| Berean Study Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” | 1About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” |
| 2Jesus invited a little child to 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 change and become like little 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 little child 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 a little child like this in My name welcomes Me. | 5 “And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me. |
| 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. | 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 for the causes of sin. These stumbling blocks must come, but woe to the man through whom they come! | 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 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. | 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 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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 |
| 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? | 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 more over that one sheep 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, your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should 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 |
| 15If your brother sins against you, go and confront him privately. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. | 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 will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ | 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 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. | 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 be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be 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, 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. | 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 gather together in My name, there am I with them.” | 20 For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.” Parable of the Unforgiving Debtor |
| 21Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother who sins against me? Up to seven times?” | 21Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” |
| 22Jesus answered, “I tell you, not just seven times, but seventy-seven times! | 22 “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven! |
| 23Because of this, the kingdom of heaven is like 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. |
| 24As he began the settlements, a debtor was brought to him owing ten thousand talents. | 24 In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 26Then the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Have patience with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ | 26 “But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ |
| 27His master had compassion on him, forgave his debt, and released him. | 27 Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt. |
| 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!’ | 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. |
| 29So his fellow servant fell down and begged him, ‘Have patience 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 refused. Instead, he went and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay his debt. | 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 his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and recounted all of this to their master. | 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 the master summoned him and declared, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave all your 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 have had mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had on you?’ | 33 Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ |
| 34In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should repay all that he owed. | 34 Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt. |
| 35That is how My heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother 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.” |
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