Open English Translation MAT Chapter 18

18 [ref]Around that time his apprentices approached Yeshua and asked him, “So who will be the greatest in the kingdom of the heavens?”

2 Yeshua called in a small child and stood the child in the middle of the room 3 [ref]and said, “I can assure you all that if you don’t turn and become like a small child, you all certainly won’t enter the kingdom of the heavens, 4 so anyone who humbles themself like this small child is greater in the kingdom of the heavens. 5 Anyone who receives a small child like this in my name, is receiving me,

6 “But anyone who causes one of these small ones who believe in me to stumble, it would have been better for that person if a heavy stone had been hung around their neck and if they’d been sunk in the deep lake. 7 The world suffers due to temptations, because it’s necessary for temptations to come, but it won’t be good for the person who brings the temptation.

8 [ref]“If your hand or foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away because it’s better for you to enter eternal life maimed or lame than to be thrown into the eternal fire with two hands and feet. 9 [ref]Also if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away because it’s better for you to enter eternal life with only one eye than to be thrown into the pit of fire with two eyes.

10 “Make sure that you all don’t despise any of these small ones, because I’m telling you all that their messengers in the heavens are always in front of my father who is in the heavens.

11 ◘[fn] 12 “What do you think about this: a man had a hundred sheep and one of them strayed away. Won’t he leave the ninety-nine there in the hills and go and look for the sheep that was missing? 13 And if he happens to find it, I can assure you that he’ll be happier about that one than about the ninety-nine who never strayed away. 14 In the same way, your father in the heavens doesn’t want even one of these small ones to perish.

15 [ref]“If a fellow believer sins, go where there’s just the two of you and rebuke that person privately. If they listen to you, you have gained back a fellow believer. 16 [ref]But if they don’t listen to you, take one or two others with you, so that there’ll be two or three witnesses to verify the message. 17 Then if that person still refuses to listen, tell the whole assembly. If they still refuse to hear from the assembly, treat them like a non-believer or a tax-collector.[fn]

18 [ref]“I can assure you that whatever you restrain on the earth will be restrained in heaven, and what ever you set free on the earth will be set free in heaven.

19 “Again, I can assure you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they request in prayer, then my father who is in the heavens will action it, 20 because any place where two or three people have gathered together in my name and authority, I will be there right among them.”

21 [ref]Then Peter approached Yeshua and asked, “Master, how often can someone sin against me and I’ll still have to forgive them?”

22 [ref]“I won’t say seven times,” Yeshua answered, “but seventy times seven times!

23 “It’s because of this that the kingdom of the heavens can be likened to a king who wanted to settle accounts with his slaves. 24 So when he began the process, a man was brought in who owed him millions, 25 but since he had no way of repaying it, the master commanded for him and his wife and children and all their possessions to be sold to help pay off the debt. 26 Then that slave dropped to the ground and prostrated himself to the master, saying, ‘Master, give me a little more time and then I’ll be able to repay it all to you.’ 27 So the master felt sorry for that slave and sent him away and forgave his loan.

28 “But when the slave got outside, he found one of his fellow-slaves who owed him a few thousand. He grabbed him and was strangling him with his hands saying, ‘Give back what you owe!’ 29 The fellow slave dropped to the ground and begged him, ‘Give me a little more time and I’ll repay you.’ 30 But the other wasn’t willing, and he went and had the man thrown into prison until he repaid what he owed. 31 The other slaves who had observed all this were very upset, so they went and informed the master about what had happened. 32 So then the master called in the slave that he had forgiven and told him, ‘You evil slave! I forgave you all that obligation because you pleaded with me. 33 Wouldn’t it have been reasonable for you also to have shown mercy to your fellow-slave just like I was merciful to you?’ 34 Now the master who was now quite angry, handed him over to the torturers until he could repay everything that he owed.

35 “So that’s how my heavenly father will treat you if you don’t genuinely forgive others around you.”