| Holman Christian Standard Bible | Berean Study Bible |
| 1At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, "Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" | 1At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” |
| 2Then He called a child to Him and had him stand among them. | 2Jesus invited a little child to stand among them. |
| 3"I assure you," He said, "unless you are converted and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. | 3“Truly I tell you,” He said, “unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. |
| 4Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child--this one is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. | 4Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. |
| 5And whoever welcomes one child like this in My name welcomes Me. | 5And whoever welcomes a little child like this in My name welcomes Me. |
| 6"But whoever causes the downfall of one of these little ones who believe in Me--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! | 6But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. |
| 7Woe to the world because of offenses. For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes. | 7Woe to the world for the causes of sin. These stumbling blocks must come, but woe to the man through whom they come! |
| 8If your hand or your foot causes your downfall, 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. | 8If 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 to have two hands and two feet and be thrown into the eternal fire. |
| 9And if your eye causes your downfall, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, rather than to have two eyes and be thrown into hellfire! | 9And if your eye causes you to sin, 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 the fire of hell. |
| 10"See that you don't look down on one of these little ones, because I tell you that in heaven their angels continually view the face of My Father in heaven. | 10See that you do not look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of My Father in heaven. |
| 11For the Son of Man has come to save the lost. | 11 |
| 12What do you think? If a man has 100 sheep, and one of them goes astray, won't he leave the 99 on the hillside and go and search for the stray? | 12What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost? |
| 13And if he finds it, I assure you: He rejoices over that sheep more than over the 99 that did not go astray. | 13And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices more over that one sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. |
| 14In the same way, it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones perish. | 14In the same way, your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish. |
| 15"If your brother sins against you, go and rebuke him in private. If he listens to you, you have won your brother. | 15If your brother sins against you, go and confront him privately. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. |
| 16But if he won't listen, take one or two more with you, so that by the testimony of two or three witnesses every fact may be established. | 16But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ |
| 17If he pays no attention to them, tell the church. But if he doesn't pay attention even to the church, let him be like an unbeliever and a tax collector to you. | 17If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, regard him as you would a pagan or a tax collector. |
| 18I assure you: Whatever you bind on earth is already bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth is already loosed in heaven. | 18Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. |
| 19Again, I assure 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. | 19Again, I tell you truly that if two of you on the earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by My Father in heaven. |
| 20For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there among them." | 20For where two or three gather together in My name, there am I with them.” |
| 21Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how many times could my brother sin against me and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" | 21Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother who sins against me? Up to seven times?” |
| 22"I tell you, not as many as seven," Jesus said to him, "but 70 times seven. | 22Jesus answered, “I tell you, not just seven times, but seventy-seven times! |
| 23For this reason, the kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who wanted to settle accounts with his slaves. | 23Because of this, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. |
| 24When he began to settle accounts, one who owed 10,000 talents was brought before him. | 24As he began the settlements, a debtor was brought to him owing ten thousand talents. |
| 25Since he had no way to pay it back, his master commanded that he, his wife, his children, and everything he had be sold to pay the debt. | 25Since the man was unable to pay, the master ordered that he be sold to pay his debt, along with his wife and children and everything he owned. |
| 26"At this, the slave fell facedown before him and said, Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything!' | 26Then the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Have patience with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ |
| 27Then the master of that slave had compassion, released him, and forgave him the loan. | 27His master had compassion on him, forgave his debt, and released him. |
| 28"But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him 100 denarii. He grabbed him, started choking him, and said, Pay what you owe!' | 28But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ |
| 29"At this, his fellow slave fell down and began begging him, Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.' | 29So his fellow servant fell down and begged him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you back.’ |
| 30But he wasn't willing. On the contrary, he went and threw him into prison until he could pay what was owed. | 30But he refused. Instead, he went and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay his debt. |
| 31When the other slaves saw what had taken place, they were deeply distressed and went and reported to their master everything that had happened. | 31When his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and recounted all of this to their master. |
| 32"Then, after he had summoned him, his master said to him, You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. | 32Then the master summoned him and declared, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave all your debt because you begged me. |
| 33Shouldn't you also have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?' | 33Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had on you?’ |
| 34And his master got angry and handed him over to the jailers to be tortured until he could pay everything that was owed. | 34In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should repay all that he owed. |
| 35So My heavenly Father will also do to you if each of you does not forgive his brother from his heart." | 35That is how My heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.” |
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