Matthew 18
18
CHAPTER 18
1In that hour the disciples came to Jesus, and said, Who, guessest thou, is [the] greater in the kingdom of heavens?
2And Jesus called a little child, and put him in the middle [or in the midst] of them;
3and said, I say truth to you [or Truly I say to you], but ye be turned, and [be] made as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heavens.
4Therefore whoever meeketh him-[self] as this little child, he is greater in the kingdom of heavens.
5And he that receiveth one such little child in my name, receiveth me.
6But whoso causeth to stumble one of these small [or these little], that believe in me, it speedeth to him, that a millstone of asses be hanged in his neck, and he be drenched or drowned in the deepness of the sea.
7Woe to the world, for causes of stumbling; for it is needed, that causes of stumbling come; nevertheless woe to that man by whom a cause of stumbling cometh.
8And if thine hand or thy foot cause thee to stumble, cut it off, and cast it away from thee. It is better to thee to enter [in] to life feeble, either crooked, than having twain hands or two feet to be sent into everlasting fire.
9And if thine eye cause thee to stumble, pull it out, and cast it away from thee. It is better to thee, with one eye to enter into life, than having twain eyes to be sent into the fire of hell [or into hellfire].
10See ye, that ye despise not one of these little. For I say to you [or Truly I say to you], that the angels of them in heavens see evermore the face of my Father that is in heavens.
11For man’s Son came to save that thing that perished.
12What seemeth to you? If there were to a man an hundred sheep, and one of them hath erred, whether he shall not leave ninety and nine in desert [or in the hills], and shall go to seek that that erred?
13And if it fall that he find it, truly I say to you, that he shall have joy thereof [or for he shall joy thereon], more than on ninety and nine that erred not.
14So it is not the will of your Father that is in heavens [or in heaven], that one of these little perish.
15But if thy brother sinneth against thee, go thou, and reprove him, betwixt thee and him alone; if he heareth thee, thou hast won thy brother.
16And if he heareth thee not, take with thee one or twain that every word stand in the mouth of twain or three witnesses.
17And if he heareth not them, say thou to the church. But if he heareth not the church, be he as a heathen and a publican to thee.
18I say to you truly, whatever things ye bind on earth, those shall be bound also in heaven; and whatever things ye unbind on earth, those shall be unbound also in heaven.
19Again I say to you, that if twain of you consent on earth, of everything whatever they ask, it shall be done to them of my Father that is in heavens.
20For where twain or three be gathered in my name, there I am in the middle of them. [For where two or three be gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them.]
21Then Peter came to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I shall forgive him? Whether till seven times?
22Jesus saith to him, I say not to thee, till seven times; but till [or to] seventy times seven times.
23Therefore the kingdom of heavens is likened to a king that would reckon with his servants.
24And when he began to reckon, one that owed to him ten thousand talents [or bezants], was brought to him.
25And when he had not whereof to yield, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all things that he had, and to be paid.
26But that servant felled down, and prayed him, and said, have patience in me, and I shall yield to thee all things.
27And the lord had mercy on that servant, and suffered him to go [or delivered him], and forgave him the debt.
28But that servant went out, and found one of his even-servants, that owed him an hundred pence; and he held him, and strangled him, and said, Yield that that thou owest.
29And his even-servant fell down, and prayed him, and said, have patience in me, and I shall requite all things to thee.
30But he would not; but went out, and put [or sent] him into prison, till he paid all the debt.
31And his even-servants, seeing the things that were done, sorrowed greatly. And they came, and told to their lord all the things that were done.
32Then his lord called him, and said to him, Wicked servant, I forgave to thee all the debt, for thou prayedest me.
33Therefore whether it behooved not also thee to have mercy on thine even-servant, as I had mercy on thee?
34And his lord was wroth, and took him to tormentors, till he paid all the debt.
35So my Father of heaven shall do to you, if ye forgive not every man to his brother, of your hearts.
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Matthew 18: WBMS
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Wycliffe’s Bible with Modern Spelling ©2017
Wycliffe’s Apocrypha ©2013, 2015
Wycliffe’s Bible © 2012, 2015
Wycliffe’s New Testament ©2001, 2011
Wycliffe’s Old Testament ©2001, 2010
Matthew 18
18
Who is the greatest?
