Matthew 18
World English Bible
18 In that hour the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”
2 Jesus called a little child to himself, and set him in the middle of them 3 and said, “Most certainly I tell you, unless you turn and become as little children, you will in no way enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. 4 Whoever therefore humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. 5 Whoever receives one such little child in my name receives me, 6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for him if a huge millstone were hung around his neck and that he were sunk in the depths of the sea.
7 “Woe to the world because of occasions of stumbling! For it must be that the occasions come, but woe to that person through whom the occasion comes! 8 If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life maimed or crippled, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into the eternal fire. 9 If your eye causes you to stumble, 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 the Gehenna[a] of fire. 10 See that you don’t despise one of these little ones, for I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. 11 For the Son of Man came to save that which was lost.[b]
12 “What do you think? If a man has one hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine, go to the mountains, and seek that which has gone astray? 13 If he finds it, most certainly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. 14 Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
15 “If your brother sins against you, go, show him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained back your brother. 16 But if he doesn’t listen, take one or two more with you, that at the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
21 Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Until seven times?”
22 Jesus said to him, “I don’t tell you until seven times, but, until seventy times seven. 23 Therefore the Kingdom of Heaven is like a certain king, who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he had begun to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.[c] 25 But because he couldn’t pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, with his wife, his children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 The servant therefore fell down and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord, have patience with me, and I will repay you all!’ 27 The lord of that servant, being 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 one hundred denarii,[d] and he grabbed him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’
29 “So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will repay you!’ 30 He would not, but went and cast him into prison until he should pay back that which was due. 31 So when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were exceedingly sorry, and came and told their lord all that was done. 32 Then his lord called him in and 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, even as I had mercy on you?’ 34 His lord was angry, and delivered him to the tormentors until he should pay all that was due to him. 35 So my heavenly Father will also do to you, if you don’t each forgive your brother from your hearts for his misdeeds.”
Footnotes
- 18:9 or, Hell
- 18:11 NU omits verse 11.
- 18:24 Ten thousand talents (about 300 metric tons of silver) represents an extremely large sum of money, equivalent to about 60,000,000 denarii, where one denarius was typical of one day’s wages for agricultural labor.
- 18:28 100 denarii was about one sixtieth of a talent, or about 500 grams (1.1 pounds) of silver.
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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