The Unmerciful Servant

²¹ Then Peter came up and asked Jesus, “Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother when he sins against me? As many as seven times?”

²² Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but I tell you as many as seventy-seven times.^{[a] 23} For this reason the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴ When he began to settle them, a man who owed him ten thousand talents^[b] was brought to him. ²⁵ Because the man was not able to pay the debt, his master ordered that he be sold, along with his wife, children, and all that he owned to repay the debt.

²⁶ “Then the servant fell down on his knees in front of him, saying, ‘Master, be patient with me, and I will pay you everything!’ ²⁷ The master of that servant had pity on him, released him, and forgave him the debt.

²⁸ “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him one hundred denarii.^[c] He grabbed him and began choking him, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’

²⁹ “So his fellow servant fell down and begged him, saying, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back!’ ³⁰ But he refused. Instead he went off and threw the man into prison until he could pay back what he owed.

³¹ “When his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were very distressed. They went and reported to their master everything that had taken place.

³² “Then his master called him in and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt when you begged me to. ³³ Should you not have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had mercy on you?’ ³⁴ His master was angry and handed him over to the jailers until he could pay back everything he owed.

³⁵ “This is what my heavenly Father will also do to you unless each one of you forgives his brother from his heart.”