MAT 18:26 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.)

OET (OET-RV) 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.’

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, 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 So, having fallen down, the slave was bowing down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will repay you everything.’

UST After he heard that, the servant knelt down in front of the king. He begged him, ‘My lord, please wait patiently. I will eventually pay all the money that I owe.’

BSB Then the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Have patience with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’

MSB Then the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Master,[fn] have patience with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’

BLB Therefore the servant, having fallen down, was bowing on his knees to him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay everything to you.'

AICNT “So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me [[Lord]],[fn] and I will pay you everything.’

18:26, Lord: Later manuscripts add.

OEB The servant threw himself down on the ground before him and said “Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.”

WEBBE The servant therefore fell down and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord, have patience with me, and I will repay you all!’

WMBB (Same as above)

NET Then the slave threw himself to the ground before him, saying, ‘Be patient with me, and I will repay you everything.’

LSV The servant then, having fallen down, was prostrating to him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you all;

FBV The servant fell down on his knees and said to his master, ‘Please be patient with me! I will pay everything back!’

TCNT So the servant fell down and bowed before him, saying, ‘[fn]Master, be patient with me, and I will repay yoʋ all that I owe.’

18:26 Master, be ¦ Be NA SBL WH

T4T Then that official, knowing that he did not have the money to pay that huge debt, fell on his knees in front of the king and begged him saying, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you all of it, eventually.’

LEB Then the slave threw himself to the ground and[fn] began to do obeisance to him, saying, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay back everything to you!’

18:26 *Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“threw himself to the ground”) has been translated as a finite verb

BBE So the servant went down on his face and gave him worship, saying, Lord, give me time to make payment and I will give you all.

Moff So the servant fell down and prayed him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you it all.'

Wymth The servant therefore falling down, prostrated himself at his feet and entreated him. "`Only give me time,' he said, `and I will pay you the whole.'

ASV The servant therefore fell down and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

DRA But that servant falling down, besought him, saying: Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

YLT The servant then, having fallen down, was bowing to him, saying, Sir, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all;

Drby The bondman therefore falling down did him homage, saying, Lord, have patience with me and I will pay thee all.

RV The servant therefore fell down and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
(The servant therefore fell down and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee/you all. )

SLT Then the servant, having fallen, worshipped him, saying, Lord, be slow to anger towards me, and I will give back all to thee.

Wbstr The servant therefore fell down, and worshiped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

KJB-1769 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
( The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee/you all. )

KJB-1611 The seruant therfore fell downe, and [fn]worshipped him, saying, Lord, haue patience with mee, and I will pay thee all.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above apart from footnotes)

18:26 Or, besought him.

Bshps The seruaunt fell downe, & besought hym, saying: Lorde, haue pacience with me, and I wyll pay thee all.
(The servant fell down, and besought him, saying: Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee/you all.)

Gnva The seruant therefore fell downe, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, refraine thine anger toward me, and I will pay thee all.
(The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, refrain thine/your anger toward me, and I will pay thee/you all. )

Cvdl Then the seruaunt fell downe, & besought him, sayenge: Syr, haue paciece wt me, and I wil paye the all.
(Then the servant fell down, and besought him, saying: Sir, have paciece with me, and I will pay the all.)

TNT The servaunt fell doune and besought him sayinge: Sir geve me respyte and I wyll paye it every whit.
(The servant fell down and besought him saying: Sir give me respyte and I will pay it every whit. )

Wycl But thilke seruaunt felde doun, and preiede hym, and seide, Haue pacience in me, and Y schal yelde to thee alle thingis.
(But that servant field down, and prayed him, and said, Have patience in me, and I shall yield to thee/you all things.)

Luth Da fiel der Knecht nieder und betete ihn an und sprach: Herr, habe Geduld mit mir! Ich will dir‘s alles bezahlen.
(So fell the/of_the servant/farmhand low/lowly and prayed him/it at/to and spoke: Lord, have Geduld with to_me! I will it's_yours(sg) all/everything pay_off.)

ClVg Procidens autem servus ille, orabat eum, dicens: Patientiam habe in me, et omnia reddam tibi.
(Procidens however servant he/that_one, prayed him, saying: Patientiam habe in/into/on me, and everything I_will_pay to_you. )

UGNT πεσὼν οὖν ὁ δοῦλος προσεκύνει αὐτῷ λέγων, Κύριε, μακροθύμησον ἐπ’ ἐμοί, καὶ πάντα ἀποδώσω σοι.
(pesōn oun ho doulos prosekunei autōi legōn, Kurie, makrothumaʸson ep’ emoi, kai panta apodōsō soi.)

SBL-GNT πεσὼν οὖν ὁ δοῦλος προσεκύνει αὐτῷ λέγων· ⸀Μακροθύμησον ἐπʼ ⸀ἐμοί, καὶ πάντα ⸂ἀποδώσω σοι⸃.
(pesōn oun ho doulos prosekunei autōi legōn; ⸀Makrothumaʸson epʼ ⸀emoi, kai panta ⸂apodōsō soi⸃.)

