Matthew 18:15

Matthew 18:15 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
• New International Version (NIV)“If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.
• English Standard Version (ESV)"If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.
• New King James Version (NKJV)“Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother.

Context of Matthew 18:15

13And I tell you this: If he finds that lost sheep, he will be very happy. All the other sheep are safe together. But they do not make him as happy as this one sheep does. 14God, your Father in heaven, is like that shepherd. He does not want any of these little people to be lost, not even one of them.’ Jesus said, ‘If your Christian friend has done something wrong against you, you must go and speak to him. When you are alone with him, tell him what he has done that is wrong. He may agree with what you say. If he does, then you can call him your friend again. 16But maybe he does not want to listen to you. Then take one or two other people with you to speak to him. They will then know what wrong things your friend has done. Remember what the Bible says: “There must be two or three people to say certainly that another person has done something wrong. Two or three people must agree what has happened.” 17If your friend still will not agree that he has done something wrong, then go and tell the church leaders. If he does not agree with the leaders, stop being his friend. He is like somebody who refuses to obey God.

Matthew 18:15 word by word

Ἐὰν δὲ ἁμαρτήσῃ εἰς σὲ ὁ ἀδελφός σου, ὕπαγε ἔλεγξον αὐτὸν μεταξὺ σοῦ καὶ αὐτοῦ μόνου. ἐάν σου ἀκούσῃ, ἐκέρδησας τὸν ἀδελφόν σου.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Moreoverδέde · thenG1161
• ifἐάνean · ifG1437
• thyσύsu · youG4771
• brotherὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• brotherἀδελφόςadelphos · brotherG80
• shall trespassἁμαρτάνωhamartanō · to sinG264
• againstεἰςeis · towardG1519
• goὑπάγωhupagō · to goG5217
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• tellἐλέγχωelegchō · to rebukeG1651
• himαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• betweenμεταξύmetaxu · between/meanwhileG3342
• aloneμόνοςmonos · aloneG3441
• he shall hearἀκούωakouō · to hearG191
• thou hast gainedκερδαίνωkerdainō · to gainG2770

Cross-references for Matthew 18:15

• Matthew 18:35Then Jesus finished the story and he said, ‘You must forgive your friends completely. If you do not agree to forgive them, then my Father in heaven will do like that king did. He will not forgive you.’
• Leviticus 6:2‘A person may take something that is not his. Or he may find it and keep it. He may tell his friend that he has not taken it. He might not give him the correct price for something. But then he is not obeying the Lord.
• Luke 17:3Be careful how you live. If your Christian brother does something wrong, speak to him. Tell him that he has done a bad thing. He may say, “I am sorry for what I did. I will not do it again.” If he says that, you must forgive him.
• 1 Corinthians 6:6But instead, some believers among you accuse other believers in front of judges. And those judges are not believers!
• 1 Corinthians 8:12If you do that kind of bad thing to hurt your Christian friends, you are hurting Christ himself. You are causing them to do something which they think is wrong.
• 2 Corinthians 7:12So why did I write that letter to you? It was not because of the person who did the wrong thing. Nor was it to help the person that he hurt. No. I wrote the letter to show you something about yourselves. I wanted God to show you that you do really love us and you respect us.
• Colossians 3:13Do not become angry with each other. If you think that someone has done something wrong against you, forgive them. Remember that the Lord has forgiven you. So you should also forgive other people.
• 1 Thessalonians 4:6No man among you should ever have sex with the wife of a Christian friend. That would be the same as if you robbed him. It would be a bad thing to do against him. Remember that the Lord will punish everyone who does things like that. We have already told you that. We warned you very seriously about it.
• Leviticus 19:17You must not think bad thoughts about another person. A person may do something that is wrong. You must tell him that he is doing a wrong thing. If you do, you will not be a part of the wrong thing.
• Psalms 141:5If a good man hits me because he loves me, he is being kind to me. If he shows me that I have done a wrong thing, that it is like special oil on my head. I would not refuse it. I continue to pray against what wicked people do.
• Proverbs 25:9If you argue with your neighbour, do not tell his secrets to other people.
• Proverbs 11:30The good things that a righteous person does bring life. A person who saves people's lives shows that he is wise.
• Romans 12:21Do not let evil things win against you! Instead, do good things. Then you will win against the evil things that people do.
• 1 Corinthians 9:19Yes, I am a free man. I am not anybody's slave. But I choose to serve everybody like a slave. I do that so that I can help many more people to believe in Christ.
• James 5:19My Christian friends, if anyone among you turns away from God's true message, you should help him. Try to bring him back to God.
• 1 Peter 3:1I need to speak to you wives. You should each respect the authority of your own husband. Even if your husband does not believe God's message about Jesus Christ, you should still respect him. If you do that, he may then turn to God and believe his message. You will not need to tell him what is true. He will see the good way that you live.

Commentaries on Matthew 18:15

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 15If thy brother - Any who is a member of the same religious society, sin against thee, 1. Go and reprove him alone, - it may be in person; if that cannot be so well done, by thy messenger, or in writing, (which in many cases is likely to be the most effectual). Observe, our Lord gives no liberty to omit this, or to exchange it for either of the following steps. If this do not succeed,Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15Moreover, if thy brother - The word “brother,” here, evidently means a fellow-professor of religion. Christians are called brethren because they belong to the same redeemed family, having a common Father - God; and because they axe united in the same feelings, objects, and destiny. Trespass against thee - That is, injure thee in any way, by words or conduct. The original word means sin against thee. This may be done by injuring the character, person, or…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-20Verses 15-20 If a professed Christian is wronged by another, he ought not to complain of it to others, as is often done merely upon report, but to go to the offender privately, state the matter kindly, and show him his conduct. This would generally have all the desired effect with a true Christian, and the parties would be reconciled. The principles of these rules may be practised every where, and under all circumstances, though they are too much…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 15If another believer sins, love means we should talk to them privately and point out the wrong (Leviticus 19:17; Luke 17:3; Galatians 6:1; 1 Timothy 5:20; Titus 3:10).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1515. Moreover, if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother, &c.--Probably our Lord had reference still to the late dispute, Who should be the greatest? After the rebuke--so gentle and captivating, yet so dignified and divine--under which they would doubtless be smarting, perhaps each would be saying, It was not I that began it, it was not I that threw…Read the comment

Topics related to Matthew 18:15

• Church
• Commandments
• Court
• Fraternity
• Jesus, the Christ
• Reproof
• Secret
• Strife
• Trespass

In the dictionaries

• Confession
• Gain
• Owe
• Patience
• Debate
• Excommunication
• Fault
• Forgiveness
• Intercession
• Jesus Christ

Commentaries on Matthew 18

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Catena Aurea
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• John Lightfoot Commentary
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings