MAT 18:21 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object, magenta:vocative.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT Then, having approached, Peter said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me and I will forgive him? Until seven times?”

UST After that, Peter came to Jesus and asked, “My Lord, how many times do I need to forgive fellow believers when they keep sinning against me? Do I need to forgive them as many as seven times?”

BSB Then Peter came to [Jesus] [and] asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

MSB Then Peter came to [Jesus] [and] asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

BLB Then Peter having come, said to Him, "Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I will forgive him? Up to seven times?"

AICNT Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?”

OEB Then Peter came up, and said to Jesus, ‘Master, how often am I to forgive someone who wrongs me? As many as seven times?’

WEBBE Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Until seven times?”

WMBB (Same as above)

NET Then Peter came to him and said, “Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother who sins against me? As many as seven times?”

LSV Then Peter having come near to Him, said, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him—until seven times?”

FBV Peter came to Jesus and asked him, “How many times should I forgive my brother for sinning against me? Seven times?”

TCNT Then Peter came [fn]to Jesus and said, “Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother when he keeps sinning against me? Up to seven times?”

18:21 to Jesus and said ¦ and said to Jesus NA WH

T4T Then Peter approached Jesus and said to him, “How many times must I forgive a fellow believer who keeps on sinning against me? If he keeps asking me to forgive him, must I forgive him as many as seven times?”

LEB ¶ Then Peter came up to him and[fn] said,[fn] “Lord, how many times will my brother sin against me and I will forgive him? Up to seven times?”

18:21 *Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“came up”) has been translated as a finite verb

18:21 Some manuscripts have “Then Peter came up and said to him”

BBE Then Peter came and said to him, Lord, what number of times may my brother do wrong against me, and I give him forgiveness? till seven times?

Moff Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often is my brother to sin against me and be forgiven? Up to seven times?"

Wymth At this point Peter came to Him with the question, "Master, how often shall my brother act wrongly towards me and I forgive him? seven times?"

ASV Then came Peter and said to him, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? until seven times?

DRA Then came Peter unto him and said: Lord, how often shall my brother offend against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?

YLT Then Peter having come near to him, said, 'Sir, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him — till seven times?'

Drby Then Peter came to him and said, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? until seven times?

RV Then came Peter, and said to him, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? until seven times?
(Then came Peter, and said to him, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? until seven times? )

SLT Then Peter, having come to him, said, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I let him go? Till seven times?

Wbstr Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?

KJB-1769 ¶ Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
(¶ Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? )

KJB-1611 ¶ Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sinne against mee, and I forgiue him? till seuen times?
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above)

Bshps Then came Peter to hym, and sayde: Lorde howe oft shall my brother sinne agaynst me, and I forgeue hym? tyll seuen tymes?
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Gnva Then came Peter to him, and said, Master, howe oft shall my brother sinne against me, and I shall forgiue him? vnto seuen times?
(Then came Peter to him, and said, Master, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I shall forgive him? unto seven times? )

Cvdl Then came Peter vnto him, & sayde, LORDE, how oft shal I forgeue my brother, yt trespaceth agaynst me? Seue tymes?
(Then came Peter unto him, and said, LORD, how often shall I forgive my brother, it trespaceth against me? Seven times?)

TNT Then came Peter to him and sayde: master howe ofte shall I forgeve my brother yf he synne agaynst me seven tymes?
(Then came Peter to him and said: master how often shall I forgive my brother if he sin against me seven times? )

Wycl Thanne Petre cam to hym, and seide, Lord, how ofte schal my brother synne ayens me, and Y schal foryyue hym?
(Then Petre came to him, and said, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I shall forgive him?)

Luth Da trat Petrus zu ihm und sprach: HErr, wie oft muß ich denn meinem Bruder, der an mir sündiget, vergeben? Ist‘s genug siebenmal?
(So stepped Peter to/for him and spoke: LORD, as/like oft must I because/than my brother, the/of_the at/to to_me sins(v), forgive? Is_it enough seven_times?)

ClVg Tunc accedens Petrus ad eum, dixit: Domine, quoties peccabit in me frater meus, et dimittam ei? usque septies?
(Then approaching Peter to him, he/she_said: Master, quoties peccabit in/into/on me brother mine, and let_me_go to_him? until seven_times? )

UGNT τότε προσελθὼν, ὁ Πέτρος εἶπεν αὐτῷ, Κύριε, ποσάκις ἁμαρτήσει εἰς ἐμὲ ὁ ἀδελφός μου, καὶ ἀφήσω αὐτῷ? ἕως ἑπτάκις?
(tote proselthōn, ho Petros eipen autōi, Kurie, posakis hamartaʸsei eis eme ho adelfos mou, kai afaʸsō autōi? heōs heptakis?)

