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: CPDV
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Matthew 18
18
Who is the Greatest?
(Mk 9.33–37; Lk 9.46–48)
1 #
Lk 22.24
At that time the disciples came to Jesus, asking, “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?”
2So Jesus called a child, made him stand in front of them, 3#Mk 10.15; Lk 18.17and said, “I assure you that unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the Kingdom of heaven. 4The greatest in the Kingdom of heaven is the one who humbles himself and becomes like this child. 5And whoever welcomes in my name one such child as this, welcomes me.
Temptations to Sin
(Mk 9.42–48; Lk 17.1–2)
6 “If anyone should cause one of these little ones to lose his faith in me, it would be better for that person to have a large millstone tied round his neck and be drowned in the deep sea. 7How terrible for the world that there are things that make people lose their faith! Such things will always happen — but how terrible for the one who causes them!
8 #
Mt 5.30
“If your hand or your foot makes you lose your faith, cut it off and throw it away! It is better for you to enter life without a hand or a foot than to keep both hands and both feet and be thrown into the eternal fire. 9#Mt 5.29And if your eye makes you lose your faith, take it out and throw it away! It is better for you to enter life with only one eye than to keep both eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
(Lk 15.3–7)
10 “See that you don't despise any of these little ones. Their angels in heaven, I tell you, are always in the presence of my Father in heaven. # 18.10 Some manuscripts add verse 11: For the Son of Man came to save the lost (see Lk 19.10).
12 “What do you think a man does who has 100 sheep and one of them gets lost? He will leave the other 99 grazing on the hillside and go and look for the lost sheep. 13When he finds it, I tell you, he feels far happier over this one sheep than over the 99 that did not get lost. 14In just the same way your#18.14 your; some manuscripts have my. Father in heaven does not want any of these little ones to be lost.
A Brother or Sister who Sins
15 #
Lk 17.3
“If your brother sins against you, # 18.15 Some manuscripts do not have against you . go to him and show him his fault. But do it privately, just between yourselves. If he listens to you, you have won your brother back. 16#Deut 19.15But if he will not listen to you, take one or two other persons with you, so that ‘every accusation may be upheld by the testimony of two or more witnesses,’ as the scripture says. 17And if he will not listen to them, then tell the whole thing to the church. Finally, if he will not listen to the church, treat him as though he were a pagan or a tax collector.
Prohibiting and Permitting
18 #
Mt 16.19; Jn 20.23 “And so I tell all of you: what you prohibit on earth will be prohibited in heaven, and what you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.
19 “And I tell you more: whenever two of you on earth agree about anything you pray for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20For where two or three come together in my name, I am there with them.”
The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant
21 #
Lk 17.3–4
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, if my brother keeps on sinning against me, how many times do I have to forgive him? Seven times?”
22 #
Gen 4.24
“No, not seven times,” answered Jesus, “but seventy times seven,#18.22 seventy times seven; or 77 times. 23because the Kingdom of heaven is like this. Once there was a king who decided to check on his servants' accounts. 24He had just begun to do so when one of them was brought in who owed him millions of pounds. 25The servant did not have enough to pay his debt, so the king ordered him to be sold as a slave, with his wife and his children and all that he had, in order to pay the debt. 26The servant fell on his knees before the king. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay you everything!’ 27The king felt sorry for him, so he forgave him the debt and let him go.
28 “Then the man went out and met one of his fellow-servants who owed him a few pounds. He grabbed him and started choking him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he said. 29His fellow-servant fell down and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back!’ 30But he refused; instead, he had him thrown into jail until he should pay the debt. 31When the other servants saw what had happened, they were very upset and went to the king and told him everything. 32So he called the servant in. ‘You worthless slave!’ he said. ‘I forgave you the whole amount you owed me, just because you asked me to. 33You should have had mercy on your fellow-servant, just as I had mercy on you.’ 34The king was very angry, and he sent the servant to jail to be punished until he should pay back the whole amount.”
35And Jesus concluded, “That is how my Father in heaven will treat every one of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”
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Good News Bible with Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.