1 In that hour the disciples came to Jesus, saying, Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven? 2 And he took a little child, and put him in the middle of them, 3 And said, Truly, I say to you, If you do not have a change of heart and become like little children, you will not go into the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever, then, will make himself as low as this little child, the same is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever gives honour to one such little child in my name, gives honour to me: 6 But whoever is a cause of trouble to one of these little ones who have faith in me, it would be better for him to have a great stone fixed to his neck, and to come to his end in the deep sea. 7 A curse is on the earth because of trouble! for it is necessary for trouble to come; but unhappy is that man through whom the trouble comes. 8 And if your hand or your foot is a cause of trouble, let it be cut off and put it away from you: it is better for you to go into life with the loss of a hand or a foot than, having two hands or two feet, to go into the eternal fire. 9 And if your eye is a cause of trouble to you, take it out, and put it away from you: it is better for you to go into life with one eye than, having two eyes, to go into the hell of fire. 10 Let it not seem to you that one of these little ones is of no value; for I say to you that in heaven their angels see at all times the face of my Father in heaven. 11 [] 12 What would you say now? if a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone wandering away, will he not let the ninety-nine be, and go to the mountains in search of the wandering one? 13 And if he comes across it, truly I say to you, he has more joy over it than over the ninety-nine which have not gone out of the way. 14 Even so it is not the pleasure of your Father in heaven for one of these little ones to come to destruction. 15 And if your brother does wrong to you, go, make clear to him his error between you and him in private: if he gives ear to you, you have got your brother back again. 16 But if he will not give ear to you, take with you one or two more, that by the lips of two or three witnesses every word may be made certain. 17 And if he will not give ear to them, let it come to the hearing of the church: and if he will not give ear to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax-farmer. 18 Truly I say to you, Whatever things are fixed by you on earth will be fixed in heaven: and whatever you make free on earth will be made free in heaven. 19 Again, I say to you, that if two of you are in agreement on earth about anything for which they will make a request, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are come together in my name, there am I among them. 21 Then Peter came and said to him, Lord, what number of times may my brother do wrong against me, and I give him forgiveness? till seven times? 22 Jesus says to him, I say not to you, Till seven times; but, Till seventy times seven. 23 For this reason the kingdom of heaven is like a king, who went over his accounts with his servants. 24 And at the start, one came to him who was in his debt for ten thousand talents. 25 And because he was not able to make payment, his lord gave orders for him, and his wife, and his sons and daughters, and all he had, to be given for money, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant went down on his face and gave him worship, saying, Lord, give me time to make payment and I will give you all. 27 And the lord of that servant, being moved with pity, let him go, and made him free of the debt. 28 But that servant went out, and meeting one of the other servants, who was in debt to him for one hundred pence, he took him by the throat, saying, Make payment of your debt. 29 So that servant went down on his face, requesting him and saying, Give me time and I will make payment to you. 30 And he would not: but went and put him into prison till he had made payment of the debt. 31 So when the other servants saw what was done they were very sad, and came and gave word to their lord of what had been done. 32 Then his lord sent for him and said, You evil servant; I made you free of all that debt, because of your request to me: 33 Was it not right for you to have mercy on the other servant, even as I had mercy on you? 34 And his lord was very angry, and put him in the hands of those who would give him punishment till he made payment of all the debt. 35 So will my Father in heaven do to you, if you do not everyone, from your hearts, give forgiveness to his brother.
