| NET Bible | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1At that time the disciples came to Jesus saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" | 1At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, "Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" |
| 2He called a child, had him stand among them, | 2Then He called a child to Him and had him stand among them. |
| 3and said, "I tell you the truth, unless you turn around and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven! | 3"I assure you," He said, "unless you are converted and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. |
| 4Whoever then humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. | 4Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child--this one is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. |
| 5And whoever welcomes a child like this in my name welcomes me. | 5And whoever welcomes one child like this in My name welcomes Me. |
| 6"But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a huge millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the open sea. | 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! |
| 7Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! It is necessary that stumbling blocks come, but woe to the person through whom they come. | 7Woe to the world because of offenses. For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes. |
| 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 or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. | 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. |
| 9And 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 have two eyes and be thrown into fiery hell. | 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! |
| 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. | 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. |
| 11 | 11For the Son of Man has come to save the lost. |
| 12What do you think? If someone owns a hundred 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? | 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? |
| 13And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. | 13And if he finds it, I assure you: He rejoices over that sheep more than over the 99 that did not go astray. |
| 14In the same way, your Father in heaven is not willing that one of these little ones be lost. | 14In the same way, it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones perish. |
| 15"If your brother sins, go and show him his fault when the two of you are alone. If he listens to you, you have regained your brother. | 15"If your brother sins against you, go and rebuke him in private. If he listens to you, you have won your brother. |
| 16But 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. | 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. |
| 17If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. If he refuses to listen to the church, treat him like a Gentile or a tax collector. | 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. |
| 18"I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven. | 18I assure you: Whatever you bind on earth is already bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth is already loosed in heaven. |
| 19Again, I tell you the truth, if two of you on earth agree about whatever you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. | 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. |
| 20For where two or three are assembled in my name, I am there among them." | 20For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there among them." |
| 21Then Peter came to him and said, "Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother who sins against me? As many as seven times?" | 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?" |
| 22Jesus said to him, "Not seven times, I tell you, but seventy-seven times! | 22"I tell you, not as many as seven," Jesus said to him, "but 70 times seven. |
| 23"For this reason, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his slaves. | 23For this reason, the kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who wanted to settle accounts with his slaves. |
| 24As he began settling his accounts, a man who owed ten thousand talents was brought to him. | 24When he began to settle accounts, one who owed 10,000 talents was brought before him. |
| 25Because he was not able to repay it, the lord ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, children, and whatever he possessed, and repayment to be made. | 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. |
| 26Then the slave threw himself to the ground before him, saying, 'Be patient with me, and I will repay you everything.' | 26"At this, the slave fell facedown before him and said, Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything!' |
| 27The lord had compassion on that slave and released him, and forgave him the debt. | 27Then the master of that slave had compassion, released him, and forgave him the loan. |
| 28After he went out, that same slave found one of his fellow slaves who owed him one hundred silver coins. So he grabbed him by the throat and started to choke him, saying, 'Pay back what you owe me!' | 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!' |
| 29Then his fellow slave threw himself down and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will repay you.' | 29"At this, his fellow slave fell down and began begging him, Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.' |
| 30But he refused. Instead, he went out and threw him in prison until he repaid the debt. | 30But he wasn't willing. On the contrary, he went and threw him into prison until he could pay what was owed. |
| 31When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were very upset and went and told their lord everything that had taken place. | 31When the other slaves saw what had taken place, they were deeply distressed and went and reported to their master everything that had happened. |
| 32Then his lord called the first slave and said to him, 'Evil slave! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me! | 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. |
| 33Should you not have shown mercy to your fellow slave, just as I showed it to you?' | 33Shouldn't you also have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?' |
| 34And in anger his lord turned him over to the prison guards to torture him until he repaid all he owed. | 34And his master got angry and handed him over to the jailers to be tortured until he could pay everything that was owed. |
| 35So also my heavenly Father will do to you, if each of you does not forgive your brother from your heart." | 35So My heavenly Father will also do to you if each of you does not forgive his brother from his heart." |
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