Matthew 18:3-13

3 and said, "I assure you that unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the Kingdom of heaven. ¹

4 The greatest in the Kingdom of heaven is the one who humbles himself and becomes like this child.

5 And whoever welcomes in my name one such child as this, welcomes me.

6 "If anyone should cause one of these little ones to lose his faith in me, it would be better for that person to have a large millstone tied around his neck and be drowned in the deep sea.

7 How terrible for the world that there are things that make people lose their faith! Such things will always happen - but how terrible for the one who causes them!

8 "If your hand or your foot makes you lose your faith, cut it off and throw it away! It is better for you to enter life without a hand or a foot than to keep both hands and both feet and be thrown into the eternal fire. ²

9 And if your eye makes you lose your faith, take it out and throw it away! It is better for you to enter life with only one eye than to keep both eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell. ³

10 ⁴

12 "What do you think a man does who has one hundred sheep and one of them gets lost? He will leave the other ninety-nine grazing on the hillside and go and look for the lost sheep.

13 When he finds it, I tell you, he feels far happier over this one sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not get lost.

Cross References

• 1. 18.3Mark 10.15;Luke 18.17.
• 2. 18.8Matthew 5.30.
• 3. 18.9Matthew 5.29.
• 4. +218.10Tobit 12.15.+O"See that you don't despise any of these little ones. Their angels in heaven, I tell you, are always in the presence of my Father in heaven.+f[Some manuscripts add verse 11:] For the Son of Man came to save the lost [(seeLuke 19.10).]+e+N18.11Luke 19.10.