Matthew 18
18
Who Is the Greatest?
1At that time # Lit hour # Mk 9:33-37; Lk 9:46-48 the disciples # Mt 9:10; Mk 10:10; Lk 6:1; Jn 6:3; Ac 6:1 came to Jesus and said, “Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven? ” # Mt 22:24; Jn 3:35; 13:20
2Then He called a child to Him and had him stand among them. 3“I assure you,” He said, “unless you are converted # Or are turned around and become like children, # Mt 19:14; Mk 10:15; Lk 18:17; 1Co 14:20; 1Pt 2:2 you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. # Mt 5:20; 7:21; 19:23-24; Mk 9:47; Jn 3:5 4Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child — this one is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5And whoever welcomes # Or receives one child like this in My name welcomes Me.
6“But whoever causes the downfall of one of these little ones who believe in Me — it would be better for him if a heavy millstone # A millstone turned by a donkey were hung around his neck and he were drowned in the depths of the sea! # Mk 9:42; Lk 17:2; 1Co 8:12 7Woe to the world because of offenses. For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes. # Mt 26:24; Lk 17:1; 1Co 11:19 8If your hand or your foot causes your downfall, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into the eternal fire. # Mt 5:30; 25:41; Mk 9:43 9And if your eye causes your downfall, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, rather than to have two eyes and be thrown into hellfire! # Lit gehenna of fire # Mt 5:22,29; Mk 9:47
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
10“See that you don’t look down on one of these little ones, # Est 1:14; Lk 1:19; Rv 8:2 because I tell you that in heaven their angels # Ps 34:7; 91:11; Heb 1:14 continually view the face of My Father in heaven. # Mt 6:29; 25:40,45; Lk 15:7,10 11For the Son of Man # Mk 2:10; Jn 2:25 has come to save the lost. # Other mss omit bracketed text 12What do you think? # Lk 15:1-7 If a man has 100 sheep, and one of them goes astray, won’t he leave the 99 on the hillside and go and search for the stray? # Mt 17:25; 21:28 13And if he finds it, I assure you: He rejoices over that sheep # Lit over it more than over the 99 that did not go astray. 14In the same way, it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones perish.
Restoring a Brother
15“If your brother sins against you, # Other mss omit against you go and rebuke him in private. # Lit him between you and him alone If he listens to you, you have won your brother. # Lv 19:17; Lk 17:3; Gl 6:1; 2Th 3:15; Jms 5:19; 1Pt 3:1 16But if he won’t listen, take one or two more with you, so that by the testimony # Lit mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be established. # Nm 35:30; Jn 8:17; 2Co 13:1; 1Tm 5:19; Heb 10:28 # Dt 19:15 17If he pays no attention to them, tell the church. # Or congregation # Mt 16:18; 1Co 14:4; Rv 1:4 But if he doesn’t pay attention even to the church, let him be like an unbeliever # Or like a Gentile and a tax collector to you. # Rm 16:17; 1Co 5:9; 6:1-6; 2Th 3:6,14; 2Jn 10 18I assure you: Whatever you bind on earth is already bound # Or earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth is already loosed # Or earth will be loosed in heaven. # Mt 16:19; Jn 20:23 19Again, I assure you: If two of you on earth agree about any matter that you # Lit they pray for, it will be done for you # Lit for them by My Father in heaven. 20For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there among them.”
The Parable of the Unforgiving Slave
21Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how many times could my brother sin against me and I forgive him? As many as seven times? ” # Lk 17:3-4; Col 3:13
22“I tell you, not as many as seven,” Jesus said to him, “but 70 times seven. # Or but 77 times 23For this reason, the kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who wanted to settle accounts with his slaves. 24When he began to settle accounts, one who owed 10,000 talents # A huge sum of money that could never be repaid by a slave; a talent = 6,000 denarii was brought before him. 25Since he had no way to pay it back, his master commanded that he, his wife, his children, and everything he had be sold to pay the debt. # Ex 21:2; Lv 25:39; 2Kg 4:1; Neh 5:5,8; Lk 7:42
26“At this, the slave fell facedown before him and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything! ’ 27Then the master of that slave had compassion, released him, and forgave him the loan.
