Mat 18 | NASB2020 | 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, “ ^cWho then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And He called a child to Himself and set him among them, 3 and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you ^{▼▼Lit turn}change and ^ebecome like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 So whoever will humble himself like 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 ^fwhoever ^gcauses one of these little ones who believe in Me to ^{▼▼Or stumble, and so throughout the ch}sin, it is better for him that a ^{▼▼Lit millstone turned by a donkey}heavy millstone be hung around his neck, and that he be drowned in the depths of the sea.

Stumbling Blocks

7 “Woe to the world because of its ^{▼▼I.e., enticements to sin}stumbling blocks! For ^kit is inevitable that ^{▼▼I.e., enticements to sin}stumbling blocks come; but woe to the person through whom the ^{▼▼I.e., enticements to sin}stumbling block comes!

8 “And ⁿif your hand or your foot is causing you to sin, cut it off and throw it away from you; it is better for you to enter life maimed or without a foot, than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into the eternal fire. 9 And ^oif your eye is causing you to sin, tear it out and throw it away from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be thrown into the ^{▼▼Lit Gehenna of fire
,} ^qfiery hell.

10 “See that you do not look down on 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. ^{▼▼Late mss add (traditionally v 11): For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost}

Ninety-nine Plus One

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

Discipline and Prayer

15 “Now ^wif your brother sins ^{▼▼Late mss add against you}, go and ^{▼▼Or correct}show him his fault ^{▼▼Lit between you and him alone}in private; if he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that ^aaon the ^{▼▼Lit mouth}testimony of two or three witnesses every ^{▼▼Lit word}matter may be confirmed. 17 And if he refuses to listen to them, ^adtell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, ^aehe is to be to you as ^{▼▼Lit the}a Gentile and ^{▼▼Lit the}a tax collector. 18 Truly I say to you, ^ahwhatever you ^{▼▼I.e., forbid}bind on earth ^{▼▼Gr fut. pft. pass. tense}shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you ^{▼▼I.e., permit}loose on earth ^{▼▼Gr fut. pft. pass. tense}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, ^amit 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, ^aoI am there in their midst.”

Forgiveness

21 Then Peter came up and said to Him, “Lord, ^aphow many times shall my brother sin against me and I still forgive him? Up to ^aqseven times?” 22 Jesus *said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to ^{▼▼Or possibly seventy times seven
,} ^asseventy-seven times.

23 “For this reason ^atthe kingdom of heaven ^{▼▼Lit has been compared to}is like a king who wanted to ^avsettle accounts with his slaves. 24 And when he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ^{▼▼By one estimate, a debt of 60 million working days for a laborer}ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25 But since he ^{▼▼Or was unable to
,} ^aydid not have the means to repay, his master commanded that he ^azbe sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment be made. 26 So the slave fell to the ground and ^baprostrated himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’ 27 And the master of that slave felt compassion, and he released him and ^bbforgave 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 for a laborer}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 would 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 master all that had happened. 32 Then summoning him, his master *said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 ^bfShould you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’ 34 And his master, moved with anger, handed him over to the ^{▼▼I.e., jailors assigned to torture prisoners}torturers until he would repay all that was owed him. 35 ^bhMy heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your ^{▼▼Lit hearts}heart.”