Matthew 18:14-16
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
14 In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost.
A Brother Who Sins.[a] 15 (A)“If your brother[b] sins [against you], go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. 16 [c](B)If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that ‘every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.’
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 18:15–20 Passing from the duty of Christian disciples toward those who have strayed from their number, the discourse now turns to how they are to deal with one who sins and yet remains within the community. First there is to be private correction (Mt 18:15); if this is unsuccessful, further correction before two or three witnesses (Mt 18:16); if this fails, the matter is to be brought before the assembled community (the church), and if the sinner refuses to attend to the correction of the church, he is to be expelled (Mt 18:17). The church’s judgment will be ratified in heaven, i.e., by God (Mt 18:18). This three-step process of correction corresponds, though not exactly, to the procedure of the Qumran community; see 1QS 5:25–6:1; 6:24–7:25; CD 9:2–8. The section ends with a saying about the favorable response of God to prayer, even to that of a very small number, for Jesus is in the midst of any gathering of his disciples, however small (Mt 18:19–20). Whether this prayer has anything to do with the preceding judgment is uncertain.
- 18:15 Your brother: a fellow disciple; see Mt 23:8. The bracketed words, against you, are widely attested but they are not in the important codices Sinaiticus and Vaticanus or in some other textual witnesses. Their omission broadens the type of sin in question. Won over: literally, “gained.”
- 18:16 Cf. Dt 19:15.
Matthew 18:14-16
New International Version
14 In 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[a] sins,[b] go and point out their fault,(A) just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16 But 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.’[c](B)
Footnotes
- Matthew 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.
- Matthew 18:15 Some manuscripts sins against you
- Matthew 18:16 Deut. 19:15
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