Matthew — Chapter 18

1At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

2Jesus invited a little child to stand among them.

3“Truly I tell you,” He said, “unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

4Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

5And whoever welcomes a little child like this in My name welcomes Me.

6But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

7Woe to the world for the causes of sin. These stumbling blocks must come, but woe to the man through whom they come!

8If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than to have two hands and two feet and be thrown into the eternal fire.

9And if your eye causes you to sin, 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.

10See that you do not look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of My Father in heaven.

11

12What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost?

13And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices more over that one sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.

14In the same way, your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.

15If your brother sins against you, go and confront him privately. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.

16But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’

17If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, regard him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

18Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

19Again, I tell you truly that if two of you on the earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by My Father in heaven.

20For where two or three gather together in My name, there am I with them.”

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

22Jesus answered, “I tell you, not just seven times, but seventy-seven times!

23Because of this, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.

24As he began the settlements, a debtor owing ten thousand talents was brought to him.

25Since the man was unable to pay, the master ordered that he be sold to pay his debt, along with his wife and children and everything he owned.

26Then the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Have patience with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’

27His master had compassion on him, forgave his debt, and released him.

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

29So his fellow servant fell down and begged him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you back.’

30But he refused. Instead, he went and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay his debt.

31When his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and recounted all of this to their master.

32Then the master summoned him and said, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave all your debt because you begged me.

33Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had on you?’

34In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should repay all that he owed.

35That is how My heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

1At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?

2And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,

3And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

4Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

5And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.

6But 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.

7Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!

8Wherefore 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.

9And 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.

10Take 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.

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

12How 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?

13And 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.

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

15Moreover 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.

16But 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.

17And 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.

18Verily 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.

19Again 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.

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

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

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

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

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

25But 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.

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

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

28But 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.

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

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

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

32Then 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:

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

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

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

1In that hour came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?

2And he called to him a little child, and set him in the midst of them,

3and said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye turn, and become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven.

4Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

5And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me:

6But whoso shall cause one of these little ones that believe on me to stumble, it is profitable for him that a great millstone should be hanged about his neck, and [that] he should be sunk in the depth of the sea.

7Woe unto the world because of occasions of stumbling! for it must needs be that the occasions come; but woe to that man through whom the occasion cometh!

8And if thy hand or thy foot causeth thee to stumble, cut it off, and cast it from thee: it is good for thee to enter into life maimed or halt, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into the eternal fire.

9And if thine eye causeth thee to stumble, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is good for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into the hell of fire.

10See 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 who is in heaven.

11[For the Son of man came to save that which was lost.]

12How think ye? if any man have a hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and go unto the mountains, and seek that which goeth astray?

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

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

15And if thy brother sin against thee, go, show him his fault between thee and him alone: if he hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.

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

17And if he refuse to hear them, tell it unto the church: and if he refuse to hear the church also, let him be unto thee as the Gentile and the publican.

18Verily I say unto you, what things soever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and what things soever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

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

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

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

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

23Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, who would make a reckoning with his servants.

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

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

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

27And the lord of that servant, being moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.

28But that servant went out, and found one of his fellow-servants, who owed him a hundred shillings: and he laid hold on him, and took [him] by the throat, saying, Pay what thou owest.

29So his fellow-servant fell down and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee.

30And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay that which was due.

31So when his fellow-servants saw what was done, they were exceeding sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.

32Then his lord called him unto him, and saith to him, Thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou besoughtest me:

33shouldest not thou also have had mercy on thy fellow-servant, even as I had mercy on thee?

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

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

1At that time the disciples came to Jesus saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

2He called a child, had him stand among them,

3and said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn around and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven!

4Whoever then humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

5And whoever welcomes a child like this in my name welcomes me.

6“But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a huge millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the open sea.

7Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! It is necessary that stumbling blocks come, but woe to the person through whom they come.

8If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire.

9And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into fiery hell.

10“See that you do not disdain one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.

