| New International Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" | 1At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, "Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" |
| 2He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. | 2Then He called a child to Him and had him stand among them. |
| 3And he said: "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. | 3"I assure you," He said, "unless you are converted and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. |
| 4Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. | 4Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child--this one is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. |
| 5And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. | 5And whoever welcomes one child like this in My name welcomes Me. |
| 6"If anyone causes one of these little ones--those who believe in me--to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. | 6"But whoever causes the downfall of one of these little ones who believe in Me--it would be better for him if a heavy millstone were hung around his neck and he were drowned in the depths of the sea! |
| 7Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come! | 7Woe to the world because of offenses. For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes. |
| 8If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. | 8If your hand or your foot causes your downfall, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into the eternal fire. |
| 9And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell. | 9And if your eye causes your downfall, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, rather than to have two eyes and be thrown into hellfire! |
| 10"See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. | 10"See that you don't look down on one of these little ones, because I tell you that in heaven their angels continually view the face of My Father in heaven. |
| 11 | 11For the Son of Man has come to save the lost. |
| 12"What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? | 12What do you think? If a man has 100 sheep, and one of them goes astray, won't he leave the 99 on the hillside and go and search for the stray? |
| 13And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. | 13And if he finds it, I assure you: He rejoices over that sheep more than over the 99 that did not go astray. |
| 14In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish. | 14In the same way, it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones perish. |
| 15"If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. | 15"If your brother sins against you, go and rebuke him in private. If he listens to you, you have won your brother. |
| 16But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' | 16But if he won't listen, take one or two more with you, so that by the testimony of two or three witnesses every fact may be established. |
| 17If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector. | 17If he pays no attention to them, tell the church. But if he doesn't pay attention even to the church, let him be like an unbeliever and a tax collector to you. |
| 18"Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. | 18I assure you: Whatever you bind on earth is already bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth is already loosed in heaven. |
| 19"Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. | 19Again, I assure you: If two of you on earth agree about any matter that you pray for, it will be done for you by My Father in heaven. |
| 20For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them." | 20For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there among them." |
| 21Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?" | 21Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how many times could my brother sin against me and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" |
| 22Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. | 22"I tell you, not as many as seven," Jesus said to him, "but 70 times seven. |
| 23"Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. | 23For this reason, the kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who wanted to settle accounts with his slaves. |
| 24As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. | 24When he began to settle accounts, one who owed 10,000 talents was brought before him. |
| 25Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. | 25Since he had no way to pay it back, his master commanded that he, his wife, his children, and everything he had be sold to pay the debt. |
| 26"At this the servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' | 26"At this, the slave fell facedown before him and said, Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything!' |
| 27The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. | 27Then the master of that slave had compassion, released him, and forgave him the loan. |
| 28"But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded. | 28"But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him 100 denarii. He grabbed him, started choking him, and said, Pay what you owe!' |
| 29"His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.' | 29"At this, his fellow slave fell down and began begging him, Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.' |
| 30"But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. | 30But he wasn't willing. On the contrary, he went and threw him into prison until he could pay what was owed. |
| 31When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened. | 31When the other slaves saw what had taken place, they were deeply distressed and went and reported to their master everything that had happened. |
| 32"Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. | 32"Then, after he had summoned him, his master said to him, You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. |
| 33Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' | 33Shouldn't you also have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?' |
| 34In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. | 34And his master got angry and handed him over to the jailers to be tortured until he could pay everything that was owed. |
| 35"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart." | 35So My heavenly Father will also do to you if each of you does not forgive his brother from his heart." |
| New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. | Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. |
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