Mat 18:2-14 | ESV | STEP | And calling to him a child , he put him in the midst of them

2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them 3 and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you ^aturn and ^bbecome like children, you ^cwill never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 ^dWhoever humbles himself like this child is the ^egreatest in the kingdom of heaven.

5 ^f“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, 6 but ^gwhoever causes one of these ^hlittle ones who believe in me to sin, ^{▼▼Greek causes . . . to stumble; also verses 8, 9} it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

Temptations to Sin

7 “Woe to the world for ^jtemptations to sin! ^{▼▼Greek stumbling blocks} ^lFor it is necessary that temptations come, ^mbut woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! 8 ⁿAnd if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into ^othe eternal fire. 9 ^pAnd if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the ^qhell ^{▼▼Greek Gehenna} of fire.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

10 “See that you do not despise ^sone of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven ^ttheir angels always ^usee the face of my Father who is in heaven. ^{▼▼Some manuscripts add verse 11: For the Son of Man came to save the lost} 12 ^wWhat do you think? ^xIf a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? 13 And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 14 So ^yit is not the will of my ^{▼▼Some manuscripts your} Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.