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

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

and said, “Verily I say unto you, unless ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.

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

And whoso shall receive one such little child in My name, receiveth Me.

But whoso shall cause one of these little ones who believe in Me to fall, it were better for him that a millstone were hung about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

“Woe unto the world because of offenses! For it must happen that offenses come, but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh.

Therefore if thy hand or thy foot cause thee to fall, cut them off and cast them from thee; it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into everlasting fire.

And if thine eye cause thee to fall, pluck it out and cast it from thee; it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire.

10 “Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you that in Heaven their angels do always behold the face of My Father who is in Heaven.

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

12 How think ye? If a man have a hundred sheep and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains and seeketh that which is gone astray?

13 And if it so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more over that sheep than over the ninety and nine which went not astray.

14 Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in Heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

15 “Moreover, if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone. If he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.

16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that ‘in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’

17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church; but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican.

18 Verily I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven; and so whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven.

19 “Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth concerning anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in Heaven.

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

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

22 And Jesus said unto him, “I say not unto thee, until seven times, but until seventy times seven.

23 “Therefore is the Kingdom of Heaven likened unto a certain king who would settle accounts with his servants.

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

25 But inasmuch as he could not pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.

26 The servant therefore fell down and did homage to him, saying,‘Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.’

27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him and forgave him the debt.

28 But the same servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred pence. And he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what thou owest.’

29 And his fellow servant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.’

30 And he would not, but went and cast him into prison till he should pay the debt.

31 So when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were very sorry and came and told unto their lord all that was done.

32 Then his lord, after he had called him, said unto him, ‘O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me.

33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had pity on thee?’

34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors till he should pay all that was due unto him.

35 So likewise shall My heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother’s 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).