Mat 17-18 | ESV | STEP | And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James , and John his brother , and led them up a high mountain by themselves .

1 ^aAnd after six days Jesus took with him ^bPeter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 And he was ^ctransfigured before them, and ^dhis face shone like the sun, and ^ehis clothes became white as light. 3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4 And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for ^fElijah.” 5 He was still speaking when, behold, ^ga bright cloud overshadowed them, and ^ha voice from the cloud said, ⁱ“This is my beloved Son, ^{▼▼Or my Son, my (or the) Beloved} with whom I am well pleased; ^klisten to him.” 6 When ^lthe disciples heard this, ^mthey fell on their faces and were terrified. 7 But Jesus came and ⁿtouched them, saying, “Rise, and ^ohave no fear.” 8 And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

9 ^pAnd as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, ^q“Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.” 10 And the disciples asked him, “Then why do the scribes say ^rthat first Elijah must come?” 11 He answered, “Elijah does come, and ^she will restore all things. 12 But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but ^tdid to him whatever they pleased. ^uSo also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.” 13 ^vThen the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.

Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon

14 ^wAnd when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, 15 said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he ^xhas seizures and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. 16 And I brought him to your disciples, and ^ythey could not heal him.” 17 And Jesus answered, “O faithless and ^ztwisted generation, how long am I to be with you? ^aaHow long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” 18 And Jesus ^abrebuked the demon, ^{▼▼Greek it} and it ^{▼▼Greek the demon} came out of him, and ^aethe boy was healed instantly. ^{▼▼Greek from that hour} 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20 He said to them, ^ag“Because of your little faith. For ^ahtruly, I say to you, ^aiif you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, ^ajyou will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and ^aknothing will be impossible for you.” ^{▼▼Some manuscripts insert verse 21: But this kind never comes out except by prayer and fasting}

Jesus Again Foretells Death, Resurrection

22 ^amAs they were gathering ^{▼▼Some manuscripts remained} in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, 23 and they will kill him, and he will be raised on ^aothe third day.” And they were greatly distressed.

The Temple Tax

24 ^apWhen they came to Capernaum, the collectors of ^aqthe two-drachma tax went up to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the tax?” 25 He said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, ^ar“What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or ^astax? From their sons or from others?” 26 And when he said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free. 27 However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel. ^{▼▼Greek stater, a silver coin worth four drachmas or approximately one shekel} Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself.”

Matthew 18

Who Is the Greatest?

1 ^auAt that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 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 ^avturn and ^awbecome like children, you ^axwill never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 ^ayWhoever humbles himself like this child is the ^azgreatest in the kingdom of heaven.

5 ^ba“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, 6 but ^bbwhoever causes one of these ^bclittle 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 ^betemptations to sin! ^{▼▼Greek stumbling blocks} ^bgFor it is necessary that temptations come, ^bhbut woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! 8 ^biAnd 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 ^bjthe eternal fire. 9 ^bkAnd 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 ^blhell ^{▼▼Greek Gehenna} of fire.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

10 “See that you do not despise ^bnone of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven ^botheir angels always ^bpsee 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 ^brWhat do you think? ^bsIf 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 ^btit is not the will of my ^{▼▼Some manuscripts your} Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

If Your Brother Sins Against You

15 ^bv“If your brother sins against you, ^bwgo and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have ^bxgained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established ^byby the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, ^bztell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, ^calet him be to you as ^cba Gentile and ^cca tax collector. 18 Truly, I say to you, ^cdwhatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed ^{▼▼Or shall have been bound . . . shall have been loosed} in heaven. 19 Again I say to you, if two of you ^cfagree on earth about anything they ask, ^cgit will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are ^chgathered in my name, ^cithere am I among them.”

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often ^cjwill my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? ^ckAs many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.

23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished ^clto settle accounts with his servants. ^{▼▼Greek bondservants; also verses 28, 31} 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ^cnten thousand ^cotalents. ^{▼▼A talent was a monetary unit worth about twenty years’ wages for a laborer} 25 ^cqAnd since he could not pay, his master ordered him ^crto be sold, with his wife and ^cschildren and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant ^{▼▼Greek bondservant; also verses 27, 28, 29, 32, 33} ^cufell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and ^cvforgave him the debt. 28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred ^cwdenarii, ^{▼▼A denarius was a day’s wage for a laborer} and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 ^cyAnd should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 ^czAnd in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, ^{▼▼Greek torturers} ^dbuntil he should pay all his debt. 35 ^dcSo also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother ^ddfrom your heart.”