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
Matthew 18
Contemporary English Version
Who Is the Greatest?
(Mark 9.33-37; Luke 9.46-48)
18 (A) About this time the disciples came to Jesus and asked him who would be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 2 Jesus called for a child to come over and stand near him. 3 (B) Then he said:
I promise you this. If you don't change and become like a child, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven. 4 But if you are as humble as this child, you are the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And when you welcome one of these children because of me, you welcome me.
Temptations To Sin
(Mark 9.42-48; Luke 17.1,2)
6 It will be terrible for people who cause even one of my little followers to sin. Those people would be better off thrown into the deepest part of the ocean with a heavy stone tied around their necks! 7 The world is in for trouble because of the way it causes people to sin. There will always be something to cause people to sin, but anyone who does this will be in for trouble.
8 (C) If your hand or foot causes you to sin, chop it off and throw it away! You would be better off to go into life paralyzed or lame than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into the fire that never goes out. 9 (D) If your eye causes you to sin, poke it out and get rid of it. You would be better off to go into life with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fires of hell.
The Lost Sheep
(Luke 15.3-7)
10-11 (E) Don't be cruel to any of these little ones! I promise you their angels are always with my Father in heaven.[a] 12 Let me ask you this. What would you do if you had 100 sheep and one of them wandered off? Wouldn't you leave the 99 on the hillside and go look for the one that had wandered away? 13 I am sure that finding it would make you happier than having the 99 that never wandered off. 14 That's how it is with your Father in heaven. He doesn't want any of these little ones to be lost.
When Someone Sins
(Luke 17.3)
15 (F) If one of my followers[b] sins against you, go and point out what was wrong. But do it in private, just between the two of you. If that person listens, you have won back a follower. 16 (G) But if that one refuses to listen, take along one or two others. The Scriptures teach that every complaint must be proven true by two or more witnesses. 17 If the follower refuses to listen to them, report the matter to the church. Anyone who refuses to listen to the church must be treated like an unbeliever or a tax collector.[c]
Allowing and Not Allowing
18 (H) I promise you God in heaven will allow whatever you allow on earth, but God will not allow anything you don't allow. 19 I promise that when any two of you on earth agree about something you are praying for, my Father in heaven will do it for you. 20 Whenever two or three of you come together in my name,[d] I am there with you.
An Official Who Refused To Forgive
21 (I) Peter came up to the Lord and asked, “How many times should I forgive someone[e] who does something wrong to me? Is seven times enough?”
22 (J) Jesus answered:
Not just 7 times, but 77 times![f] 23 This story will show you what the kingdom of heaven is like:
One day a king decided to call in his officials and ask them to give an account of what they owed him. 24 As he was doing this, one official was brought in who owed him 50,000,000 silver coins. 25 But he didn't have any money to pay what he owed. The king ordered him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all he owned, in order to pay the debt.
26 The official got down on his knees and began begging, “Have pity on me, and I will pay you every cent I owe!” 27 The king felt sorry for him and let him go free. He even told the official that he did not have to pay back the money.
28 But as this official was leaving, he happened to meet another official, who owed him 100 silver coins. So he grabbed the man by the throat. He started choking him and said, “Pay me what you owe!”
29 The man got down on his knees and began begging, “Have pity on me, and I will pay you back.” 30 But the first official refused to have pity. Instead, he went and had the other official put in jail until he could pay what he owed.
31 When some other officials found out what had happened, they felt sorry for the man who had been put in jail. Then they told the king what had happened. 32 The king called the first official back in and said, “You're an evil man! When you begged for mercy, I said you did not have to pay back a cent. 33 Don't you think you should show pity to someone else, as I did to you?” 34 The king was so angry that he ordered the official to be tortured until he could pay back everything he owed. 35 That is how my Father in heaven will treat you, if you don't forgive each of my followers with all your heart.
Footnotes
- 18.10,11 in heaven: Some manuscripts add, “The Son of Man came to save people who are lost.”
- 18.15 followers: The Greek text has “brother,” which is used here and elsewhere in this chapter to refer to a follower of Christ.
- 18.17 tax collector: See the note at 5.46.
- 18.20 in my name: Or “as my followers.”
- 18.21 someone: Or “a follower.” See the note at 18.15.
- 18.22 77 times: Or “70 times 7.” The large number means that one follower should never stop forgiving another.
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