Mat 18 | NASB1995 | STEP | At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said , “ Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven ?”

Matthew 18

Rank in the Kingdom

1 ^aAt that ^{▼▼ Lit hour}time the disciples came to Jesus and said, ^c“Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And He called a child to Himself and set him ^{▼▼ Lit in their midst}before them, 3 and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you ^{▼▼ Lit are turned}are converted and ^fbecome like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 “Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 “And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; 6 but ^gwhoever ^hcauses one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it ^{▼▼ Lit is better}would be better for him to have a ^{▼▼ Lit millstone turned by a donkey}heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

Stumbling Blocks

7 “Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For ^kit is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!

8 ^l“If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than ^{▼▼ Lit having; Gr part.}to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire. 9 ⁿ“If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than ^{▼▼ Lit having; Gr part.}to have two eyes and be cast into the ^{▼▼ Lit Gehenna of fire
,} ^qfiery hell.

10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that ^rtheir angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven. 11 [ ^{▼▼ Early mss do not contain this v
,} ^t“For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.]

Ninety-nine Plus One

12 “What do you think? ^uIf any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying? 13 “If it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. 14 “So it is not the will ^{▼▼ Lit before}of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.

Discipline and Prayer

15 ^w“If your brother sins ^{▼▼ Late mss add against you}, go and ^{▼▼ Or reprove}show him his fault ^{▼▼ Lit between you and him alone}in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. 16 “But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that ^aa by the mouth of two or three witnesses every ^{▼▼ Lit word} fact may be confirmed. 17 “If he refuses to listen to them, ^actell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, ^adlet him be to you as ^{▼▼ Lit the}a Gentile and ^{▼▼ Lit the}a tax collector. 18 “Truly I say to you, ^agwhatever you ^{▼▼ Or forbid}bind on earth ^{▼▼ Gr fut. pft. pass.}shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you ^{▼▼ Or permit}loose on earth ^{▼▼ Gr fut. pft. pass.}shall have been loosed in heaven.

19 “Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, ^alit shall be done for them ^{▼▼ Lit from}by My Father who is in heaven. 20 “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, ^anI am there in their midst.”

Forgiveness

21 Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, ^aohow often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to ^apseven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to ^aqseventy times seven.

23 “For this reason ^arthe kingdom of heaven ^{▼▼ Lit was compared to}may be compared to a king who wished to ^atsettle accounts with his slaves. 24 “When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ^{▼▼ A talent was worth more than fifteen years’ wages of a laborer}ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25 “But since he ^{▼▼ Or was unable to
,} ^awdid not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him ^axto be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made. 26 “So the slave fell to the ground and ^ayprostrated himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’ 27 “And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and ^azforgave him the ^{▼▼ Or loan}debt. 28 “But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred ^{▼▼ The denarius was a day’s wages}denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ 29 “So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’ 30 “But he was unwilling ^{▼▼ Lit but}and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed. 31 “So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened. 32 “Then summoning him, his lord said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 ‘ ^bdShould you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’ 34 “And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. 35 ^be“My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from ^{▼▼ Lit your hearts}your heart.”