Net English TranslationMatthew 18 =
Questions About the Greatest
18

1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 He called a child, had him stand among them, 3 and said, “I tell you the truth,1 unless you turn around and become like little children,2 you will never3 enter the kingdom of heaven! 4 Whoever then humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever welcomes4 a child like this in my name welcomes me.

6 “But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,5 it would be better for him to have a huge millstone6 hung around his neck and to be drowned in the open sea.7 7 Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! It8 is necessary that stumbling blocks come, but woe to the person through whom they come. 8 If9 your hand or your foot causes you to sin,10 cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than to have11 two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye than to have12 two eyes and be thrown into fiery hell.13

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

10 “See that you do not disdain one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. 11 [[EMPTY]]14 12 What do you think? If someone15 owns a hundred16 sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go look for the one that went astray?17 13 And if he finds it, I tell you the truth,18 he will rejoice more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. 14 In the same way, your Father in heaven is not willing that one of these little ones be lost.

Restoring Christian Relationships

15 “If19 your brother20 sins,21 go and show him his fault22 when the two of you are alone. If he listens to you, you have regained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others with you, so that at the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter may be established.23 17 If24 he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. If25 he refuses to listen to the church, treat him like26 a Gentile27 or a tax collector.28

18 “I tell you the truth,29 whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven. 19 Again, I tell you the truth,30 if two of you on earth agree about whatever you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you.31 20 For where two or three are assembled in my name, I am there among them.”

21 Then Peter came to him and said, “Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother32 who sins against me? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, I tell you, but seventy-seven times!33

The Parable of the Unforgiving Slave

23 “For this reason, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his slaves.34 24 As35 he began settling his accounts, a man who owed ten thousand talents36 was brought to him. 25 Because37 he was not able to repay it,38 the lord ordered him to be sold, along with39 his wife, children, and whatever he possessed, and repayment to be made. 26 Then the slave threw himself to the ground40 before him, saying,41 ‘Be patient with me, and I will repay you everything.’ 27 The lord had compassion on that slave and released him, and forgave him the debt. 28 After42 he went out, that same slave found one of his fellow slaves who owed him one hundred silver coins.43 So44 he grabbed him by the throat and started to choke him,45 saying, ‘Pay back what you owe me!’46 29 Then his fellow slave threw himself down and begged him,47 ‘Be patient with me, and I will repay you.’ 30 But he refused. Instead, he went out and threw him in prison until he repaid the debt. 31 When48 his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were very upset and went and told their lord everything that had taken place. 32 Then his lord called the first slave49 and said to him, ‘Evil slave! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me! 33 Should you not have shown mercy to your fellow slave, just as I showed it to you?’ 34 And in anger his lord turned him over to the prison guards to torture him50 until he repaid all he owed. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to you, if each of you does not forgive your51 brother52 from your heart.”

1tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.” 2sn The point of the comparison become like little children has more to do with a child’s trusting spirit, as well as willingness to be dependent and receive from others, than any inherent humility the child might possess. 3tn The negation in Greek (οὐ μή, ou mh) is very strong here. 4tn This verb, δέχομαι (decomai), is a term of hospitality (L&N 34.53). 5tn The Greek term σκανδαλίζω (skandalizw), translated here “causes to sin” can also be translated “offends” or “causes to stumble.” 6tn Grk “the millstone of a donkey.” This refers to a large flat stone turned by a donkey in the process of grinding grain (BDAG 661 s.v. μύλος 2; L&N 7.68-69). The same term is used in the parallel account in Mark 9:42.sn The punishment of drowning with a heavy weight attached is extremely gruesome and reflects Jesus’ views concerning those who cause others who believe in him to sin. 7tn The term translated “open” here (πελάγει, pelagei) refers to the open sea as opposed to a stretch of water near a coastline (BDAG 794 s.v. πέλαγος). A similar English expression would be “the high seas.” 8tn Grk “For it.” Here γάρ (gar) has not been translated. 9tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated. 10sn In Greek there is a wordplay that is difficult to reproduce in English here. The verb translated “causes…to sin” (σκανδαλίζω, skandalizw) comes from the same root as the word translated “stumbling blocks” (σκάνδαλον, skandalon) in the previous verse. 11tn Grk “than having.” 12tn Grk “than having.” 13tn Grk “the Gehenna of fire.”sn See the note on the word hell in 5:22. 14tc The most important mss (א B L* Θ* Ë1,13 33 892* pc e ff1 sys sa) do not include 18:11 “For the Son of Man came to save the lost.” The verse is included in D Lmg W Θc 078vid Ï lat syc,p,h, but is almost certainly not original, being borrowed, as it were, from the parallel in Luke 19:10. The present translation follows NA27 in omitting the verse number as well, a procedure also followed by a number of other modern translations. 15tn Grk “a certain man.” The Greek word ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used here in a somewhat generic sense. 16sn This individual with a hundred sheep is a shepherd of modest means, as flocks often had up to two hundred head of sheep. 17sn Look for the one that went astray. The parable pictures God’s pursuit of the sinner. On the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, see John 10:1-18. 18tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.” 19tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated. All the “if” clauses in this paragraph are third class conditions in Greek. 20tn The Greek term “brother” can mean “fellow believer” or “fellow Christian” (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 2.a) whether male or female. It can also refer to siblings, though here it is used in a broader sense to connote familial relationships within the family of God. Therefore, because of the familial connotations, “brother” has been retained in the translation here in preference to the more generic “fellow believer” (“fellow Christian” would be anachronistic in this context). 21tc ‡ The earliest and best witnesses lack “against you” after “if your brother sins.” It is quite possible that the shorter reading in these witnesses (א B, as well as 0281 Ë1 579 pc sa) occurred when scribes either intentionally changed the text (to make it more universal in application) or unintentionally changed the text (owing to the similar sound of the end of the verb ἁμαρτήσῃ [Jamarthsh] and the prepositional phrase εἰς σέ [eis se]). However, if the mss were normally copied by sight rather than by sound, especially in the early centuries of Christianity, such an unintentional change is not as likely for these mss. And since scribes normally added material rather than deleted it for intentional changes, on balance, the shorter reading appears to be original. NA27 includes the words in brackets, indicating doubts as to their authenticity. 22tn Grk “go reprove him.” 23sn A quotation from Deut 19:15. 24tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated. 25tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated. 26tn Grk “let him be to you as.” 27tn Or “a pagan.” 28sn To treat him like a Gentile or a tax collector means not to associate with such a person. See the note on tax collectors in 5:46. 29tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.” 30tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.” 31tn Grk “if two of you…agree about whatever they ask, it will be done for them by my Father who is in heaven.” The passive construction has been translated as an active one in keeping with contemporary English style, and the pronouns, which change from second person plural to third person plural in the Greek text, have been consistently translated as second person plural. 32tn Here the term “brother” means “fellow believer” or “fellow Christian” (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 2.a), whether male or female. Concerning the familial connotations, see also the note on the first occurrence of this term in v. 15. 33tn Or “seventy times seven,” i.e., an unlimited number of times. See L&N 60.74 and 60.77 for the two possible translations of the phrase. 34tn See the note on the word “slave” in 8:9. 35tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated. 36sn A talent was a huge sum of money, equal to 6,000 denarii. One denarius was the usual day’s wage for a worker. L&N 6.82 states, “a Greek monetary unit (also a unit of weight) with a value which fluctuated, depending upon the particular monetary system which prevailed at a particular period of time (a silver talent was worth approximately six thousand denarii with gold talents worth at least thirty times that much).” 37tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated. 38tn The word “it” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context. 39tn Grk “and his wife.” 40tn Grk “falling therefore the slave bowed down to the ground.” The redundancy of this expression signals the desperation of the slave in begging for mercy. 41tc The majority of mss (א L W 058 0281 Ë1,13 33 Ï it syp,h co) begin the slave’s plea with “Lord” (κύριε, kurie), though a few important witnesses lack this vocative (B D Θ 700 pc lat sys,c Or Chr). Understanding the parable to refer to the Lord, scribes would be naturally prone to add the vocative here, especially as the slave’s plea is a plea for mercy. Thus, the shorter reading is more likely to be authentic. 42tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated. 43tn Grk “one hundred denarii.” The denarius was a silver coin worth about a day’s wage for a laborer; this would be about three month’s pay. 44tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so.” A new sentence was started at this point in the translation in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences. 45tn Grk “and he grabbed him and started choking him.” 46tn The word “me” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context. 47tn Grk “begged him, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated. 48tn Grk “Therefore when.” Here οὖν (oun) has not been translated. 49tn Grk “him”; the referent (the first slave mentioned in v. 24) has been specified in the translation for clarity. 50tn Grk “handed him over to the torturers,” referring specifically to guards whose job was to torture prisoners who were being questioned. According to L&N 37.126, it is difficult to know for certain in this instance whether the term actually envisions torture as a part of the punishment or is simply a hyperbole. However, in light of the following verse and Jesus’ other warning statements in Matthew about “fiery hell,” “the outer darkness,” etc., it is best not to dismiss this as mere imagery. 51tn Grk “his.” The pronoun has been translated to follow English idiom (the last pronoun of the verse [“from your heart”] is second person plural in the original). 52tn Here the term “brother” means “fellow believer” or “fellow Christian” (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 2.a), whether male or female. Concerning the familial connotations, see also the note on the first occurrence of this term in v. 15.
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