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18 At that hour the disciples came to Jesus, saying: Who thinkest thou is the greater in the kingdom of heaven?

And Jesus calling unto him a little child, set him in the midst of them,

And said: Amen I say to you, unless you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, he is the greater in the kingdom of heaven.

And he that shall receive one such little child in my name, receiveth me.

But he that shall scandalize one of these little ones that believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone should be hanged about his neck, and that he should be drowned in the depth of the sea.

Woe to the world because of scandals. For it must needs be that scandals come: but nevertheless woe to that man by whom the scandal cometh.

And if thy hand, or thy foot scandalize thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee. It is better for thee to go into life maimed or lame, than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into everlasting fire.

And if thy eye scandalize thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee. It is better for thee having one eye to enter into life, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.

10 See that you despise not one of these little ones: for I say to you, that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.

11 For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.

12 What think you? If a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them should go astray: doth he not leave the ninety-nine in the mountains, and go to seek that which is gone astray?

13 And if it so be that he find it: Amen I say to you, he rejoiceth more for that, than for the ninety-nine that went not 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 But if thy brother shall offend against thee, go, and rebuke him between thee and him alone. If he shall hear thee, thou shalt gain thy brother.

16 And if he will not hear thee, take with thee one or two more: that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may stand.

17 And if he will not hear them: tell the church. And if he will not hear the church, let him be to thee as the heathen and publican.

18 Amen I say to you, whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, shall be bound also in heaven; and whatsoever you shall loose upon earth, shall be loosed also in heaven.

19 Again I say to you, that if two of you shall consent upon earth, concerning any thing whatsoever they shall ask, it shall be done to them by my Father who is in heaven.

20 For where there are two or three gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

21 Then came Peter unto him and said: Lord, how often shall my brother offend against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?

22 Jesus saith to him: I say not to thee, till seven times; but till seventy times seven times.

23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened to a king, who would take an account of his servants.

24 And when he had begun to take the account, one was brought to him, that owed him ten thousand talents.

25 And as he had not wherewith to pay it, his lord commanded that he should be sold, and his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.

26 But that servant falling down, besought him, saying: Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

27 And the lord of that servant being moved with pity, let him go and forgave him the debt.

28 But when that servant was gone out, he found one of his fellow servants that owed him an hundred pence: and laying hold of him, throttled him, saying: Pay what thou owest.

29 And his fellow servant falling down, besought him, saying: Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he paid the debt.

31 Now his fellow servants seeing what was done, were very much grieved, and they came and told their lord all that was done.

32 Then his lord called him; and said to him: Thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all the debt, because thou besoughtest me:

33 Shouldst not thou then have had compassion also on thy fellow servant, even as I had compassion on thee?

34 And his lord being angry, delivered him to the torturers until he paid all the debt.

35 So also shall my heavenly Father do to you, if you forgive not every one his brother from your hearts.

Jesus förklarar vem som är störst

(Mark 9:33-37; Luk 9:46-48; 17:1-2)

18 Lite senare kom lärjungarna fram till Jesus och frågade vem som var störst i himmelriket.

Då ropade Jesus på ett barn och ställde det mitt ibland dem och sa: ”Sannerligen säger jag er: om ni inte omvänder er och blir som barn, kommer ni överhuvudtaget inte in i himmelriket. Den som gör sig liten som det här barnet, han är störst i himmelriket. Och den som tar emot ett sådant barn i mitt namn, han tar emot mig.

Jesus varnar för förförelser

(Mark 9:43-47)

Men om någon förför en av dessa små som tror på mig, skulle det vara bättre för den personen att få en stor kvarnsten bunden runt halsen och att han sänktes i havets djup. Ve dig världen för dina förförelser! Förförelser måste ju komma, men ve den människa som förför andra! Om din hand eller fot förför dig, så hugg av den och kasta bort den. Det är bättre att gå in i livet stympad eller handikappad än att kastas i den eviga elden med både händer och fötter i behåll. Och om ditt öga förför dig, så riv ut det och kasta bort det. Det är bättre att gå in i livet enögd än att kastas i elden i Gehenna med båda ögonen i behåll.[a] 10 Se till att ni inte föraktar någon enda av dessa små, för jag säger er att deras änglar alltid ser min Faders ansikte i himlen.[b]

Liknelsen om det förlorade fåret

(Luk 15:4-7)

12 Vad tror ni? Om en man har hundra får och ett har kommit bort, lämnar han inte de nittionio andra kvar bland bergen och ger sig iväg för att leta efter det som har försvunnit? 13 Och när han har hittat det, sannerligen säger jag er att han gläder sig mer över det än över de nittionio andra som aldrig kom bort. 14 På samma sätt vill inte er Fader i himlen att någon enda av dessa små ska gå förlorad.

