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18 At the same time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”

And Jesus called a little child to Him, and set him in the midst of them,

and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.

“Whoever, therefore, shall humble himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.

“And whoever shall receive one such little child in My Name, receives Me.

“But whoever shall cause one of these little ones who believes in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depths of the sea.

“Woe to the world because of offenses. For it must be that snares shall come. But woe be to the man by whom the stumbling block comes.

“Therefore, if your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut them off and cast them from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame, or maimed, than - having two hands or two feet - to be cast into everlasting fire.

“And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, than (having two eyes) to be cast into hell fire.

10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I say to you that, in Heaven, their angels always behold the face of My Father Who is in Heaven.

11 “For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.

12 “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine, and go into the mountains, and seek those which have gone astray?

13 “And if he finds it? Truly I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine which did not go astray.

14 “Nor is it the will of your Father Who is in Heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

15 “Moreover, if your brother trespasses against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have won your brother.

16 “But if he does not hear you, take one or two with you. So that, by the mouths of two or three witnesses, every word may be confirmed.

17 “And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to hear the church also, let him be as a heathen and a tax collector to you.

18 “Truly I say to you that whatever you bind on Earth shall be bound in Heaven. And whatever you release on Earth, shall be released in Heaven.

19 “Again, truly I say to you that if two of you shall agree on earth upon anything, whatever they shall desire shall be given to them by My Father Who is in Heaven.

20 “For where two or three are gathered together in My Name, there I am in the midst of them.”

21 Then Peter came to Him, and said, “Master, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I shall forgive him - up to seven times?”

22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, ‘Up to seven times’, but, ‘Up to seventy times seven times’.

23 “Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a certain King, who would take an account of his servants.

24 “And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.

25 “And because he had nothing to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold - and his wife, and children, and all that he had - and the debt to be paid.

26 “Therefore, the servant fell down and worshipped him, saying, ‘Lord, have patience with me and I will pay you all!’

27 “Then that servant’s lord had compassion and freed him. And forgave him the debt.

28 “But when the servant had departed, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. And he laid hands on him, and choked him, saying, ‘Pay me that you owe!’

29 “Then his fellow servant fell down at his feet, and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all!’

30 “But he would not. And went and cast him into prison, until he should pay the debt.

31 “And when his other fellow servants saw what was done, they were very sorry. And they came and declared to their lord all that was done.

32 “Then his lord called him, and said to him, ‘O evil servant! I forgave you all that debt, because you begged me.

33 “‘Ought not you also have had pity on your fellow servant, even as I had pity on you?’

34 “So his lord was angry, and delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all that was due to him.

35 “So likewise shall My Heavenly Father do to you, unless you forgive - from your hearts - each one his brother their trespasses.”

The Greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven(A)

18 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children,(B) you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.(C) Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.(D) And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.(E)

Causing to Stumble

“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 around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.(F) Woe 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!(G) If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble,(H) 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. And if your eye causes you to stumble,(I) 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.(J)

The Parable of the Wandering Sheep(K)

10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels(L) in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. [11] [a]

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? 13 And 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. 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[b] sins,[c] go and point out their fault,(M) 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.’[d](N) 17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church;(O) and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.(P)

18 “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be[e] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be[f] loosed in heaven.(Q)

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(R) by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”(S)

The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant

21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me?(T) Up to seven times?”(U)

22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.[g](V)

23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like(W) a king who wanted to settle accounts(X) with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold[h] was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay,(Y) the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold(Z) to repay the debt.

26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him.(AA) ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled 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.[i] 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. 31 When 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 canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In 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.”(AB)

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 18:11 Some manuscripts include here the words of Luke 19:10.
  2. 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.
  3. Matthew 18:15 Some manuscripts sins against you
  4. Matthew 18:16 Deut. 19:15
  5. Matthew 18:18 Or will have been
  6. Matthew 18:18 Or will have been
  7. Matthew 18:22 Or seventy times seven
  8. Matthew 18:24 Greek ten thousand talents; a talent was worth about 20 years of a day laborer’s wages.
  9. Matthew 18:28 Greek a hundred denarii; a denarius was the usual daily wage of a day laborer (see 20:2).