Matthew 18
Legacy Standard Bible
Who Is Greatest in Heaven?
18 (A)At that [a]time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “(B)Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And He called a child to Himself and set him [b]before them, 3 and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you [c]are converted and (C)become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever therefore will humble himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; 6 but (D)whoever (E)causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it is better for him that a [d]heavy millstone be hung around his neck, and that he be drowned in the depth of the sea.
Stumbling Blocks
7 “Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For (F)it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; nevertheless, woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!
8 “(G)And if your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than, having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the eternal fire. 9 (H)And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into the [e](I)fiery hell.
10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that (J)their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven. 11 [f][(K)For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.]
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
12 “What do you think? (L)If any man has one hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying? 13 And if it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. 14 In this way, it is not the will [g]of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.
If Your Brother Sins
15 “(M)Now if your brother sins[h], go and [i]show him his fault, between you and him alone; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. 16 But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that (N)by the mouth of two or three witnesses every [j]fact may be confirmed. 17 And if he refuses to listen to them, (O)tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, (P)let him be to you as the Gentile and the tax collector. 18 Truly I say to you, (Q)whatever you [k]bind on earth [l]shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you [m]loose on earth [n]shall have been loosed in heaven.
19 “Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, (R)it shall be done for them [o]by My Father who is in heaven. 20 For where two or three have gathered together in My name, (S)I am there in their midst.”
Forgiveness
21 Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, (T)how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to (U)seven times?” 22 Jesus *said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to (V)seventy times seven.
23 “For this reason (W)the kingdom of heaven [p]may be compared to a king who wished to (X)settle accounts with his slaves. 24 When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand [q]talents was brought to him. 25 But since he [r](Y)did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him (Z)to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made. 26 Therefore, the slave fell to the ground and (AA)was prostrating himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’ 27 And feeling compassion, the lord of that slave released him and (AB)forgave him the [s]debt. 28 But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him one hundred [t]denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ 29 So, his fellow slave fell to the ground and was pleading with him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’ 30 But he was unwilling [u]and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed. 31 So, when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened. 32 Then summoning him, his lord *said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 (AC)Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’ 34 And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. 35 (AD)My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your hearts.”
Footnotes
- Matthew 18:1 Lit hour
- Matthew 18:2 Lit in their midst
- Matthew 18:3 Lit are turned
- Matthew 18:6 Lit millstone turned by a donkey
- Matthew 18:9 Lit Gehenna of fire
- Matthew 18:11 Early mss omit this v
- Matthew 18:14 Lit before
- Matthew 18:15 Later mss add against you
- Matthew 18:15 Or reprove him,
- Matthew 18:16 Lit word
- Matthew 18:18 Or forbid
- Matthew 18:18 Gr fut. pft. pass.
- Matthew 18:18 Or permit
- Matthew 18:18 Gr fut. pft. pass.
- Matthew 18:19 Lit from
- Matthew 18:23 Lit was compared to
- Matthew 18:24 A talent was approx. worth more than 15 years of a laborer’s wages
- Matthew 18:25 Or was unable to
- Matthew 18:27 Or loan
- Matthew 18:28 A Roman silver coin, approx. a laborer’s daily wage
- Matthew 18:30 Lit but
Matthew 18
New King James Version
Who Is the Greatest?(A)
18 At (B)that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
2 Then Jesus called a little (C)child to Him, set him in the midst of them, 3 and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, (D)unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 (E)Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 (F)Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.
Jesus Warns of Offenses(G)
6 (H)“But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. 7 Woe to the world because of [a]offenses! For (I)offenses must come, but (J)woe to that man by whom the offense comes!
8 (K)“If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into [b]hell fire.
The Parable of the Lost Sheep(L)
10 “Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven (M)their angels always (N)see the face of My Father who is in heaven. 11 (O)For[c] the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.
12 (P)“What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? 13 And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. 14 Even so it is not the (Q)will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
Dealing with a Sinning Brother
15 “Moreover (R)if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, (S)you have gained your brother. 16 But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that (T)‘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 (U)heathen and a tax collector.
18 “Assuredly, I say to you, (V)whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
19 (W)“Again[d] I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, (X)it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered (Y)together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”
The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant
21 Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? (Z)Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, (AA)up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. 23 Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded (AB)that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. 26 The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ 27 Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.
28 “But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down [e]at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you [f]all.’ 30 And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. 31 So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. 32 Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you (AC)all that debt because you begged me. 33 Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ 34 And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.
35 (AD)“So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother [g]his trespasses.”
Footnotes
- Matthew 18:7 enticements to sin
- Matthew 18:9 Gr. Gehenna
- Matthew 18:11 NU omits v. 11.
- Matthew 18:19 NU, M Again, assuredly, I say
- Matthew 18:29 NU omits at his feet
- Matthew 18:29 NU, M omit all
- Matthew 18:35 NU omits his trespasses
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