28“But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him 100 denarii. # A small sum compared to 10,000 talents # Mt 20:2; 22:19; Mk 6:37; 14:5; Lk 7:41; 10:35; Jn 6:7 He grabbed him, started choking him, and said, ‘Pay what you owe! ’
29“At this, his fellow slave fell down # Other mss add at his feet and began begging him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ 30But he wasn’t willing. On the contrary, he went and threw him into prison until he could pay what was owed. 31When the other slaves saw what had taken place, they were deeply distressed and went and reported to their master everything that had happened.
32“Then, after he had summoned him, his master said to him, ‘You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. 33Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you? ’ # Mt 6:12; Eph 4:32; Col 3:13; 1Jn 4:11 34And his master got angry and handed him over to the jailers to be tortured until he could pay everything that was owed. 35So My heavenly Father will also do to you if each of you does not forgive his brother # Other mss add his trespasses from his # Lit your heart.” # Pr 21:13; Mt 6:14; Jms 2:13
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Matthew 18: HCSB
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Matthew 18
18
Who Is the Most Important Person in the Kingdom?
1At that time the disciples came to Jesus. They asked him, “Then who is the most important person in the kingdom of heaven?”
2Jesus called a little child over to him. He had the child stand among them. 3Jesus said, “What I’m about to tell you is true. You need to change and become like little children. If you don’t, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4Anyone who takes the humble position of this child is the most important in the kingdom of heaven. 5Anyone who welcomes a little child like this one in my name welcomes me.
Do Not Cause People to Sin
6“What if someone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin? If they do, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and be drowned at the bottom of the sea. 7How terrible it will be for the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Things like that must come. But how terrible for the person who causes them! 8If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It would be better to enter the kingdom of heaven with only one hand than go into hell with two hands. It would be better to enter the kingdom of heaven with only one foot than go into hell with two feet. In hell the fire burns forever. 9If your eye causes you to sin, poke it out and throw it away. It would be better to enter the kingdom of heaven with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.
The Story of the Wandering Sheep
10-11“See that you don’t look down on one of these little ones. Here is what I tell you. Their angels in heaven are always with my Father who is in heaven.
12“What do you think? Suppose a man owns 100 sheep and one of them wanders away. Won’t he leave the 99 sheep on the hills? Won’t he go and look for the one that wandered off? 13What I’m about to tell you is true. If he finds that sheep, he is happier about the one than about the 99 that didn’t wander off. 14It is the same with your Father in heaven. He does not want any of these little ones to die.
When Someone Sins Against You
15“If your brother or sister sins against you, go to them. Tell them what they did wrong. Keep it between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them back. 16But what if they won’t listen to you? Then take one or two others with you. Scripture says, ‘Every matter must be proved by the words of two or three witnesses.’ (Deuteronomy 19:15) 17But what if they also refuse to listen to the witnesses? Then tell it to the church. And what if they refuse to listen even to the church? Then don’t treat them as a brother or sister. Treat them as you would treat an ungodly person or a tax collector.
18“What I’m about to tell you is true. What you lock on earth will be locked in heaven. What you unlock on earth will be unlocked in heaven.
19“Again, here is what I tell you. Suppose two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for. My Father in heaven will do it for you. 20Where two or three people gather in my name, I am there with them.”
The Servant Who Had No Mercy
21Peter came to Jesus. He asked, “Lord, how many times should I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
22Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but 77 times.
23“The kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to collect all the money his servants owed him. 24As the king began to do it, a man who owed him 10,000 bags of gold was brought to him. 25The man was not able to pay. So his master gave an order. The man, his wife, his children, and all he owned had to be sold to pay back what he owed.
26“Then the servant fell on his knees in front of him. ‘Give me time,’ he begged. ‘I’ll pay everything back.’ 27His master felt sorry for him. He forgave him what he owed and let him go.
28“But then that servant went out and found one of the other servants who owed him 100 silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he said.
29“The other servant fell on his knees. ‘Give me time,’ he begged him. ‘I’ll pay it back.’
30“But the first servant refused. Instead, he went and had the man thrown into prison. The man would be held there until he could pay back what he owed. 31The other servants saw what had happened and were very angry. They went and told their master everything that had happened.
32“Then the master called the first servant in. ‘You evil servant,’ he said. ‘I forgave all that you owed me because you begged me to. 33Shouldn’t you have had mercy on the other servant just as I had mercy on you?’ 34In anger his master handed him over to the jailers. He would be punished until he paid back everything he owed.
35“This is how my Father in heaven will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
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