Matthew 18

Modern

Literal

The Greatest in the Kingdom

¹At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

¹In that hour the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greater in the kingdom of the heavens?”

²Jesus invited a little child to stand among them.

²And having summoned a little child, He set him in their midst

³“Truly I tell you,” He said, “unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

³and said, “Truly I say to you, if you shall not be turned and become as the little children, you shall never enter into the kingdom of the heavens.

⁴Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

⁴Therefore whoever will humble himself like this little child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of the heavens.

⁵And whoever welcomes a little child like this in My name welcomes Me.

⁵And whoever shall receive one such little child in My name, he receives Me.

Temptations and Trespasses

⁶But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

⁶And whoever might cause to stumble one of these little ones believing in Me, it is better for him that a heavy millstone should be hung around his neck and he should be sunk in the depth of the sea.

⁷Woe to the world for the causes of sin. These stumbling blocks must come, but woe to the man through whom they come!

⁷Woe to the world because of the stumbling blocks. For it is a necessity that the stumbling blocks come, but woe to the man through whom the stumbling block comes!

⁸If 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 to have two hands and two feet and be thrown into the eternal fire.

⁸Now if your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and cast it from you; it is better for you to enter into life crippled or lame than, having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the eternal fire.

⁹And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.^a

⁹And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life one-eyed than, having two eyes, to be cast into the Gehenna of fire.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

¹⁰See that you do not look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of My Father in heaven.^a

¹⁰See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I say to you that their angels in the heavens always see the face of My Father who is in the heavens.

¹¹—

¹²What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost?

¹²What do you think? If unto any man there should be a hundred sheep, and one of them should go astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and, having gone, seek the one going astray?

¹³And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices more over that one sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.

¹³And if it should come to pass that he finds it, truly I say to you that he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine not having gone astray.

¹⁴In the same way, your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.

¹⁴Thus it is not the will of your Father who is in the heavens that one of these little ones should be lost.

A Brother Who Sins

¹⁵If your brother sins against you,^a go and confront him privately. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.

¹⁵And if your brother may sin against you, go reprove him between you and him alone. If he may hear you, you have gained your brother.

¹⁶But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’^a

¹⁶But if he may not hear, take with you one or two more, so that ‘every word may be stood upon the testimony of two or three witnesses.’

¹⁷If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, regard him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

¹⁷And if he may fail to hear them, say it to the church. And if he may fail to hear even the church, let him be unto you as the Gentile and the tax collector.

¹⁸Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

¹⁸Truly I say to you, whatever you shall bind on the earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on the earth will be loosed in heaven.

Ask in My Name

¹⁹Again, I tell you truly that if two of you on the earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by My Father in heaven.

¹⁹Again, truly I say to you that if two of you on the earth shall agree about any matter that they shall ask, it will be done for them by My Father who is in the heavens.

²⁰For where two or three gather together in My name, there am I with them.”

²⁰For where two or three are gathered together unto My name, there am I in their midst.”

The Unforgiving Servant

²¹Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

²¹Then, having come, Peter said to Him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I will forgive him? Up to seven times?”

²²Jesus answered, “I tell you, not just seven times, but seventy-seven times!^a

²²Jesus says to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy-seven times!

²³Because of this, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.

²³Because of this, the kingdom of the heavens was likened to to a man, a king, who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.

²⁴As he began the settlements, a debtor owing ten thousand talents^a was brought to him.

²⁴And on his having begun to settle, one was brought to him, a debtor of ten thousand talents.

²⁵Since the man was unable to pay, the master ordered that he be sold to pay his debt, along with his wife and children and everything he owned.

²⁵And on his having nothing to repay, the master commanded him to be sold—and the wife and the children and all of whatever he had—and repayment to be made.

²⁶Then the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Have patience with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’

²⁶Therefore the servant, having fallen down, was bowing on his knees to him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will repay all to you.’

²⁷His master had compassion on him, forgave his debt, and released him.

²⁷And having been moved with compassion, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.

²⁸But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii.^a He grabbed him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe me!’

²⁸But having gone out, that servant found one of his fellow servants who was owing him a hundred denarii. And having seized him, he was choking him, saying, ‘Repay what you owe!’

²⁹So his fellow servant fell down and begged him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you back.’

²⁹Therefore, having fallen down, his fellow servant was calling on him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will repay you.’

³⁰But he refused. Instead, he went and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay his debt.

³⁰But he was not willing. Rather, having gone, he cast him into prison until he should repay what was owed.

³¹When his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and recounted all of this to their master.

³¹Therefore his fellow servants, having seen the things having happened, were deeply grieved, and having gone, they made clear to their master all the things having happened.

³²Then the master summoned him and said, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave all your debt because you begged me.

³²Then, having summoned him, his master says to him, ‘Evil servant! I forgave you all that debt because you called on me.

³³Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had on you?’

³³Was it not necessary for you also to have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I also had mercy on you?’

³⁴In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should repay all that he owed.

³⁴And having become angry, his master delivered him to the tormenters until he should repay everything being owed to him.

³⁵That is how My heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

³⁵Thus also My heavenly Father will do to you unless each of you should forgive his brother from your hearts.”