Matthew 18

¹At that hour the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of the heavens?" ²And calling a child over, he set the child in their midst ³and said, "Truly I tell you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of the heavens. ⁴So whoever humbles himself like this child—this one is the greatest in the kingdom of the heavens. ⁵And whoever receives one such child in my name receives me.

⁶"But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble—it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the open sea. ⁷Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come, but woe to the person through whom the stumbling block comes.

⁸"If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away from you. It is better for you to enter into 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, tear it out and throw it away from you. It is better for you to enter into life one-eyed than to have two eyes and be thrown into the Gehenna of fire.

¹⁰"See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in the heavens continually see the face of my Father who is in the heavens.

¹²"What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders off, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go searching for the one that wandered? ¹³And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that did not wander. ¹⁴In the same way, it is not the will of your Father who is in the heavens that one of these little ones should perish.

¹⁵"If your brother sins against you, go and correct him between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won back your brother. ¹⁶But if he does not listen, take with you one or two others, so that by the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter may be established. ¹⁷If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the assembly. And if he refuses to listen even to the assembly, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

¹⁸"Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will have been loosed in heaven. ¹⁹Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about any matter you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father who is in the heavens. ²⁰For where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in their midst."

²¹Then Peter came to him and said, "Lord, how many times will my brother sin against me and I must forgive him? Up to seven times?" ²²Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you up to seven times, but up to seventy-seven times.

²³"For this reason the kingdom of the heavens may be compared to a king who decided to settle accounts with his slaves. ²⁴When he began settling, one debtor was brought before him who owed ten thousand talents. ²⁵Since he had no way to repay, the master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife and children and everything he owned, and payment to be made. ²⁶So the slave fell down and was bowing before him, saying, 'Be patient with me and I will repay you everything.' ²⁷And the master of that slave, moved in his gut with compassion, released him and forgave him the debt.

²⁸"But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii, and grabbing him by the throat, he was choking him, saying, 'Pay back what you owe!' ²⁹So his fellow slave fell down and begged him, saying, 'Be patient with me and I will repay you.' ³⁰But he refused. Instead he went and threw him into prison until he could repay what was owed.

³¹"When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved, and they went and reported to their master everything that had taken place. ³²Then his master summoned him and said to him, 'Wicked slave! I forgave you that entire debt because you begged me. ³³Should you not also have shown mercy to your fellow slave, just as I showed mercy to you?' ³⁴And in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he could repay all that was owed. ³⁵So also my heavenly Father will do to you, if each of you does not forgive your brother from your heart."