Matthew 18
New American Standard Bible
Rank in the Kingdom
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 among them, 3 and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you [b]change and (C)become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 So whoever will humble himself like 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 [c]sin, it is better for him that a [d]heavy millstone be hung around his neck, and that he be drowned in the depths of the sea.
Stumbling Blocks
7 “Woe to the world because of its [e]stumbling blocks! For (F)it is inevitable that [f]stumbling blocks come; but woe to the person through whom the [g]stumbling block comes!
8 “And (G)if your hand or your foot is causing you to sin, cut it off and throw it away from you; it is better for you to enter life maimed or without a foot, than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into the eternal fire. 9 And (H)if your eye is causing you to sin, tear it out and throw it away from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be thrown into the [h](I)fiery hell.
10 “See that you do not look down on 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.[i]
Ninety-nine Plus One
12 “What do you think? (K)If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains, and go and search for the one that is lost? 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 that have not gone astray. 14 So it is not the will [j]of your Father who is in heaven for one of these little ones to perish.
Discipline and Prayer
15 “Now (L)if your brother sins[k], go and [l]show him his fault [m]in private; if he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that (M)on the [n]testimony of two or three witnesses every [o]matter may be confirmed. 17 And if he refuses to listen to them, (N)tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, (O)he is to be to you as [p]a Gentile and [q]a tax collector. 18 Truly I say to you, (P)whatever you [r]bind on earth [s]shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you [t]loose on earth [u]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, (Q)it shall be done for them [v]by My Father who is in heaven. 20 For where two or three have gathered together in My name, (R)I am there in their midst.”
Forgiveness
21 Then Peter came up and said to Him, “Lord, (S)how many times shall my brother sin against me and I still forgive him? Up to (T)seven times?” 22 Jesus *said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to [w](U)seventy-seven times.
23 “For this reason (V)the kingdom of heaven [x]is like a king who wanted to (W)settle accounts with his slaves. 24 And when he had begun to settle them, one who owed him [y]ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25 But since he [z](X)did not have the means to repay, his master commanded that he (Y)be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment be made. 26 So the slave fell to the ground and (Z)prostrated himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’ 27 And the master of that slave felt compassion, and he released him and (AA)forgave him the [aa]debt. 28 But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred [ab]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 began to plead with him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’ 30 But he was unwilling, [ac]and went and threw him in prison until he would 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 master all that had happened. 32 Then summoning him, his master *said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 (AB)Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’ 34 And his master, moved with anger, handed him over to the [ad]torturers until he would repay all that was owed him. 35 (AC)My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your [ae]heart.”
Footnotes
- Matthew 18:1 Lit hour
- Matthew 18:3 Lit turn
- Matthew 18:6 Or stumble, and so throughout the ch
- Matthew 18:6 Lit millstone turned by a donkey
- Matthew 18:7 I.e., enticements to sin
- Matthew 18:7 I.e., enticements to sin
- Matthew 18:7 I.e., enticements to sin
- Matthew 18:9 Lit Gehenna of fire
- Matthew 18:10 Late mss add (traditionally v 11): For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost
- Matthew 18:14 Lit before
- Matthew 18:15 Late mss add against you
- Matthew 18:15 Or correct
- Matthew 18:15 Lit between you and him alone
- Matthew 18:16 Lit mouth
- Matthew 18:16 Lit word
- Matthew 18:17 Lit the
- Matthew 18:17 Lit the
- Matthew 18:18 I.e., forbid
- Matthew 18:18 Gr fut. pft. pass. tense
- Matthew 18:18 I.e., permit
- Matthew 18:18 Gr fut. pft. pass. tense
- Matthew 18:19 Lit from
- Matthew 18:22 Or possibly seventy times seven
- Matthew 18:23 Lit has been compared to
- Matthew 18:24 By one estimate, a debt of 60 million working days for a laborer
- Matthew 18:25 Or was unable to
- Matthew 18:27 Or loan
- Matthew 18:28 The denarius was a day’s wages for a laborer
- Matthew 18:30 Lit but
- Matthew 18:34 I.e., jailors assigned to torture prisoners
- Matthew 18:35 Lit hearts
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
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.