Matthew · Bible in Basic English
Matthew 18 Bible in Basic English
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
Cross references (34)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Mark 9:33–37; Luke 9:46–48; Matthew 20:20–28; Luke 22:24–27; Philippians 2:3
- 2 Matthew 19:13–14; Mark 9:36–37; 1 Kings 3:7; Jeremiah 1:7
- 3 Mark 10:14–15; 1 Peter 2:2; Matthew 19:14; 1 Corinthians 14:20; Luke 18:16–17
- 4 James 4:10; Mark 10:43; Luke 14:11; Luke 9:48; Matthew 23:11–12
- 5 Matthew 25:40; John 13:20; Mark 9:37; Galatians 4:14; Luke 17:1–2
- 6 Mark 9:42; Luke 17:1–2; Matthew 18:10; 2 Thessalonians 1:6–9; Matthew 18:14
- 7 Luke 17:1; 1 Corinthians 11:19; Matthew 26:24; 1 Timothy 4:1–3; Jude 4
- 8 Matthew 5:29–30; Philippians 3:8–9; Romans 13:12; Luke 18:22–23; Ezekiel 18:31
- 9 Acts 14:22; Matthew 18:8; Revelation 21:27; Matthew 5:22; Matthew 5:29
- 10 Psalm 91:11; Psalm 34:7; Hebrews 1:14; Luke 16:22; Acts 12:7–11
- 12 Ezekiel 34:12; Luke 15:4–7; Ezekiel 34:16; Isaiah 53:6; Ezekiel 34:28
- 13 Luke 15:5–10; Zephaniah 3:17; Psalm 147:11; Luke 15:23–24; John 4:34–36
- 14 John 17:12; 2 Peter 3:9; John 6:39–40; John 10:27–30; Isaiah 40:11
- 15 Leviticus 19:17; Galatians 6:1; Luke 17:3–4; 2 Thessalonians 3:15; Colossians 3:13
- 16 Deuteronomy 19:15; 2 Corinthians 13:1; John 8:17; 1 Timothy 5:19; Hebrews 10:28
- 17 2 Thessalonians 3:6; 1 Corinthians 5:9–6:7; 2 Thessalonians 3:14–15; 1 Corinthians 5:3–5; 2 John 10–11
- 18 Matthew 16:19; 2 Corinthians 2:10; John 20:23; 1 Corinthians 5:4–5; Revelation 3:7–8
- 19 Matthew 7:7; 1 John 5:14–16; Mark 11:24; John 14:13–14; Philippians 1:19
- 20 1 Corinthians 5:4; Revelation 21:3; Matthew 28:20; Zechariah 2:5; John 20:26
- 21 Luke 17:3–4; Matthew 18:15
- 22 Colossians 3:13; Mark 11:25; Genesis 4:24; Ephesians 4:31–5:1; Matthew 6:14–15
- 23 Romans 14:12; Matthew 13:24; Matthew 3:2; Matthew 13:44–45; Matthew 13:47
- 24 Psalm 38:4; Psalm 130:3–4; Psalm 40:12; Luke 13:4; Luke 16:5
- 25 Nehemiah 5:5; 2 Kings 4:1; Luke 7:42; Leviticus 25:39; Nehemiah 5:8
- 26 Matthew 18:29; Luke 7:43; Matthew 8:2; Romans 10:3
- 27 Psalm 145:8; Psalm 86:15; Psalm 86:5; Nehemiah 9:17; Psalm 78:38
- 28 Ezekiel 45:9; Matthew 20:2; Deuteronomy 15:2; Isaiah 58:3; Nehemiah 5:10–11
- 29 Matthew 6:12; Matthew 18:26; Philemon 18–19
- 30 1 Kings 22:27; 1 Kings 21:27–29
- 31 Romans 12:15; Hebrews 13:3; Mark 3:5; Jeremiah 9:1; Hebrews 13:17
- 32 Romans 3:19; Luke 19:22; Matthew 25:26
- 33 Colossians 3:13; Ephesians 4:32–5:2; Matthew 6:12; Luke 6:35–36; Matthew 5:44–45
- 34 James 2:13; Matthew 5:25–26; Luke 12:58–59; 2 Thessalonians 1:8–9; Revelation 14:10–11
- 35 Matthew 6:14–15; James 2:13; Luke 6:37–38; Mark 11:25; Matthew 6:12
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
The divine lessons, which we have just heard as they were being read, warn us to gather in a stock of virtues, to fortify a Christian heart, against the offences which were predicted to come, and this from the mercy of the Lord.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 6 (1888)
"And if it must needs be that offenses come,'" (some one of our adversaries may perchance say), "why doth He lament over the world, when He ought rather to afford succor, and to stretch forth His hand in its behalf?
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)
The diverse sounds (he adds) are those which give form to that Æon who is without material substance and unbegotten, and these, again, are the forms which the Lord has called angels, who continually behold the face of the Father.
Let them praise Thy Name,--those super-celestial people, Thine angels, who have no need to look up at this firmament, or by reading to attain the knowledge of Thy Word,--let them praise Thee. For they always behold Thy face, and therein read without any syllables in time what Thy eternal will willeth.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 1 (1886)
How then doth He say elsewhere, "Reprove, rebuke, exhort," and, "Them that sin rebuke before all?" And Christ too to Peter, "Go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone," and if he neglect to hear, add to thyself another also; and if not even so doth he yield, declare it to the church likewise?" And how hath …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)