Luke 17:1-10

Warnings from Jesus

1 He said to His disciples, "Offenses ^[a] will certainly come, ^[b] but woe to the one they come through!

2 It would be better for him if a millstone ^[c] were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to stumble.

3 Be on your guard. If your brother sins, ^[d] rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.

4 And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and comes back to you seven times, saying, 'I repent,' you must forgive him."

Faith and Duty

5 The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith."

6 "If you have faith the size of ^[e] a mustard seed," the Lord said, "you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you.

7 "Which one of you having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he comes in from the field, 'Come at once and sit down to eat'?

8 Instead, will he not tell him, 'Prepare something for me to eat, get ready, ^[f] and serve me while I eat and drink; later you can eat and drink'?

9 Does he thank that slave because he did what was commanded? ^[g]

10 In the same way, when you have done all that you were commanded, you should say, 'We are good-for-nothing slaves; we've only done our duty.' "

Footnotes

• [a]. Or Traps, or Bait-sticks, or Causes of stumbling, or Causes of sin
• [b]. Lit It is impossible for offenses not to come
• [c]. Large stone used for grinding grains into flour
• [d]. Other mss add against you
• [e]. Lit faith like
• [f]. Lit eat, tuck in your robe, or eat, gird yourself
• [g]. Other mss add I don't think so