Matthew 18
18
1 In that hour, the disciples drew near to Jesus, saying, "Whom do you consider to be greater in the kingdom of heaven?"
2 And Jesus, calling to himself a little child, placed him in their midst.
3 And he said: "Amen I say to you, unless you change and become like little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
4 Therefore, whoever will have humbled himself like this little child, such a one is greater in the kingdom of heaven.
5 And whoever shall accept one such little child in my name, accepts me.
6 But whoever will have led astray one of these little ones, who trust in me, it would be better for him to have a great millstone hung around his neck, and to be submerged in the depths of the sea.
7 Woe to a world that leads people astray! Although it is necessary for temptations to arise, nevertheless: Woe to that man through whom temptation arises!
8 So if your hand or your foot leads you to sin, cut it off and cast it away from you. It is better for you to enter into life disabled or lame, than to be sent into eternal fire having two hands or two feet.
9 And if your eye leads you to sin, root it out and cast it away from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, than to be sent into the fires of Hell having two eyes.
10 See to it that you do not despise even one of these little ones. For I say to you, that their Angels in heaven continually look upon the face of my Father, who is in heaven.
11 For the Son of man has come to save what had been lost.
12 How does it seem to you? If someone has one hundred sheep, and if one of them has gone astray, should he not leave behind the ninety-nine in the mountains, and go out to seek what has gone astray?
13 And if he should happen to find it: Amen I say to you, that he has more joy over that one, than over the ninety-nine which did not go astray.
14 Even so, it is not the will before your Father, who is in heaven, that one of these little ones should be lost.
15 But if your brother has sinned against you, go and correct him, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you will have regained your brother.
16 But if he will not listen you, invite with you one or two more, so that every word may stand by the mouth of two or three witnesses.
17 And if he will not listen to them, tell the Church. But if he will not listen to the Church, let him be to you like the pagan and the tax collector.
18 Amen I say to you, whatever you will have bound on earth, shall be bound also in heaven, and whatever you will have released on earth, shall be released also in heaven.
19 Again I say to you, that if two of those among you have agreed on earth, about anything whatsoever that they have requested, it shall be done for them by my Father, who is in heaven.
20 For wherever two or three are gathered in my name, there am I, in their midst."
21 Then Peter, drawing near to him, said: "Lord, how many times shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Even seven times?"
22 Jesus said to him: "I do not say to you, even seven times, but even seventy times seven times.
23 Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is compared to a man who was king, who wanted to take account of his servants.
24 And when he had begun taking account, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.
25 But since he did not have any way to repay it, his lord ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children, and all that he had, in order to repay it.
26 But that servant, falling prostrate, begged him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will repay it all to you.'
27 Then the lord of that servant, being moved with pity, released him, and he forgave his debt.
28 But when that servant departed, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him one hundred denarius. And taking hold of him, he choked him, saying: 'Repay what you owe.'
29 And his fellow servant, falling prostrate, petitioned him, saying: 'Have patience with me, and I will repay it all to you.'
30 But he was not willing. Instead, he went out and had him sent to prison, until he would repay the debt.
31 Now his fellow servants, seeing what was done, were greatly saddened, and they went and reported to their lord all that was done.
32 Then his lord called him, and he said to him: 'You wicked servant, I forgave you all your debt, because you pleaded with me.
33 Therefore, should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I also had compassion on you?'
34 And his lord, being angry, handed him over to the torturers, until he repaid the entire debt.
35 So, too, shall my heavenly Father do to you, if each one of you will not forgive his brother from your hearts."
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Matthew 18
18
Who Is the Greatest?
1At that time the followers came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
2Jesus called a little child to him and stood the child before his followers. 3Then he said, “I tell you the truth, you must change and become like little children. Otherwise, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4The greatest person in the kingdom of heaven is the one who makes himself humble like this child.
5“Whoever accepts a child in my name accepts me. 6If one of these little children believes in me, and someone causes that child to sin, it would be better for that person to have a large stone tied around the neck and be drowned in the sea. 7How terrible for the people of the world because of the things that cause them to sin. Such things will happen, but how terrible for the one who causes them to happen! 8If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose part of your body and live forever than to have two hands and two feet and be thrown into the fire that burns forever. 9If your eye causes you to sin, take it out and throw it away. It is better for you to have only one eye and live forever than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.
A Lost Sheep
10“Be careful. Don’t think these little children are worth nothing. I tell you that they have angels in heaven who are always with my Father in heaven. [11The Son of Man came to save lost people.]
12“If a man has a hundred sheep but one of the sheep gets lost, he will leave the other ninety-nine on the hill and go to look for the lost sheep. 13I tell you the truth, if he finds it he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that were never lost. 14In the same way, your Father in heaven does not want any of these little children to be lost.
When a Person Sins Against You
15“If your fellow believer sins against you, go and tell him in private what he did wrong. If he listens to you, you have helped that person to be your brother or sister again. 16But if he refuses to listen, go to him again and take one or two other people with you. ‘Every case may be proved by two or three witnesses.’ 17If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen to the church, then treat him like a person who does not believe in God or like a tax collector.
18“I tell you the truth, the things you don’t allow on earth will be the things God does not allow. And the things you allow on earth will be the things that God allows.
19“Also, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about something and pray for it, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20This is true because if two or three people come together in my name, I am there with them.”
An Unforgiving Servant
21Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, when my fellow believer sins against me, how many times must I forgive him? Should I forgive him as many as seven times?”
22Jesus answered, “I tell you, you must forgive him more than seven times. You must forgive him even if he wrongs you seventy times seven.
23“The kingdom of heaven is like a king who decided to collect the money his servants owed him. 24When the king began to collect his money, a servant who owed him several million dollars was brought to him. 25But the servant did not have enough money to pay his master, the king. So the master ordered that everything the servant owned should be sold, even the servant’s wife and children. Then the money would be used to pay the king what the servant owed.
26“But the servant fell on his knees and begged, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything I owe.’ 27The master felt sorry for his servant and told him he did not have to pay it back. Then he let the servant go free.
28“Later, that same servant found another servant who owed him a few dollars. The servant grabbed him around the neck and said, ‘Pay me the money you owe me!’
29“The other servant fell on his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything I owe.’
30“But the first servant refused to be patient. He threw the other servant into prison until he could pay everything he owed. 31When the other servants saw what had happened, they were very sorry. So they went and told their master all that had happened.
32“Then the master called his servant in and said, ‘You evil servant! Because you begged me to forget what you owed, I told you that you did not have to pay anything. 33You should have showed mercy to that other servant, just as I showed mercy to you.’ 34The master was very angry and put the servant in prison to be punished until he could pay everything he owed.
35“This king did what my heavenly Father will do to you if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.