Discipline and Prayer

15 “Now (A)if your brother sins[a], go and [b]show him his fault [c]in private; if he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that (B)on the [d]testimony of two or three witnesses every [e]matter may be confirmed. 17 And if he refuses to listen to them, (C)tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, (D)he is to be to you as [f]a Gentile and [g]a tax collector. 18 Truly I say to you, (E)whatever you [h]bind on earth [i]shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you [j]loose on earth [k]shall have been loosed in heaven.

19 “Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, (F)it shall be done for them [l]by My Father who is in heaven. 20 For where two or three have gathered together in My name, (G)I am there in their midst.”

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 18:15 Late mss add against you
  2. Matthew 18:15 Or correct
  3. Matthew 18:15 Lit between you and him alone
  4. Matthew 18:16 Lit mouth
  5. Matthew 18:16 Lit word
  6. Matthew 18:17 Lit the
  7. Matthew 18:17 Lit the
  8. Matthew 18:18 I.e., forbid
  9. Matthew 18:18 Gr fut. pft. pass. tense
  10. Matthew 18:18 I.e., permit
  11. Matthew 18:18 Gr fut. pft. pass. tense
  12. Matthew 18:19 Lit from

If Your Brother Sins Against You, Seek To Restore Him

15 “But if your brother sins against you[a], go, expose[b] him between you and him alone. If he listens-to you, you gained[c] your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take-along with you one or two more in order that every word may be established based-on the mouth of two or three witnesses. And if he refuses-to-listen-to them, tell it to the church. 17 And if he even refuses[d] to listen to the church, let him be to you just like the Gentile[e] and the tax-collector[f]. 18 Truly I say to you, whatever you[g] bind[h] on earth will have been bound[i] in heaven. And whatever you loose on earth will have been loosed in heaven. 19 Again[j], truly I say to you that if two of you on earth agree concerning any matter which they may ask, it will be done for them by My Father in the heavens. 20 For[k] where two or three have been gathered-together in[l] My name, I am there in the midst of them”.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 18:15 Now Jesus turns to the opposite case. What should be done when you are suffering an injury, not inflicting one.
  2. Matthew 18:15 Or, convict, rebuke.
  3. Matthew 18:15 That is, gained him for the kingdom.
  4. Matthew 18:17 The church focuses the individual on the impact of his sin on his relationship with Christ and the Christian community. He must choose between his sin and Christ.
  5. Matthew 18:17 That is, the non-believer.
  6. Matthew 18:17 That is, the traitor to the community, the outcast.
  7. Matthew 18:18 This is plural. Some think it refers to the church; others, to the apostles. Compare 16:19.
  8. Matthew 18:18 bind... loose. See 16:19.
  9. Matthew 18:18 Lit, will be having been bound. Likewise with ‘loosed’ next. Divine guidance is promised to the church.
  10. Matthew 18:19 Some think v 19-20 are in regard to the disciplinary decisions just mentioned, even if the church is two or three. Others think this is a separate point regarding prayer in general, unrelated to what precedes.
  11. Matthew 18:20 The promised divine guidance is now made explicit.
  12. Matthew 18:20 Or, with reference to.