Matthew 18:3-35

3and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you 1change and 2become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. 4So whoever will humble himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5And whoever receives one such child in My name, receives Me; 6but 3whoever 4causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to 5sin, it is better for him that a 6heavy millstone be hung around his neck, and that he be drowned in the depths of the sea.

7“Woe to the world because of its 7stumbling blocks! For 8it is inevitable that 9stumbling blocks come; but woe to the person through whom the 10stumbling block comes!

8“And 11if your hand or your foot is causing you to sin, cut it off and throw it away from you; it is better for you to enter life maimed or without a foot, than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into the eternal fire. 9And 12if your eye is causing you to sin, tear it out and throw it away from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be thrown into the 1314fiery hell.

10“See that you do not look down on one of these little ones; for I say to you that 15their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven.16

12“What do you think? 17If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains, and go and search for the one that is lost? 13And if it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that have not gone astray. 14So it is not the will 18of your Father who is in heaven for one of these little ones to perish.

15“Now 19if your brother sins20, go and 21show him his fault 22in private; if he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that 23on the 24testimony of two or three witnesses every 25matter may be confirmed. 17And if he refuses to listen to them, 26tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, 27he is to be to you as 28a Gentile and 29a tax collector. 18Truly I say to you, 30whatever you 31bind on earth 32shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you 33loose on earth 34shall have been loosed in heaven.

19“Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, 35it shall be done for them 36by My Father who is in heaven. 20For where two or three have gathered together in My name, 37I am there in their midst.”

21Then Peter came up and said to Him, “Lord, 38how many times shall my brother sin against me and I still forgive him? Up to 39seven times?” 22Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to 4041seventy-seven times.

23“For this reason 42the kingdom of heaven 43is like a king who wanted to 44settle accounts with his slaves. 24And when he had begun to settle them, one who owed him 45ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25But since he 4647did not have the means to repay, his master commanded that he 48be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment be made. 26So the slave fell to the ground and 49prostrated himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’ 27And the master of that slave felt compassion, and he released him and 50forgave him the 51debt. 28But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred 52denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe!’ 29So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’ 30But he was unwilling, 53and went and threw him in prison until he would pay back what was owed. 31So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their master all that had happened. 32Then summoning him, his master said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 3354Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’ 34And his master, moved with anger, handed him over to the 55torturers until he would repay all that was owed him. 3556My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your 57heart.”