SBL-GNT Τότε προσελθὼν ⸂αὐτῷ ὁ Πέτρος εἶπεν⸃· Κύριε, ποσάκις ἁμαρτήσει εἰς ἐμὲ ὁ ἀδελφός μου καὶ ἀφήσω αὐτῷ; ἕως ἑπτάκις;
(Tote proselthōn ⸂autōi ho Petros eipen⸃; Kurie, posakis hamartaʸsei eis eme ho adelfos mou kai afaʸsō autōi; heōs heptakis;)

RP-GNT Τότε προσελθὼν αὐτῷ ὁ Πέτρος εἶπεν, Κύριε, ποσάκις ἁμαρτήσει εἰς ἐμὲ ὁ ἀδελφός μου, καὶ ἀφήσω αὐτῷ; Ἕως ἑπτάκις;
(Tote proselthōn autōi ho Petros eipen, Kurie, posakis hamartaʸsei eis eme ho adelfos mou, kai afaʸsō autōi; Heōs heptakis;)

TC-GNT Τότε προσελθὼν [fn]αὐτῷ ὁ Πέτρος εἶπε, Κύριε, ποσάκις ἁμαρτήσει εἰς ἐμὲ ὁ ἀδελφός μου, καὶ ἀφήσω αὐτῷ; Ἕως ἑπτάκις;
(Tote proselthōn autōi ho Petros eipe, Kurie, posakis hamartaʸsei eis eme ho adelfos mou, kai afaʸsō autōi; Heōs heptakis; )

18:21 αυτω ο πετρος ειπε ¦ ο πετρος ειπεν αυτω NA WH

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 18:21–35: Jesus told a parable about a servant who did not forgive

In this section, Jesus continued to talk about relationships among believers. He did this by telling a parable about a servant and a king. The king canceled the servant’s large debt. But the servant refused to cancel the small debt of his fellow servant. As a result the king punished the servant.

Jesus told this parable to show us that God has forgiven our many sins. So we should forgive the few sins that other people commit against us. If we do not forgive others, God will not forgive us.

Here are some other possible headings for this section:

The parable of the servant who refused to forgive

The necessity for forgiveness (JBP)

18:21a

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked,

¶ Then Peter approached Jesus and asked,
¶ After that Peter came/went to Jesus and asked him,

Then: This word indicates that the events in this section happened sometime after the events in the previous paragraph. It does not necessarily mean that they happened immediately after it.

Here is another way to translate this word:

After that

Peter came to: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as came to simply means that Peter “came up to” or “came over to” Jesus.

Here are some other ways to translate these words:

Peter came up (ESV)

Peter approached him (JBP)

and asked: The Greek and some other English Bible versions have the pronoun “him” after this phrase, but the BSB lives it untranslated. This pronoun refers to Jesus. Since this is at the beginning of a new section, it may be natural in some languages to make this explicit. For example:

and asked Jesus

18:21b

“Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother who sins against me?

“Lord, if a brother continues to sin against me, how many times must I forgive him?
“Sir/Master, how many times must I forgive a fellow believer who repeatedly does wrong to me?

Lord: This word means “owner,” “master,” or “ruler.” It refers to someone who has authority over people or things. Peter used it to address Jesus because he was Jesus’ disciple.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

Sir

Master (JBP)

This word last occurred in 17:15a.

how many times shall I forgive my brother who sins against me?: In Greek, the verbs sins and forgive are both future tense. The ESV literally translates the first verb as “will sin.” This can make it seem like Peter knows that a brother is going to sin against him over and over. However, this is a simple request for understanding. Peter wanted to know how often he was obligated to forgive a brother who repeatedly sinned against him. He probably thought that to forgive someone as many as seven times was a lot. Some English versions include that obligation with the verb forgive, usually with the word “must.” They may also use the word “if” with the verb “sin” to indicate Peter’s wondering about this. But the verb clauses then have to be reversed for good English style (as the BSB does). For example: Lord, how often must I forgive my brother if he wrongs me? (NJB) -or- Lord, how often do I have to forgive a believer who wrongs me? (GW)You should determine the best style for your language and audience. Peter asked this question to find out how many times he must forgive a person who repeatedly sinned against him. He probably thought that to forgive someone as many as seven times was a lot.

