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
Matthew 18
New Testament for Everyone
Humility and danger
18 At that time the disciples came to Jesus.
“So, then,” they said, “who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
2 Jesus called a child and stood her in the middle of them.
3 “I’m telling you the truth,” he said. “Unless you turn inside out and become like children, you will never, ever, get into the kingdom of heaven. 4 So if any of you make yourselves humble like this child, you will be great in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And if anyone welcomes one such child in my name, they welcome me.
6 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to trip up,” he went on, “it would be better for them to have a huge millstone hung around their neck and be drowned far out in the deep sea. 7 It’s a terrible thing for the world that people will be made to stumble. Obstacles are bound to appear and trip people up, but it will be terrible for the person who makes them come.”
More about the “little ones”
8 “But if your hand or your foot causes you to trip up,” Jesus continued, “cut it off and throw it away. It’s better to enter into life crippled or lame than to go into eternal fire with both hands and both feet! 9 And if your eye causes you to trip up, pull it out and throw it away. Going into life with one eye is better than going into hell with two!
10 “Take care not to despise one of these little ones. I tell you this: in heaven, their angels are always gazing on the face of my father who lives there.
12 “How does it seem to you? If someone has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders off and goes missing, what will he do? He’ll leave the ninety-nine on the hillside and go off after the one that’s missing, won’t he? 13 And when, eventually, he finds it, I’ll tell you the truth: he will celebrate over that one more than over the ninety-nine who didn’t go missing! 14 It’s the same with your father in heaven. The last thing he wants is for a single one of these little ones to be lost.”
Reconciliation and prayer in the community
15 “If another disciple sins against you,” Jesus continued, “go and have it out, just between the two of you alone. If they listen to you, you’ve won back a brother or sister. 16 But if they won’t listen, you should take with you one or two others, so that ‘everything may be established from the mouth of two or three witnesses.’ 17 If they won’t listen to them, tell it to the assembly. And if they won’t listen to the assembly, you should treat such a person like you would a Gentile or a tax-collector. 18 I’m telling you the truth: whatever you tie up on earth will have been tied up in heaven; and whatever you untie on earth will have been untied in heaven.
19 “Again, let me tell you the truth: if two of you come to an agreement on earth about any matter that you want to ask, it will be done for you by my father in heaven. 20 Yes: where two or three come together in my name, I’ll be there amongst them.”
The challenge of forgiveness
21 Then Peter came to Jesus.
“Master,” he said, “how many times must I forgive my brother when he sins against me? As many as seven times?”
22 “I wouldn’t say seven times,” replied Jesus. “Why not—seventy times seven?
23 “So, you see,” he went on, “the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle up accounts with his servants. 24 As he was beginning to sort it all out, one man was brought before him who owed ten thousand talents. 25 He had no means of paying it back, so the master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and everything he possessed, and payment to be made.
26 “So the servant fell down and prostrated himself before the master.
“ ‘Be patient with me,’ he said, ‘and I’ll pay you everything!’
27 “The master was very sorry for the servant, and let him off. He forgave him the loan.
28 “But that servant went out and found one of his fellow-servants, who owed him a hundred dinars. He seized him and began to throttle him. ‘Pay me back what you owe me!’ he said.
29 “The colleague fell down and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I’ll pay you!’
30 “But he refused, and went and threw him into prison until he could pay the debt.
31 “So when his fellow-servants saw what had happened, they were very upset. They went and informed their master about the whole affair. 32 Then his master summoned him.
“ ‘You’re a scoundrel of a servant!’ he said to him. ‘I let you off the whole debt, because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have taken pity on your colleague, like I took pity on you?’
34 “His master was angry, and handed him over to the torturers, until he had paid the whole debt. 35 And that’s what my heavenly father will do to you, unless each of you forgives your brother or sister from your heart.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations from The New Testament for Everyone are copyright © Nicholas Thomas Wright 2011, 2018, 2019.
