New Century Version NCV
New Living Translation NLT
1 At that time the followers came to Jesus and asked, "Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"
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About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”
2 Jesus called a little child to him and stood the child before his followers.
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Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them.
3 Then he said, "I tell you the truth, you must change and become like little children. Otherwise, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
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Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven.
4 The greatest person in the kingdom of heaven is the one who makes himself humble like this child.
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So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.
5 "Whoever accepts a child in my name accepts me.
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“And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me.
6 If one of these little children believes in me, and someone causes that child to sin, it would be better for that person to have a large stone tied around the neck and be drowned in the sea.
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But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea.
7 How terrible for the people of the world because of the things that cause them to sin. Such things will happen, but how terrible for the one who causes them to happen!
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“What sorrow awaits the world, because it tempts people to sin. Temptations are inevitable, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting.
8 If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose part of your body and live forever than to have two hands and two feet and be thrown into the fire that burns forever.
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So if your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one hand or one foot than to be thrown into eternal fire with both of your hands and feet.
9 If your eye causes you to sin, take it out and throw it away. It is better for you to have only one eye and live forever than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.
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And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.
10 "Be careful. Don't think these little children are worth nothing. I tell you that they have angels in heaven who are always with my Father in heaven.
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“Beware that you don’t look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels are always in the presence of my heavenly Father.
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12 "If a man has a hundred sheep but one of the sheep gets lost, he will leave the other ninety-nine on the hill and go to look for the lost sheep.
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“If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost?
13 I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that were never lost.
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And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn’t wander away!
14 In the same way, your Father in heaven does not want any of these little children to be lost.
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In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish.
15 "If your fellow believer sins against you, go and tell him in private what he did wrong. If he listens to you, you have helped that person to be your brother or sister again.
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“If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back.
16 But if he refuses to listen, go to him again and take one or two other people with you. 'Every case may be proved by two or three witnesses.'
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But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses.
17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen to the church, then treat him like a person who does not believe in God or like a tax collector.
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If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector.
18 "I tell you the truth, the things you don't allow on earth will be the things God does not allow. And the things you allow on earth will be the things that God allows.
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“I tell you the truth, whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.
19 "Also, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about something and pray for it, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.
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“I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you.
20 This is true because if two or three people come together in my name, I am there with them."
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For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.”
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, when my fellow believer sins against me, how many times must I forgive him? Should I forgive him as many as seven times?"
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Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?”
22 Jesus answered, "I tell you, you must forgive him more than seven times. You must forgive him even if he does wrong to you seventy-seven times.
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“No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!
23 "The kingdom of heaven is like a king who decided to collect the money his servants owed him.
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“Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him.
24 When the king began to collect his money, a servant who owed him several million dollars was brought to him.
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In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars.
25 But the servant did not have enough money to pay his master, the king. So the master ordered that everything the servant owned should be sold, even the servant's wife and children. Then the money would be used to pay the king what the servant owed.
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He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt.
26 "But the servant fell on his knees and begged, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything I owe.'
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“But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’
27 The master felt sorry for his servant and told him he did not have to pay it back. Then he let the servant go free.
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Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.
28 "Later, that same servant found another servant who owed him a few dollars. The servant grabbed him around the neck and said, 'Pay me the money you owe me!'
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“But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.
29 "The other servant fell on his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything I owe.'
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“His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded.
30 "But the first servant refused to be patient. He threw the other servant into prison until he could pay everything he owed.
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But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full.
31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were very sorry. So they went and told their master all that had happened.
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“When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened.
32 "Then the master called his servant in and said, 'You evil servant! Because you begged me to forget what you owed, I told you that you did not have to pay anything.
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Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me.
33 You should have showed mercy to that other servant, just as I showed mercy to you.'
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Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’
34 The master was very angry and put the servant in prison to be punished until he could pay everything he owed.
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Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.
35 "This king did what my heavenly Father will do to you if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart."
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“That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.