In that hour came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who then is {Greek: greater.}greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
And he called to him a little child, and set him in the midst of them,
and said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye turn, and become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is the {Greek: greater.}greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me:
but whoso shall cause one of these little ones that believe on me to stumble, it is profitable for him that {Greek: a millstone turned by an ass.}a great millstone should be hanged about his neck, and that he should be sunk in the depth of the sea.
Woe unto the world because of occasions of stumbling! for it must needs be that the occasions come; but woe to that man through whom the occasion cometh!
And if thy hand or thy foot causeth thee to stumble, cut it off, and cast it from thee: it is good for thee to enter into life maimed or halt, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into the eternal fire.
And if thine eye causeth thee to stumble, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is good for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into the {Greek: Gehenna of fire.}hell of fire.
See that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven. {Many authorities, some ancient insert verse 11 For the Son of man came to save that which was lost. See Luke 19:10.}
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How think ye? if any man have a hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and go unto the mountains, and seek that which goeth astray?
And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth over it more than over the ninety and nine which have not gone astray.
Even so it is not {Greek: a thing willed before your Father.}the will of {Some ancient authorities read my.}your Father who is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.
And if thy brother sin {Some ancient authorities omit against thee.}against thee, go, show him his fault between thee and him alone: if he hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
But if he hear thee not, take with thee one or two more, that at the mouth of two witnesses or three every word may be established.
And if he refuse to hear them, tell it unto the {Or, congregation}church: and if he refuse to hear the {Or, congregation}church also, let him be unto thee as the Gentile and the {See marginal note on chapter 5:46.}publican.
Verily I say unto you, What things soever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and what things soever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it {Greek: shall become.}shall be done for them of my Father who is in heaven.
For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
Then came Peter and said to him, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? until seven times?
Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times; but, Until {Or, seventy times and seven}seventy times seven.
Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, who would make a reckoning with his {Greek: bondservants.}servants.
And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, that owed him ten thousand {This talent was probably worth about £200 or $1000.}talents.
But forasmuch as he had not wherewith to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
The {Greek: bondservant.}servant therefore fell down and {See marginal note on chapter 2:2.}worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
And the lord of that {Greek: bondservant.}servant, being moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the {Greek: loan.}debt.
But that {Greek: bondservant.}servant went out, and found one of his fellow-servants, who owed him a hundred {The word in the Greek denotes a coin worth about eight pence half-penny, or nearly seventeen cents.}shillings: and he laid hold on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay what thou owest.
So his fellow-servant fell down and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee.
And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay that which was due.
So when his fellow-servants saw what was done, they were exceeding sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.
Then his lord called him unto him, and saith to him, Thou wicked {Greek: bondservant.}servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou besoughtest me:
shouldest not thou also have had mercy on thy fellow-servant, even as I had mercy on thee?
And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due.
So shall also my heavenly Father do unto you, if ye forgive not every one his brother from your hearts.
Querverweise zu Matthäus 18,18 Mt 18,18
I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
whose soever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven unto them; whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.
and they wrote thus by them, {Or, The apostles and the elder brethren}The apostles and the elders, brethren, unto the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greeting:
Forasmuch as we have heard that certain {Some ancient authorities omit who went out.}who went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls; to whom we gave no commandment;
it seemed good unto us, having come to one accord, to choose out men and send them unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who themselves also shall tell you the same things by word of mouth.
For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things:
that ye abstain from things sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication; from which if ye keep yourselves, it shall be well with you. Fare ye well.
So they, when they were dismissed, came down to Antioch; and having gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle.
And when they had read it, they rejoiced for the {Or, exhortation}consolation.
in the name of our Lord Jesus, ye being gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus,
to deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord {Some ancient authorities omit Jesus.}Jesus.
But to whom ye forgive anything, I forgive also: for what I also have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, for your sakes have I forgiven it in the {Or, person}presence of Christ;
And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth and none shall shut, and that shutteth and none openeth:
I know thy works (behold, I have {Greek: given}set before thee a door opened, which none can shut), that thou hast a little power, and didst keep my word, and didst not deny my name.