MatthewChapter 18

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¹At that time the disciples came to Jesus. They asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" ²Jesus called a little child to stand among them. ³"I tell you the truth," he said, "you must change and become like little children. If you don't, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴So whoever makes himself humble like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. ⁶These little ones believe in me. Suppose anyone causes one of them to stumble into sin. It would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck. It would be better for him to be drowned in the deep sea. ⁷How terrible it will be for the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come. But how terrible it will be for the person who causes them! 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 fire that never ends. ⁹And 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 to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell. ¹⁰Be careful not to look down on any of these little ones. I tell you, their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. ¹¹—a ¹²What do you think? Suppose a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away. Won't he leave the ninety-nine on the hills? Won't he go and look for the one that is lost? ¹³And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander away. ¹⁴In the same way, your Father in heaven does not want any of these little ones to perish. ¹⁵If your brother sins against you, go and talk to him about it, just the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother back. ¹⁶But if he will not listen, take one or two others with you. Then 'every matter can be proven by what two or three witnesses say.' ¹⁷If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would treat a pagan or a tax collector. ¹⁸I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven. And whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. ¹⁹Again, I tell you the truth. Suppose two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for. My Father in heaven will do it for you. ²⁰For where two or three gather together in my name, I am there with them." ²¹Then Peter came to Jesus. He asked, "Lord, how many times should I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" ²²Jesus answered, "I tell you, not just seven times, but seventy-seven times!b ²³Because of this, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴As he began to settle them, a man was brought to him who owed ten thousand talents.c ²⁵The man could not pay. So the master ordered that he be sold to pay the debt. His wife and children and everything he owned were to be sold too. ²⁶Then the servant fell on his knees in front of him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' ²⁷His master felt deep pity for him. He canceled the debt and let him go. ²⁸But then that servant went out and found one of the other servants. This man owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he said.d ²⁹So the other servant fell down and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.' ³⁰But he refused. Instead, he went and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay what he owed. ³¹The other servants saw what had happened, and they were very upset. They went and told their master all about it. ³²Then the master called the man in. He said, 'You evil servant! I canceled all your debt because you begged me. ³³Shouldn't you have had mercy on the other servant, just as I had mercy on you?' ³⁴His master was angry. He handed him over to the jailers to be tortured until he paid back all he owed. ³⁵This is how my Father in heaven will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."