In some languages, it will be more natural to change the order of some of the words in this question. For example:

how often must I forgive my brother if he wrongs me? (NJB)

if my brother keeps on sinning against me, how many times do I have to forgive him? (GNT)

when my fellow believer sins against me, how many times must I forgive him? (NCV)

how many times: Here is another way to translate this:

how often (ESV)

I forgive: The Greek word that the BSB translates as forgive means “let go” or “cancel.” It refers to canceling any revenge or demand for compensation. It refers to letting go of any anger about the wrong.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

cancel the debt from my brother’s sin against me

will not hold my fellow believer’s sin against him

my brother: This phrase refers to another Christian, whether male or female. It does not only refer to Peter’s male sibling.

Here is another way to translate this phrase:

a fellow believer

who sins against me: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as sins against also occurs in 18:15a. Translate it the same way in both places. For example:

wrong me (JBP)

does something wrong/bad to me

does evil to/against me

18:21c

Up to seven times?”

Is it up to seven times?”
Must I forgive him as many as seven times?”

Up to seven times?: The Greek word that the BSB translates as Up to can also be translated as “as many as” or “until.” Peter wondered if there were a maximum number of times he must forgive someone who sinned against him. He thought that it might be Up to seven times. This probably seemed like a large number of times to him.

Here is another way to translate this clause:

As many as seven times? (ESV)

Some words are implied but not repeated here. The complete clause would be:

Must I forgive him up to seven times?

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / infostructure

ποσάκις ἁμαρτήσει εἰς ἐμὲ ὁ ἀδελφός μου, καὶ ἀφήσω αὐτῷ

how_often ˓will_be˒_sinning against (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Τότε προσελθών ὁ Πέτρος εἶπεν αὐτῷ Κύριε ποσάκις ἁμαρτήσει εἰς ἐμέ ὁ ἀδελφός μού καί ἀφήσω αὐτῷ Ἕως ἑπτάκις)

If it would be more natural in your language, you could refer to forgiving before sinning. Alternate translation: [how often will I forgive my brother when he sins against me]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / declarative

ἁμαρτήσει εἰς ἐμὲ ὁ ἀδελφός μου, καὶ ἀφήσω

˓will_be˒_sinning against (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Τότε προσελθών ὁ Πέτρος εἶπεν αὐτῷ Κύριε ποσάκις ἁμαρτήσει εἰς ἐμέ ὁ ἀδελφός μού καί ἀφήσω αὐτῷ Ἕως ἑπτάκις)

Peter is using a future form not ask what is going to happen but what he should do. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea using a form that asks about an obligation or requirement. Alternate translation: [can my brother sin against me and I should forgive] or [could my brother sin against me and I ought to forgive]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ὁ ἀδελφός μου

¬the the brother (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Τότε προσελθών ὁ Πέτρος εἶπεν αὐτῷ Κύριε ποσάκις ἁμαρτήσει εἰς ἐμέ ὁ ἀδελφός μού καί ἀφήσω αὐτῷ Ἕως ἑπτάκις)

Jesus is using the term brother to mean a person who shares the same faith. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [my fellow disciple]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations

ὁ ἀδελφός & αὐτῷ

¬the the brother & ˱to˲_him

Although the terms brother and him are masculine, Jesus is using the words in a generic sense that includes both men and women. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use phrases that make this clear. Alternate translation: [brother or sister … him or her]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

ἕως ἑπτάκις

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Τότε προσελθών ὁ Πέτρος εἶπεν αὐτῷ Κύριε ποσάκις ἁμαρτήσει εἰς ἐμέ ὁ ἀδελφός μού καί ἀφήσω αὐτῷ Ἕως ἑπτάκις)

Peter is leaving out some of the words that in many languages a sentence would need in order to be complete. You could supply these words from the previous question if it would be clearer in your language. Alternate translation: [Will I forgive him until seven times]

ἕως ἑπτάκις

Alternate translation: [Up to seven times]

Parallel MAT 18:21

Section 18:21–35: Jesus told a parable about a servant who did not forgive

18:21a

18:21b

18:21c