(Mark 9.33-37; Luke 9.46-48)
1About this time the disciples came to Jesus and asked him who would be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.#Lk 22.24. 2Jesus called a child over and made the child stand near him. 3Then he said:#Mk 10.15; Lk 18.17.
I promise you this. If you don't change and become like a child, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven. 4But if you are as humble as this child, you are the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5And when you welcome one of these children because of me, you welcome me.
Temptations to sin
(Mark 9.42-48; Luke 17.1,2)
Jesus continued:
6It will be terrible for people who cause even one of my little followers to sin. Those people would be better off thrown into the deepest part of the sea with a heavy stone tied around their necks! 7The world is in for trouble because of the way it causes people to sin. There will always be something to cause people to sin, but anyone who does this will be in for trouble.
8If your hand or foot causes you to sin, chop it off and throw it away! You would be better off to go into life crippled or lame than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into the fire that never goes out.#Mt 5.30. 9If your eye causes you to sin, poke it out and get rid of it. You would be better off to go into life with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fires of hell.#Mt 5.29.
The lost sheep
(Luke 15.3-7)
Jesus continued:
10-11Don't be cruel to any of these little ones! I promise you that their angels are always with my Father in heaven.#18.10,11 in heaven: Some manuscripts add, “The Son of Man came to save people who are lost.”#Lk 19.10. 12Let me ask you this. What would you do if you had a hundred sheep and one of them wandered off? Wouldn't you leave the ninety-nine on the hillside and go and look for the one that had wandered away? 13I am sure that finding it would make you happier than having the ninety-nine that never wandered off. 14That's how it is with your Father in heaven. He doesn't want any of these little ones to be lost.
When someone sins
(Luke 17.3)
Jesus continued:
15If one of my followers#18.15 followers: The Greek text has “brother”, which is used here and elsewhere in this chapter to refer to a follower of Christ. sins against you, go and point out what was wrong. But do it in private, just between the two of you. If that person listens, you have won back a follower.#Lk 17.3. 16But if that one refuses to listen, take along one or two others. The Scriptures teach that every complaint must be proved true by two or more witnesses.#Dt 19.15. 17If the follower refuses to listen to them, report the matter to the church. Anyone who refuses to listen to the church must be treated like an unbeliever or a tax collector.#18.17 tax collector: See the note at 5.46.
Allowing and not allowing
Jesus continued:
18I promise you that God in heaven will allow whatever you allow on earth, but he will not allow anything you don't allow.#Mt 16.19; Jn 20.23. 19I promise that when any two of you on earth agree about something you are praying for, my Father in heaven will do it for you. 20Whenever two or three of you come together in my name,#18.20 in my name: Or “as my followers”. I am there with you.
An official who refused to forgive
21Peter came up to the Lord and asked, “How many times should I forgive someone#18.21 someone: Or “a follower”. See the note at 18.15. who does something wrong to me? Is seven times enough?”#Lk 17.3,4.
22Jesus answered:#Gn 4.24.
Not just seven times, but seventy-seven times!#18.22 seventy-seven times: Or “seventy times seven”. The large number means that one follower should never stop forgiving another. 23This story will show you what the kingdom of heaven is like:
One day a king decided to call in his officials and ask them to give an account of what they owed him. 24As he was doing this, one official was brought in who owed him fifty million silver coins. 25But he didn't have any money to pay what he owed. The king ordered him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all he owned, in order to pay the debt.
26The official got down on his knees and began begging, “Have pity on me, and I will pay you every penny I owe!” 27The king felt sorry for him and let him go free. He even told the official that he did not have to pay back the money.
28As the official was leaving, he happened to meet another official, who owed him a hundred silver coins. So he grabbed the man by the throat. He started choking him and said, “Pay me what you owe!”
29The man got down on his knees and began begging, “Have pity on me, and I will pay you back.” 30But the first official refused to have pity. Instead, he went and had the other official put in jail until he could pay what he owed.
31When some other officials found out what had happened, they felt sorry for the man who had been put in jail. Then they told the king what had happened. 32The king called the first official back in and said, “You're an evil man! When you begged for mercy, I said you did not have to pay back a penny. 33Don't you think you should show pity to someone else, as I did to you?” 34The king was so angry that he ordered the official to be tortured until he could pay back everything he owed. 35That is how my Father in heaven will treat you, if you don't forgive each of my followers with all your heart.
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