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The Blue Letter Bible

Matthew 18 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

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The Greatest in the Kingdom
(Mar 9:33–37; Luk 9:46–48 )

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Unchecked Copy Box Mat 18:1

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 18:1 - About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”

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Unchecked Copy Box Mat 18:2

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 18:2 - Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them.

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Unchecked Copy Box Mat 18:3

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 18:3 - 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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Unchecked Copy Box Mat 18:4

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 18:4 - So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.

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Unchecked Copy Box Mat 18:5

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 18:5 - “And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf[fn] is welcoming me.
(Mar 9:42–48; Luk 17:1, 2 )

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Unchecked Copy Box Mat 18:6

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 18:6 - 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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Unchecked Copy Box Mat 18:7

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 18:7 - “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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Unchecked Copy Box Mat 18:8

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 18:8 - 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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Unchecked Copy Box Mat 18:9

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 18:9 - 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.[fn]
(Luk 15:1–7 )

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Unchecked Copy Box Mat 18:10

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 18:10 - “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.[fn]
Parable of the Lost Sheep

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Unchecked Copy Box Mat 18:12

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 18:12 - “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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Unchecked Copy Box Mat 18:13

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 18:13 - 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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Unchecked Copy Box Mat 18:14

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 18:14 - In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish.
Correcting Another Believer

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Unchecked Copy Box Mat 18:15

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 18:15 - “If another believer[fn] sins against you,[fn] 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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Unchecked Copy Box Mat 18:16

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 18:16 - 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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Unchecked Copy Box Mat 18:17

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 18:17 - 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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Unchecked Copy Box Mat 18:18

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 18:18 - “I tell you the truth, whatever you forbid[fn] on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit[fn] on earth will be permitted in heaven.

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Unchecked Copy Box Mat 18:19

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 18:19 - “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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Unchecked Copy Box Mat 18:20

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 18:20 - For where two or three gather together as my followers,[fn] I am there among them.”
Parable of the Unforgiving Debtor

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Unchecked Copy Box Mat 18:21

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 18:21 - Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone[fn] who sins against me? Seven times?”

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Unchecked Copy Box Mat 18:22

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 18:22 - “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven![fn]

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Unchecked Copy Box Mat 18:23

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 18:23 - “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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Unchecked Copy Box Mat 18:24

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 18:24 - In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars.[fn]

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Unchecked Copy Box Mat 18:25

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 18:25 - 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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Unchecked Copy Box Mat 18:26

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 18:26 - “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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Unchecked Copy Box Mat 18:27

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 18:27 - Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.

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Unchecked Copy Box Mat 18:28

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 18:28 - “But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars.[fn] He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.

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Unchecked Copy Box Mat 18:29

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 18:29 - “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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Unchecked Copy Box Mat 18:30

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 18:30 - 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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Unchecked Copy Box Mat 18:31

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 18:31 - “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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Unchecked Copy Box Mat 18:32

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 18:32 - 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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Unchecked Copy Box Mat 18:33

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 18:33 - Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’

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Unchecked Copy Box Mat 18:34

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 18:34 - Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.

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Unchecked Copy Box Mat 18:35

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 18:35 - “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters[fn] from your heart.”
See the NLT Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).
NLT Footnotes
Greek in my name.
Greek the Gehenna of fire.
Some manuscripts add verse 11, And the Son of Man came to save those who are lost. Compare Luke 19:10.
Greek If your brother.
Some manuscripts do not include against you.
Or bind, or lock.
Or loose, or open.
Greek gather together in my name.
Greek my brother.
Or seventy-seven times.
Greek 10,000 talents [375 tons or 340 metric tons of silver].
Greek 100 denarii. A denarius was equivalent to a laborer’s full day’s wage.
Greek your brother.
BLB Footnotes
Some Greek manuscripts exclude this verse. The NLT related footnote for 18:10 states:
18:10 Some manuscripts add verse 11, And the Son of Man came to save those who are lost. Compare Luke 19:10.  
NLT

Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Full copyright information is provided here. Visit the New Living Translation website.

For more information on this translation, see the NLT Preface.

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Matthew Chapter 18 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New King James Version New International Version English Standard Version Christian Standard Bible New American Standard Bible 2020 New American Standard Bible 1995 Legacy Standard Bible Amplified Bible New English Translation Revised Standard Version American Standard Version Young's Literal Translation Darby Translation Webster's Bible Hebrew Names Version Latin Vulgate Morphological Greek New Testament Textus Receptus Smith Van Dyck Arabic Bible Open New Arabic Version Reina Valera 1909 Reina-Valera 1960 Bible in Basic English Chinese Traditional Union Espanol Moderno Korean Holy Bible Louis Segond German Luther Russian Synodal Translation Sagradas Escrituras