RP-GNT Πεσὼν οὖν ὁ δοῦλος προσεκύνει αὐτῷ, λέγων, Κύριε, μακροθύμησον ἐπ' ἐμοί, καὶ πάντα σοι ἀποδώσω.
(Pesōn oun ho doulos prosekunei autōi, legōn, Kurie, makrothumaʸson ep' emoi, kai panta soi apodōsō.)

TC-GNT Πεσὼν οὖν ὁ δοῦλος προσεκύνει αὐτῷ, λέγων, [fn]Κύριε, μακροθύμησον ἐπ᾽ ἐμοί, καὶ πάντα [fn]σοι ἀποδώσω.
(Pesōn oun ho doulos prosekunei autōi, legōn, Kurie, makrothumaʸson ep emoi, kai panta soi apodōsō. )

18:26 κυριε ¦ — NA SBL WH

18:26 σοι αποδωσω ¦ αποδωσω σοι CT

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)

18:26a

Then the servant fell on his knees before him.

¶ So/Then the servant threw himself to the ground before him
¶ When he said that, the servant knelt/bowed down in front of the king.

Then: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as Then indicates that 18:26 is the result of what the master said in 18:25.

Here are some other ways to begin this verse:

When this happened

As a result

Some English versions do not translate this word. They allow the context to suggest the connection. In some languages, a conjunction will not be necessary here either.

the servant fell on his knees before him: The Greek clause that the BSB translates as fell on his knees is more literally “fell and prostrated himself before him.” This indicates that the servant wanted to show the king great respect and honor. A person usually did that by bending over with his face toward the ground, or actually lying face down on the ground. This does not mean that he tripped and fell.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

got down on his knees (CEV)

knelt/bowed down before him

threw himself to the ground before him (NIV)

18:26b

‘Have patience with me,’ he begged,

and begged/pleaded, ‘Master, please be patient with me
He said, ‘My king, please wait a while longer for me to get the money.

Have patience with me: There is a textual issue here. Some Greek manuscripts include the word “Lord” at the beginning of the servant’s plea. Other Greek manuscripts do not include this word.

Most English versions follow the Greek manuscripts that do not include this word. For example:
Have patience with me (NRSV) (BSB, NRSV, ESV, NIV, NET, NASB, REB, NJB, NLT, GNT, CEV, NCV, JBP, GW)
Many Greek manuscripts do include the word “Lord,” but only a few English translations follow them. For example:
Lord, have patience with me (RSV) (RSV, KJV, NLT96)

The word “Lord” was probably not in the original Greek text. However, remember that the servant spoke very politely to his master as he pleaded for patience. In some languages, this way of speaking includes the use of a title. In other languages, there are other ways to show respect with words. For example:

Please, be patient with me (NLT)

My master, be patient with me

Have patience: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as Have patience is a command. But because of whom the servant said this to, it is really a plea or a request for patience.

The servant pleaded with the master not to act quickly on his decision to sell him. Rather, he should wait a bit, even though the master had the right to do what he threatened.

Here are some other ways to translate this plea:

Sir, please, allow me to have some more time.

My king, have pity and wait a while.

he begged: The Greek word that the BSB here translates as begged is the common Greek verb that means “saying.” In this context, the servant’s speech implies that he pleaded with the master. So, many English versions, including the BSB, translate it as begged.

You can translate this word as begged or “said” or another word that is natural for this context.

18:26c

‘and I will pay back everything.’

and I will pay everything that I owe to you.’
I will return/reimburse all of it to you.’

and I will pay back everything: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as pay is the same word that the master used in 18:25a. It means to “give back” or “return” something.

The word everything refers to everything that the servant owed.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

I will pay you everything I owe. (NCV)

I will reimburse you for everything.

I will return all your money.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result

οὖν

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: πεσών Οὖν ὁ δοῦλος προσεκύνει αὐτῷ λέγων Κύριε μακροθύμησον ἐπʼ ἐμοί καί παντᾶ ἀποδώσω σοί)

Here, the word So introduces what the servant did in response to what the king commanded. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word or phrase that introduces a response or reaction, or you could leave So untranslated. Alternate translation: [In response]

Note 2 topic: translate-symaction

πεσὼν & ὁ δοῦλος προσεκύνει

In Matthew’s culture, the phrases having falling down and bowing down refer to kneeling down and putting one’s face close to the ground. This was a position used to show respect and reverence. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable expression for a physical position used to show respect or worship, or you could express the idea plainly. Alternate translation: [having thrown himself on the ground, the slave was prostrating himself before] or [having prostrated himself, the slave was showing respect to]

Note 3 topic: writing-quotations

λέγων

saying

Consider natural ways of introducing direct quotations in your language. Alternate translation: [and he said]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / imperative

μακροθύμησον

be_patient

This is an imperative, but it should be translated as a polite request rather than as a command. It may be helpful to add an expression such as “please” to make this clear. Alternate translation: [I ask that you have patience]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns