St Matthew 18
18
1AT that hour the disciples came to Jesus, saying: Who thinkest thou is the greater in the kingdom of heaven?
2And Jesus calling unto him a little child, set him in the midst of them,
3And said: Amen I say to you, unless you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
4Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, he is the greater in the kingdom of heaven.
5And he that shall receive one such little child in my name, receiveth me.
6But he that shall scandalize one of these little ones that believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone should be hanged about his neck, and that he should be drowned in the depth of the sea.
7Woe to the world because of scandals. For it must needs be that scandals come: but nevertheless woe to that man by whom the scandal cometh.
8And if thy hand, or thy foot scandalize thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee. It is better for thee to go into life maimed or lame, than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into everlasting fire.
9And if thy eye scandalize thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee. It is better for thee having one eye to enter into life, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.
10See that you despise not one of these little ones: for I say to you, that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.
11For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.
12What think you? If a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them should go astray: doth he not leave the ninety-nine in the mountains, and go to seek that which is gone astray?
13And if it so be that he find it: Amen I say to you, he rejoiceth more for that, than for the ninety-nine that went not astray.
14Even so it is not the will of your Father, who is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.
15But if thy brother shall offend against thee, go, and rebuke him between thee and him alone. If he shall hear thee, thou shalt gain thy brother.
16And if he will not hear thee, take with thee one or two more: that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may stand.
17And if he will not hear them: tell the church. And if he will not hear the church, let him be to thee as the heathen and publican.
18Amen I say to you, whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, shall be bound also in heaven; and whatsoever you shall loose upon earth, shall be loosed also in heaven.
19Again I say to you, that if two of you shall consent upon earth, concerning any thing whatsoever they shall ask, it shall be done to them by my Father who is in heaven.
20For where there are two or three gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
21Then came Peter unto him and said: Lord, how often shall my brother offend against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
22Jesus saith to him: I say not to thee, till seven times; but till seventy times seven times.
23Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened to a king, who would take an account of his servants.
24And when he had begun to take the account, one was brought to him, that owed him ten thousand talents.
25And as he had not wherewith to pay it, his lord commanded that he should be sold, and his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.
26But that servant falling down, besought him, saying: Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
27And the lord of that servant being moved with pity, let him go and forgave him the debt.
28But when that servant was gone out, he found one of his fellow servants that owed him an hundred pence: and laying hold of him, throttled him, saying: Pay what thou owest.
29And his fellow servant falling down, 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 paid the debt.
31Now his fellow servants seeing what was done, were very much grieved, and they came and told their lord all that was done.
32Then his lord called him; and said to him: Thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all the debt, because thou besoughtest me:
33Shouldst not thou then have had compassion also on thy fellow servant, even as I had compassion on thee?
34And his lord being angry, delivered him to the torturers until he paid all the debt.
35So also shall my heavenly Father do to you, if you forgive not every one his brother from your hearts.
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St Matthew 18: DRC1752
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Matthew 18
18
The greatest in the kingdom of heaven
1At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’
2He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. 3And he said: ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.
Causing to stumble
6 ‘If anyone causes one of these little ones – those who believe in me – to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung round their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. 7Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come! 8If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. 9And if your eye causes you to stumble, 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.
The parable of the wandering sheep
10 ‘See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. 11#18:11 Some manuscripts include here the words of Luke 19:10.
12 ‘What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 13And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. 14In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.
Dealing with sin in the church
15 ‘If your brother or sister # 18:15 The Greek word for brother or sister (adelphos) refers here to a fellow disciple, whether man or woman; also in verses 21 and 35. sins,#18:15 Some manuscripts sins against you go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that “every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.”#18:16 Deut. 19:15 17If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
18 ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be # 18:18 Or will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be#18:18 Or will have been loosed in heaven.
19 ‘Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.’
The parable of the unmerciful servant
21Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?’
22Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.#18:22 Or seventy times seven
23 ‘Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold#18:24 Greek ten thousand talents; a talent was worth about 20 years of a day labourer’s wages. was brought to him. 25Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
26 ‘At this the servant fell on his knees before him. “Be patient with me,” he begged, “and I will pay back everything.” 27The servant’s master took pity on him, cancelled the debt and let him go.
28 ‘But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. # 18:28 Greek a hundred denarii ; a denarius was the usual daily wage of a day labourer (see 20:2). He grabbed him and began to choke him. “Pay back what you owe me!” he demanded.
29 ‘His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, “Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.”
30 ‘But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.
32 ‘Then the master called the servant in. “You wicked servant,” he said, “I cancelled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?” 34In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
35 ‘This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.’
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