Matthew 18:10-35

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

10 "See that you do not despise ¹one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven ²their angels always ³see the face of my Father who is in heaven.^[a]

12 ⁴What do you think? ⁵If 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 ⁶it is not the will of my^[b] Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

If Your Brother Sins Against You

15 ⁷"If your brother sins against you, ⁸go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have ⁹gained your brother.

16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established ¹⁰by the evidence of two or three witnesses.

17 If he refuses to listen to them, ¹¹tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, ¹²let him be to you as ¹³a Gentile and ¹⁴a tax collector.

18 Truly, I say to you, ¹⁵whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed^[c] in heaven.

19 Again I say to you, if two of you ¹⁶agree on earth about anything they ask, ¹⁷it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.

20 For where two or three are ¹⁸gathered in my name, ¹⁹there am I among them."

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

21 Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often ²⁰will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? ²¹As many as seven times?"

22 Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.^[d]

23 "Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished ²²to settle accounts with his servants.^[e]

24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ²³ten thousand ²⁴talents.^[f]

25 ²⁵And since he could not pay, his master ordered him ²⁶to be sold, with his wife and ²⁷children and all that he had, and payment to be made.

26 So the servant^[g]²⁸fell 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 ²⁹forgave him the debt.

28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred ³⁰denarii,^[h] 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 ³¹And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?'

34 ³²And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers,^[i]³³until he should pay all his debt.

35 ³⁴So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother ³⁵from your heart."

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Cross References 35

1. [Matthew 6:29; Matthew 25:40, 45; Luke 15:7, 10]
2. Acts 12:15; [Psalms 34:7; Psalms 91:11; Hebrews 1:14]
3. Luke 1:19; Revelation 8:2; [Esther 1:14]
4. Matthew 17:25; Matthew 21:28
5. For ver. 12-14, [Luke 15:4-7]
6. John 6:39; John 10:28; [John 17:12]
7. Luke 17:3
8. 2 Thessalonians 3:15; [Titus 3:10; James 5:19]; See Leviticus 19:17
9. 1 Corinthians 9:19-22; 1 Peter 3:1
10. Deuteronomy 19:15; 2 Corinthians 13:1; [Numbers 35:30; John 8:17; 1 Timothy 5:19; Hebrews 10:28]
11. [1 Corinthians 5:4, 5; 1 Corinthians 6:1-6]
12. [Romans 16:17; 1 Corinthians 5:9-13; 2 Thessalonians 3:6, 14; 2 John 10]
13. Matthew 5:46, 47
14. Matthew 5:46, 47
15. [Matthew 16:19; John 20:23]
16. [Acts 12:5, 12; Philemon 22]
17. See Matthew 7:7
18. [Acts 4:30, 31; 1 Corinthians 5:4]
19. [Matthew 28:20; John 12:26; John 20:20, 26]
20. ver. 15
21. Luke 17:3, 4; [Colossians 3:13]
22. Matthew 25:19
23. Esther 3:9
24. Matthew 25:15
25. [Luke 7:42]
26. Exodus 21:2; Leviticus 25:39
27. 2 Kings 4:1; Nehemiah 5:5
28. Acts 10:25; See Matthew 8:2
29. [See ver. 25 above]
30. Matthew 20:2; Matthew 22:19; Mark 6:37; Mark 14:5; Luke 7:41; Luke 10:35; John 6:7
31. [Matthew 6:12; Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13; 1 John 4:11]
32. See James 2:13
33. ver. 30; [Matthew 5:25, 26]
34. Matthew 6:15; [Proverbs 21:13]
35. 1 Peter 1:22; [Romans 6:17]

Footnotes 9

[a]. Some manuscripts add verse 11: For the Son of Man came to save the lost
[b]. Some manuscripts your
[c]. Or shall have been bound... shall have been loosed
[d]. Or seventy-seven times
[e]. Greek bondservants; also verses 28, 31
[f]. A talent was a monetary unit worth about twenty years' wages for a laborer
[g]. Greek bondservant; also verses 27, 28, 29, 32, 33
[h]. A denarius was a day's wage for a laborer
[i]. Greek torturers

The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.