Matthew 18
18
The Greatest in the Kingdom
1About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”
2Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. 3Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. 4So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.
5 “And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf # 18:5 Greek in my name. is welcoming me. 6But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea.
7 “What sorrow awaits the world, because it tempts people to sin. Temptations are inevitable, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting. 8So if your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one hand or one foot than to be thrown into eternal fire with both of your hands and feet. 9And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.#18:9 Greek the Gehenna of fire.
10 “Beware that you don’t look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels are always in the presence of my heavenly Father. # 18:10 Some manuscripts add verse 11, And the Son of Man came to save those who are lost. Compare Luke 19:10.
Parable of the Lost Sheep
12 “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost? 13And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn’t wander away! 14In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish.
Correcting Another Believer
15 “If another believer # 18:15a Greek If your brother. sins against you,#18:15b Some manuscripts do not include against you. go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. 16But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses. 17If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector.
18 “I tell you the truth, whatever you forbid # 18:18a Or bind, or lock. on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit#18:18b Or loose, or open. on earth will be permitted in heaven.
19 “I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. 20For where two or three gather together as my followers,#18:20 Greek gather together in my name. I am there among them.”
Parable of the Unforgiving Debtor
21Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone#18:21 Greek my brother. who sins against me? Seven times?”
22 “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!#18:22 Or seventy-seven times.
23 “Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. 24In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars.#18:24 Greek 10,000 talents [375 tons or 340 metric tons of silver]. 25He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt.
26 “But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ 27Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.
28 “But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. # 18:28 Greek 100 denarii. A denarius was equivalent to a laborer’s full day’s wage. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.
29 “His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. 30But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full.
31 “When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. 32Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. 33Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ 34Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.
35 “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters # 18:35 Greek your brother. from your heart.”
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Matthew 18: NLT
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Matthew 18
18
The Question About Who Is Greatest
1 At that time the disciples came up to Jesus, saying, “Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2And calling a child to himself, he had him stand in their midst 3and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you turn around and become like young children, you will never enter into the kingdom of heaven! 4Therefore whoever humbles himself like this child, this person is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, 5and whoever welcomes one child such as this in my name welcomes me. 6But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him that a large millstone#Literally “a millstone of a donkey” be hung on#Some manuscripts have “around” his neck and he be drowned in the depths of the sea. 7Woe to the world because of causes for stumbling, for it is a necessity that causes for stumbling come; nevertheless, woe to the person through whom the cause for stumbling comes. 8And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it#*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation from you! It is better for you to enter into life crippled or lame than, having two hands or two feet, to be thrown into the eternal fire! 9And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it#*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation from you! It is better for you to enter into life one-eyed than, having two eyes, to be thrown into fiery hell!
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
10“See to it that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I tell you that their angels in heaven constantly see the face of my Father who is in heaven.#Many later Greek manuscripts include vs. 11, “For the Son of Man came to save those who are lost.” 12What do you think? If a certain man has#Literally “there are to a certain man” a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go and#*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“go”) has been translated as a finite verb look for the one that wandered away? 13And if he happens to find it, truly I say to you that he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that did not wander away. 14In the same way it is not the will of#Literally “in the presence of” your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.
Confronting a Brother Who Sins Against You
15“Now if your brother sins against you, go correct him between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16But if he does not listen, take with you in addition one or two others, so that by the testimony#Literally “the mouth” of two or three witnesses every matter may be established. 17And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it#*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation to the church. But if he refuses to listen to the church also, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.
18“Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will be released in heaven. 19Again, truly I say to you that if two of you agree on earth about any matter that they ask, it will be done for them from my Father who is in heaven. 20For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there in the midst of them.”
The Parable of the Unforgiving Slave
21Then Peter came up to him and#*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“came up”) has been translated as a finite verb said,#Some manuscripts have “Then Peter came up and said to him” “Lord, how many times will my brother sin against me and I will forgive him? Up to seven times?” 22Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven!#Or “seventy-seven times”
23“For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man—a king—who wanted to settle accounts with his slaves. 24And when#*Here “when” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“began”) he began to settle them,#*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation someone was brought to him who owed ten thousand talents. 25And because#*Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“have”) which is understood as causal he did not have enough#*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation to repay it,#*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation the master ordered him to be sold, and his#*Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun wife and his#*Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun children and everything that he had, and to be repaid. 26Then the slave threw himself to the ground and#*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“threw himself to the ground”) has been translated as a finite verb began to do obeisance to him, saying, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay back everything to you!’ 27So the master of that slave, because he#*Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“had compassion”) which is understood as causal had compassion, released him and forgave him the loan. 28But that slave went out and#*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“went out”) has been translated as a finite verb found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii, and taking hold of him, he began to choke him,#*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation saying, ‘Pay back everything that you owe!’ 29Then his fellow slave threw himself to the ground and#*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“threw himself to the ground”) has been translated as a finite verb began to implore#*The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to implore”) him, saying, ‘Be patient with me and I will repay you!’ 30But he did not want to, but rather he went and#*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“went”) has been translated as a finite verb threw him into prison until he would repay what was owed. 31So when#*Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“saw”) which is understood as temporal his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were extremely distressed, and went and#*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“went”) has been translated as a finite verb reported to their master everything that had happened. 32Then his master summoned him and#*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“summoned”) has been translated as a finite verb said to him, ‘Wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you implored me! 33Should you not also have shown mercy to your fellow slave as I also showed mercy to you?’ 34And because he#*Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“was angry”) which is understood as causal was angry, his master handed him over to the merciless jailers#Or “torturers” until he would repay everything that was owed. 35So also my heavenly Father will do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from your hearts!”
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