Om en troende har handlat fel

(Luk 17:3)

15 Men om din nästa har begått en synd mot dig, så gå till honom enskilt och tillrättavisa honom. Lyssnar han då på dig har du vunnit tillbaka din nästa. 16 Men om han inte gör det, så hämta en eller två personer som vittnen, för det krävs två eller tre vittnen för att en sak ska avgöras.[c] 17 Vägrar han fortfarande att lyssna på dig, ska du ta upp fallet i församlingen. Och om han inte vill lyssna på församlingen heller, så behandla honom som en främling eller en tullindrivare. 18 Sannerligen säger jag er: allt ni binder på jorden blir bundet i himlen och allt ni löser på jorden blir löst i himlen.[d]

19 Jag säger er också att allt som två av er här på jorden kommer överens att be om, det ska de få av min Fader i himlen. 20 För där två eller tre samlas i mitt namn, då är jag mitt ibland dem.”

Jesus undervisar om förlåtelse

(Luk 17:4)

21 Då kom Petrus fram till honom och frågade: ”Herre, hur många gånger måste jag förlåta en människa som syndar mot mig? Räcker det med sju gånger?” 22 ”Nej”, svarade Jesus, ”inte sju gånger, utan sjuttio gånger sju[e] gånger.

23 Himmelriket är som när en kung ville ha redovisning av sina tjänare. 24 När han började granskningen visade det sig att en av dem var skyldig honom flera miljarder.[f] 25 Och eftersom tjänaren inte kunde betala tillbaka pengarna, befallde kungen att han skulle säljas tillsammans med sin hustru och sina barn och allt han ägde, så att skulden kunde betalas på det sättet.

26 Men mannen föll ner för kungen och bad: ’Ge mig bara lite tid, så ska jag betala alltihop.’

27 Då kände kungen medlidande med honom och släppte honom och avskrev hans skuld.

28 Men när tjänaren gick därifrån, träffade han på en annan tjänare som var skyldig honom 100 denarer[g]. Och han tog struptag på honom och krävde pengarna tillbaka. 29 Hans arbetskamrat föll då ner inför honom och sa: ’Ge mig bara lite tid, så ska jag betala.’ 30 Men mannen ville inte vänta, utan gick därifrån och ordnade så att den andre tjänaren blev satt i fängelse tills hela skulden var betald.

31 När de andra tjänarna fick reda på detta blev de mycket upprörda och gick till kungen och berättade vad som hade hänt. 32 Kungen kallade då till sig tjänaren och sa: ’Din usling! Här avskrev jag denna stora skuld bara för att du bad mig om det. 33 Borde inte du ha förbarmat dig över din medtjänare på samma sätt som jag förbarmade mig över dig?’

34 Sedan lät den uppretade kungen sina fångvaktare ta hand om mannen, tills han betalt allt han var skyldig. 35 På samma sätt ska min Fader i himlen göra med er, om ni inte av hela hjärtat förlåter era medmänniskor.”

Footnotes

  1. 18:9 Jesus använder ett dramatiskt bildspråk.
  2. 18:10 En del handskrifter har med en extra vers: 11 Människosonen kom för att rädda de förlorade. Jfr Luk 19:10.
  3. 18:16 Se 5 Mos 19:15.
  4. 18:18 Se not till 16:19.
  5. 18:22 Sju var fullkomlighetens tal. Sjuttio gånger sju gånger var detsamma som oändligt många gånger.
  6. 18:24 På grekiska: 10 000 talenter. Det var den största summan och högsta valutan i dåtidens Mellanöstern.
  7. 18:28 En denar motsvarade en dagslön.

The Greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven(A)

18 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children,(B) you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.(C) Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.(D) And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.(E)

Causing to Stumble

“If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.(F) Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come!(G) If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble,(H) cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to stumble,(I) 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 the fire of hell.(J)

The Parable of the Wandering Sheep(K)

10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels(L) in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. [11] [a]

12 “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 13 And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. 14 In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.

Dealing With Sin in the Church

15 “If your brother or sister[b] sins,[c] go and point out their fault,(M) just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’[d](N) 17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church;(O) and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.(P)

18 “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be[e] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be[f] loosed in heaven.(Q)

19 “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them(R) by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”(S)

The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant

21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me?(T) Up to seven times?”(U)

22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.[g](V)

23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like(W) a king who wanted to settle accounts(X) with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold[h] was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay,(Y) the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold(Z) to repay the debt.

26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him.(AA) ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins.[i] He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.

29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’

30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.

32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”(AB)

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 18:11 Some manuscripts include here the words of Luke 19:10.
  2. Matthew 18:15 The Greek word for brother or sister (adelphos) refers here to a fellow disciple, whether man or woman; also in verses 21 and 35.
  3. Matthew 18:15 Some manuscripts sins against you
  4. Matthew 18:16 Deut. 19:15
  5. Matthew 18:18 Or will have been
  6. Matthew 18:18 Or will have been
  7. Matthew 18:22 Or seventy times seven
  8. Matthew 18:24 Greek ten thousand talents; a talent was worth about 20 years of a day laborer’s wages.
  9. Matthew 18:28 Greek a hundred denarii; a denarius was the usual daily wage of a day laborer (see 20:2).

18 At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?

And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,

And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.

But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!

Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.

And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.

10 Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.

11 For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.

12 How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?

13 And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.

14 Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.

15 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.

16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.

17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.

18 Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.

20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?

22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.

23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.

24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.

25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.

26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.

28 But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.

29 And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.

31 So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.

32 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:

33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?

34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.

35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.