Bible Gateway passage: Matthew 18 - New American Standard Bible 1995 (2024)

Rank in the Kingdom

18^(A)At that ^[a]time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “^(B)Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” ²And He called a child to Himself and set him ^[b]before them, ³and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you ^[c]are converted and ^(C)become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; ⁶but ^(D)whoever ^(E)causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it ^[d]would be better for him to have a ^[e]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 ^(F)it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!

⁸“^(G)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 ^[f]to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire. ^9(H)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 ^[g]to have two eyes and be cast into the ^[h](I)fiery hell.

¹⁰“See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that ^(J)their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven. ¹¹[^[i](K)For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.]

Ninety-nine Plus One

¹²“What do you think? ^(L)If 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? ¹³If 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. ¹⁴So it is not the will ^[j]of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.

Discipline and Prayer

¹⁵“^(M)If your brother sins^[k], go and ^[l]show him his fault ^[m]in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. ¹⁶But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that ^(N)by the mouth of two or three witnesses every ^[n]fact may be confirmed. ¹⁷If he refuses to listen to them, ^(O)tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, ^(P)let him be to you as ^[o]a Gentile and ^[p]a tax collector. ¹⁸Truly I say to you, ^(Q)whatever you ^[q]bind on earth ^[r]shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you ^[s]loose on earth ^[t]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, ^(R)it shall be done for them ^[u]by My Father who is in heaven. ²⁰For where two or three have gathered together in My name, ^(S)I am there in their midst.”

Forgiveness

²¹Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, ^(T)how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to ^(U)seven times?” ²²Jesus *said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to ^(V)seventy times seven.

²³“For this reason ^(W)the kingdom of heaven ^[v]may be compared to a king who wished to ^(X)settle accounts with his slaves. ²⁴When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ^[w]ten thousand talents was brought to him. ²⁵But since he ^[x](Y)did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him ^(Z)to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made. ²⁶So the slave fell to the ground and ^(AA)prostrated himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’ ²⁷And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and ^(AB)forgave him the ^[y]debt. ²⁸But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred ^[z]denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ ²⁹So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’ ³⁰But he was unwilling ^[aa]and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed. ³¹So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened. ³²Then summoning him, his lord *said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. ^33(AC)Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’ ³⁴And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. ^35(AD)My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from ^[ab]your heart.”