New Living Translation NLT
Common English Bible CEB
1 About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”
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At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"
2 Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them.
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Then he called a little child over to sit among the disciples,
3 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.
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and said, “I assure you that if you don't turn your lives around and become like this little child, you will definitely not enter the kingdom of heaven.
4 So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.
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Those who humble themselves like this little child will be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
5 “And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me.
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Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.
6 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.
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“As for whoever causes these little ones who believe in me to trip and fall into sin, it would be better for them to have a huge stone hung around their necks and be drowned in the bottom of the lake.
7 “What sorrow awaits the world, because it tempts people to sin. Temptations are inevitable, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting.
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How terrible it is for the world because of the things that cause people to trip and fall into sin! Such things have to happen, but how terrible it is for the person who causes those things to happen!
8 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.
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If your hand or your foot causes you to fall into sin, chop it off and throw it away. It's better to enter into life crippled or lame than to be thrown into the eternal fire with two hands or two feet.
9 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.
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If your eye causes you to fall into sin, tear it out and throw it away. It's better to enter into life with one eye than to be cast into a burning hell with two eyes.
10 “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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“Be careful that you don't look down on one of these little ones. I say to you that their angels in heaven are always looking into the face of my Father who is in heaven.
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12 “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?
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What do you think? If someone had one hundred sheep and one of them wandered off, wouldn't he leave the ninety-nine on the hillsides and go in search for the one that wandered off?
13 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!
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If he finds it, I assure you that he is happier about having that one sheep than about the ninety-nine who didn't wander off.
14 In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish.
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In the same way, my Father who is in heaven doesn't want to lose one of these little ones.
15 “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.
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"If your brother or sister sins against you, go and correct them when you are alone together. If they listen to you, then you've won over your brother or sister.
16 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.
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But if they won't listen, take with you one or two others so that every word may be established by the mouth of two or three witnesses.
17 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.
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But if they still won't pay attention, report it to the church. If they won't pay attention even to the church, treat them as you would a Gentile and tax collector.
18 “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.
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I assure you that whatever you fasten on earth will be fastened in heaven. And whatever you loosen on earth will be loosened in heaven.
19 “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.
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Again I assure you that if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, then my Father who is in heaven will do it for you.
20 For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.”
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For where two or three are gathered in my name, I'm there with them."
21 Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?”
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Then Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, how many times should I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Should I forgive as many as seven times?"
22 “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!
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Jesus said, “Not just seven times, but rather as many as seventy-seven times.
23 “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.
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Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.
24 In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars.
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When he began to settle accounts, they brought to him a servant who owed him ten thousand bags of gold.
25 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.
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Because the servant didn't have enough to pay it back, the master ordered that he should be sold, along with his wife and children and everything he had, and that the proceeds should be used as payment.
26 “But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’
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But the servant fell down, kneeled before him, and said, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I'll pay you back.'
27 Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.
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The master had compassion on that servant, released him, and forgave the loan.
28 “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.
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“When that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him one hundred coins. He grabbed him around the throat and said, ‘Pay me back what you owe me.'
29 “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.
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“Then his fellow servant fell down and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I'll pay you back.'
30 But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full.
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But he refused. Instead, he threw him into prison until he paid back his debt.
31 “When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened.
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“When his fellow servants saw what happened, they were deeply offended. They came and told their master all that happened.
32 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.
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His master called the first servant and said, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you appealed to me.
33 Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’
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Shouldn't you also have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?'
34 Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.
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His master was furious and handed him over to the guard responsible for punishing prisoners, until he had paid the whole debt.
35 “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”
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"My heavenly Father will also do the same to you if you don't forgive your brother or sister from your heart."