:21 Some manuscripts have “Then Peter came up and said to him”
- Matthew 18:22 Or “seventy-seven times”
- Matthew 18:24 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“began”)
- Matthew 18:24 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Matthew 18:25 Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“have”) which is understood as causal
- Matthew 18:25 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Matthew 18:25 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Matthew 18:25 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
- Matthew 18:25 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
- Matthew 18:26 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“threw himself to the ground”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Matthew 18:27 Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“had compassion”) which is understood as causal
- Matthew 18:28 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“went out”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Matthew 18:28 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Matthew 18:29 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“threw himself to the ground”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Matthew 18:29 The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to implore”)
- Matthew 18:30 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“went”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Matthew 18:31 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“saw”) which is understood as temporal
- Matthew 18:31 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“went”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Matthew 18:32 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“summoned”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Matthew 18:34 Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“was angry”) which is understood as causal
- Matthew 18:34 Or “torturers”
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