11[This verse is not included in the NET; see KJV/ASV for the traditional rendering.]

12What do you think? If someone owns a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go look for the one that went astray?

13And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.

14In the same way, your Father in heaven is not willing that one of these little ones be lost.

15“If your brother sins, go and show him his fault when the two of you are alone. If he listens to you, you have regained your brother.

16But if he does not listen, take one or two others with you, so that at the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter may be established.

17If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. If he refuses to listen to the church, treat him like a Gentile or a tax collector.

18“I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven.

19Again, I tell you the truth, if two of you on earth agree about whatever you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you.

20For where two or three are assembled in my name, I am there among them.”

21Then Peter came to him and said, “Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother who sins against me? As many as seven times?”

22Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, I tell you, but seventy-seven times!

23“For this reason, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his slaves.

24As he began settling his accounts, a man who owed 10,000 talents was brought to him.

25Because he was not able to repay it, the lord ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, children, and whatever he possessed, and repayment to be made.

26Then the slave threw himself to the ground before him, saying, ‘Be patient with me, and I will repay you everything.’

27The lord had compassion on that slave and released him, and forgave him the debt.

28After he went out, that same slave found one of his fellow slaves who owed him 100 silver coins. So he grabbed him by the throat and started to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe me!’

29Then his fellow slave threw himself down and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will repay you.’

30But he refused. Instead, he went out and threw him in prison until he repaid the debt.

31When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were very upset and went and told their lord everything that had taken place.

32Then his lord called the first slave and said to him, ‘Evil slave! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me!

33Should you not have shown mercy to your fellow slave, just as I showed it to you?’

34And in anger his lord turned him over to the prison guards to torture him until he repaid all he owed.

35So also my heavenly Father will do to you, if each of you does not forgive your brother from your heart.”

1In that hour the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”

2Jesus called a little child to himself, and set him in the middle of them,

3and said, “Most certainly I tell you, unless you turn, and become as little children, you will in no way enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.

4Whoever therefore humbles himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.

5Whoever receives one such little child in my name receives me,

6but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for him that a huge millstone should be hung around his neck, and that he should be sunk in the depths of the sea.

7“Woe to the world because of occasions of stumbling! For it must be that the occasions come, but woe to that person through whom the occasion comes!

8If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off, and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life maimed or crippled, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into the eternal fire.

9If your eye causes you to stumble, 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 the Gehenna of fire.

10See that you don’t despise one of these little ones, for I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.

11For the Son of Man came to save that which was lost.

12“What do you think? If a man has one hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine, go to the mountains, and seek that which has gone astray?

13If he finds it, most certainly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray.

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

15“If your brother sins against you, go, show him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained back your brother.

16But if he doesn’t listen, take one or two more with you, that at the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.

17If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the assembly. If he refuses to hear the assembly also, let him be to you as a Gentile or a tax collector.

18Most certainly I tell you, whatever things you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever things you release on earth will have been released in heaven.

19Again, assuredly I tell you, that if two of you will agree on earth concerning anything that they will ask, it will be done for them by my Father who is in heaven.

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

21Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Until seven times?”

22Jesus said to him, “I don’t tell you until seven times, but, until seventy times seven.

23Therefore the Kingdom of Heaven is like a certain king, who wanted to reconcile accounts with his servants.

24When he had begun to reconcile, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.

25But because he couldn’t pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, with his wife, his children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.

26The servant therefore fell down and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord, have patience with me, and I will repay you all!’

27The lord of that servant, being 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 one hundred denarii, and he grabbed him, and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’

29“So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will repay you!’

30He would not, but went and cast him into prison, until he should pay back that which was due.

31So when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were exceedingly sorry, and came and told their lord all that was done.

32Then his lord called him in, and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt, because you begged me.

33Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow servant, even as I had mercy on you?’

34His lord was angry, and delivered him to the tormentors, until he should pay all that was due to him.

35So my heavenly Father will also do to you, if you don’t each forgive your brother from your hearts for his misdeeds.”