Rank in the Kingdom

1At that [a]time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2And He called a child to Himself and set him among them, 3and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you [b]change and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. 4So whoever will humble himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5And whoever receives one such child in My name, receives Me; 6but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to [c]sin, it is better for him that a [d]heavy millstone be hung around his neck, and that he be drowned in the depths of the sea.

Stumbling Blocks

7“Woe to the world because of its [e]stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that [f]stumbling blocks come; but woe to the person through whom the [g]stumbling block comes!

8“And if your hand or your foot is causing you to sin, cut it off and throw it away from you; it is better for you to enter life maimed or without a foot, than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into the eternal fire. 9And if your eye is causing you to sin, tear it out and throw it away from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be thrown into the [h]fiery hell.

10“See that you do not look down on one of these little ones; for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven.[i]

Ninety-nine Plus One

12“What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains, and go and search for the one that is lost? 13And if it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that have not gone astray. 14So it is not the will [j]of your Father who is in heaven for one of these little ones to perish.

Discipline and Prayer

15“Now if your brother sins[k], go and [l]show him his fault [m]in private; if he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that ON THE [n]TESTIMONY OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES EVERY [o]MATTER MAY BE CONFIRMED. 17And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, he is to be to you as [p]a Gentile and [q]a tax collector. 18Truly I say to you, whatever you [r]bind on earth [s]shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you [t]loose on earth [u]shall have been loosed in heaven.

19“Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them [v]by My Father who is in heaven. 20For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.”

Forgiveness

21Then Peter came up and said to Him, “Lord, how many times shall my brother sin against me and I still forgive him? Up to seven times?” 22Jesus *said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to [w]seventy-seven times.

23“For this reason the kingdom of heaven [x]is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his slaves. 24And when he had begun to settle them, one who owed him [y]ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25But since he [z]did not have the means to repay, his master commanded that he be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment be made. 26So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’ 27And the master of that slave felt compassion, and he released him and forgave him the [aa]debt. 28But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred [ab]denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe!’ 29So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’ 30But he was unwilling, [ac]and went and threw him in prison until he would pay back what was owed. 31So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their master all that had happened. 32Then summoning him, his master *said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’ 34And his master, moved with anger, handed him over to the [ad]torturers until he would repay all that was owed him. 35My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your [ae]heart.”

[a] 1 Lit hour
[b] 3 Lit turn
[c] 6 Or stumble, and so throughout the ch
[d] 6 Lit millstone turned by a donkey
[e] 7 I.e., enticements to sin
[f] 7 I.e., enticements to sin
[g] 7 I.e., enticements to sin
[h] 9 Lit Gehenna of fire
[i] 10 Late mss add (traditionally v 11): For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost
[j] 14 Lit before
[k] 15 Late mss add against you
[l] 15 Or correct
[m] 15 Lit between you and him alone
[n] 16 Lit mouth
[o] 16 Lit word
[p] 17 Lit the
[q] 17 Lit the
[r] 18 I.e., forbid
[s] 18 Gr fut. pft. pass. tense
[t] 18 I.e., permit
[u] 18 Gr fut. pft. pass. tense
[v] 19 Lit from
[w] 22 Or possibly seventy times seven
[x] 23 Lit has been compared to
[y] 24 By one estimate, a debt of 60 million working days for a laborer
[z] 25 Or was unable to
[aa] 27 Or loan
[ab] 28 The denarius was a day’s wages for a laborer
[ac] 30 Lit but
[ad] 34 I.e., jailors assigned to torture prisoners
[ae] 35 Lit hearts