Matthew 18 :: English Standard Version (ESV)

Who Is the Greatest?

(Mar 9:33–37; Luk 9:46–48 )

Mat 18:1At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

Mat 18:2And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them

Mat 18:3and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Mat 18:4

Mat 18:4Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Mat 18:5

Mat 18:5“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me,

(Mar 9:42–48; Luk 17:1, 2 )

Mat 18:6

Mat 18:6but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,[fn] it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

Temptations to Sin

Mat 18:7

Mat 18:7“Woe to the world for temptations to sin![fn] For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes!

Mat 18:8

Mat 18:8And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire.

Mat 18:9

Mat 18:9And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell[fn] of fire.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

(Luk 15:1–7 )

Mat 18:10

Mat 18:10“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.[fn]

Mat 18:11

Mat 18:11 See Footnote

Mat 18:12

Mat 18:12What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?

Mat 18:13

Mat 18:13And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray.

Mat 18:14

Mat 18:14So it is not the will of my[fn] Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

If Your Brother Sins Against You

Mat 18:15

Mat 18:15“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.

Mat 18:16

Mat 18:16But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.

Mat 18:17

Mat 18:17If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

Mat 18:18

Mat 18:18Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed[fn] in heaven.

Mat 18:19

Mat 18:19Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.

Mat 18:20

Mat 18:20For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

Mat 18:21

Mat 18:21Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?”

Mat 18:22

Mat 18:22Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.

Mat 18:23

Mat 18:23“Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants.[fn]

Mat 18:24

Mat 18:24When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.[fn]

Mat 18:25

Mat 18:25And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.

Mat 18:26

Mat 18:26So the servant[fn] fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’

Mat 18:27

Mat 18:27And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.

Mat 18:28

Mat 18:28But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii,[fn] and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’

Mat 18:29

Mat 18:29So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’

Mat 18:30

Mat 18:30He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt.

Mat 18:31

Mat 18:31When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place.

Mat 18:32

Mat 18:32Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.

Mat 18:33

Mat 18:33And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’

Mat 18:34

Mat 18:34And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers,[fn] until he should pay all his debt.

Mat 18:35

Mat 18:35So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

See the ESV Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).

ESV Footnotes

(18:6)

Greek causes… to stumble; also verses 8, 9

(18:7)

Greek stumbling blocks

(18:9)

Greek Gehenna

(18:10)

Some manuscripts add verse 11: For the Son of Man came to save the lost

(18:14)

Some manuscripts your

(18:18)

Or shall have been bound… shall have been loosed

(18:23)

Or bondservants; also verses 28, 31

(18:24)

A talent was a monetary unit worth about twenty years’ wages for a laborer

(18:26)

Or bondservant; also verses 27, 28, 29, 32, 33

(18:28)

A denarius was a day’s wage for a laborer

(18:34)

Greek torturers

BLB Footnotes

(18:11)

Some Greek manuscripts exclude this verse. The ESV related footnote for 18:10 states:
Some manuscripts add verse 11: For the Son of Man came to save the lost

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