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?” 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.”
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 18:23 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
Matthew 18
New Living Translation
The Greatest in the Kingdom
18 About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”
2 Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. 3 Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. 4 So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.
5 “And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf[a] is welcoming me. 6 But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea.
7 “What sorrow awaits the world, because it tempts people to sin. Temptations are inevitable, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting. 8 So if your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one hand or one foot than to be thrown into eternal fire with both of your hands and feet. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.[b]
10 “Beware that you don’t look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels are always in the presence of my heavenly Father.[c]
Parable of the Lost Sheep
12 “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost? 13 And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn’t wander away! 14 In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish.
Correcting Another Believer
15 “If another believer[d] sins against you,[e] go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. 16 But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses. 17 If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector.
18 “I tell you the truth, whatever you forbid[f] on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit[g] on earth will be permitted in heaven.
19 “I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. 20 For where two or three gather together as my followers,[h] I am there among them.”
Parable of the Unforgiving Debtor
21 Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone[i] who sins against me? Seven times?”
22 “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven![j]
23 “Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. 24 In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars.[k] 25 He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt.
26 “But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ 27 Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.
28 “But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars.[l] He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.
29 “His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. 30 But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full.
31 “When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. 32 Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. 33 Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ 34 Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.
35 “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters[m] from your heart.”
Footnotes
- 18:5 Greek in my name.
- 18:9 Greek the Gehenna of fire.
- 18:10 Some manuscripts add verse 11, And the Son of Man came to save those who are lost. Compare Luke 19:10.
- 18:15a Greek If your brother.
- 18:15b Some manuscripts do not include against you.
- 18:18a Or bind, or lock.
- 18:18b Or loose, or open.
- 18:20 Greek gather together in my name.
- 18:21 Greek my brother.
- 18:22 Or seventy-seven times.
- 18:24 Greek 10,000 talents [375 tons or 340 metric tons of silver].
- 18:28 Greek 100 denarii. A denarius was equivalent to a laborer’s full day’s wage.
- 18:35 Greek your brother.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
