Christian Standard Bible

New Living Translation

1At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "So who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"

1About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”

2He called a child and had him stand among them.

2Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them.

3"Truly I tell you," he said, "unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

3Then 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.

4Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child--this one is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

4 So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.

5And whoever welcomes one child like this in my name welcomes me.

5 “And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me.

6"But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to fall away--it would be better for him if a heavy millstone were hung around his neck and he were drowned in the depths of the sea.

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.

7Woe to the world because of offenses. For offenses will inevitably come, but woe to that person by whom the offense comes.

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.

8If your hand or your foot causes you to fall away, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or lame than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into the eternal fire.

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.

9And if your eye causes you to fall away, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hellfire.

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.

10"See to it that you don't despise one of these little ones, because I tell you that in heaven their angels continually view the face of my Father in heaven.

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. Parable of the Lost Sheep

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12What do you think? If someone has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, won't he leave the ninety-nine on the hillside and go and search for the stray?

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?

13And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over that sheep more than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.

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!

14In the same way, it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones perish.

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

15"If your brother sins against you, go and rebuke him in private. If he listens to you, you have won your brother.

15 “If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back.

16But if he won't listen, take one or two others with you, so that by the testimony of two or three witnesses every fact may be established.

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.

17If he doesn't pay attention to them, tell the church. If he doesn't pay attention even to the church, let him be like a Gentile and a tax collector to you.

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.

18Truly 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.

18 “I tell you the truth, whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.

19Again, truly I tell you, if two of you on earth agree about any matter that you pray for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.

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.

20For where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there among them."

20 For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.” Parable of the Unforgiving Debtor

21Then Peter approached him and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? As many as seven times?"

21Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?”

22"I tell you, not as many as seven," Jesus replied, "but seventy times seven.

22 “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!

23"For this reason, the kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.

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.

24When he began to settle accounts, one who owed ten thousand talents was brought before him.

24 In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars.

25Since he did not have the money to pay it back, his master commanded that he, his wife, his children, and everything he had be sold to pay the debt.

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.

26"At this, the servant fell facedown before him and said, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything.'

26 “But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’

27Then the master of that servant had compassion, released him, and forgave him the loan.

27 Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.

28"That servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him, started choking him, and said, 'Pay what you owe!'

28 “But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.

29"At this, his fellow servant fell down and began begging him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'

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.

30But he wasn't willing. Instead, he went and threw him into prison until he could pay what was owed.

30 But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full.

31When the other servants saw what had taken place, they were deeply distressed and went and reported to their master everything that had happened.

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.

32Then, after he had summoned him, his master said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.

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.

33Shouldn't you also have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?'

33 Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’

34And because he was angry, his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured until he could pay everything that was owed.

34 Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.

35So also my heavenly Father will do to you unless every one of you forgives his brother or sister from your heart."

35 “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.