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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) 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.![]()
OET-LV Woe to_the world because_of the temptations.
For/Because it_is necessity the temptations to_come, however woe to_the that person by whom the temptation is_coming.
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SR-GNT Οὐαὶ τῷ κόσμῳ ἀπὸ τῶν σκανδάλων! Ἀνάγκη γὰρ ἐστιν ἐλθεῖν τὰ σκάνδαλα, πλὴν οὐαὶ τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ ἐκείνῳ διʼ οὗ τὸ σκάνδαλον ἔρχεται! ‡
(Ouai tōi kosmōi apo tōn skandalōn! Anagkaʸ gar estin elthein ta skandala, plaʸn ouai tōi anthrōpōi ekeinōi diʼ hou to skandalon erⱪetai!)
Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object.
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 Woe to the world because of the stumbling blocks! For it is necessary that the stumbling blocks come, but woe to the man through whom the stumbling block comes!
UST How terrible it will be for people in this world because of the things that cause them to sin! Now those things have to exist. However, how terrible it will be for the people who cause those things to exist!
BSB Woe to the world for the causes of sin. [These] stumbling blocks must come, but woe to the man through whom [they] come!
MSB Woe to the world for the causes of sin. [These] stumbling blocks must come, but woe to that[fn] man through whom [they] come!
18:7 CT the
BLB Woe to the world because of the causes of sin. For the stumbling blocks are necessary to come, but woe to the man by whom the offense comes!
AICNT “Woe to the world because of the stumbling blocks! For [it is necessary that][fn] stumbling blocks come, but woe to the man through whom the stumbling block comes.
18:7, it is necessary that: Absent from some manuscripts.
OEB Alas for the world because of such temptations! There cannot but be temptations but sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting!
WEBBE “Woe to the world because of occasions of stumbling! For it must be that the occasions come, but woe to that person through whom the occasion comes!
WMBB (Same as above)
NET Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! It is necessary that stumbling blocks come, but woe to the person through whom they come.
LSV Woe to the world from the stumbling-blocks! For there is necessity for the stumbling-blocks to come, but woe to that man through whom the stumbling-block comes!
FBV What a disaster is coming on the world for all its temptations to sin! Temptations will surely come, but it will be a disaster for the person through whom the temptation comes!
TCNT “Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! It is necessary that stumbling blocks come, yet woe to [fn]that man through whom the stumbling block comes!
18:7 that ¦ the CT
T4T It will be terrible for those [MTY] who cause others to stop believing in me. God will punish them eternally. It is inevitable that there will be those who cause others to stop believing in me. But it will be horrible for everyone who does that.
LEB Woe to the world because of causes for stumbling, for it is a necessity that causes for stumbling come; nevertheless, woe to the person through whom the cause for stumbling comes.
BBE A curse is on the earth because of trouble! for it is necessary for trouble to come; but unhappy is that man through whom the trouble comes.
Moff Woe to the world for hindrances! Hindrances have to come, but — woe to the man by whom the hindrance does come!
Wymth "Alas for the world because of causes of falling! They cannot but come, but alas for each man through whom they come!
ASV 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!
DRA Woe to the world because of scandals. For it must needs be that scandals come: but nevertheless woe to that man by whom the scandal cometh.
YLT 'Woe to the world from the stumbling-blocks! for there is a necessity for the stumbling-blocks to come, but woe to that man through whom the stumbling-block doth come!
Drby Woe to the world because of offences! For it must needs be that offences come; yet woe to that man by whom the offence comes!
RV 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!
(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/comes! )
SLT Woe to the world for offences I for there is necessity for offences to come; but woe to that man by whom the offence comes!
Wbstr Woe to the world because of offenses! for it must needs be that offenses come; but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh!
KJB-1769 ¶ Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!
(¶ Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh/comes! )
KJB-1611 ¶ Woe vnto the world because of offences: for it must needs be that offences come: but wo to that man by whom the offence commeth.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)
Bshps Wo vnto the worlde, because of offences. It must nedes be, that offences come: But wo to that man, by whom the offence commeth.
(Woe unto the world, because of offences. It must needs be, that offences come: But woe to that man, by whom the offence cometh/comes.)
Gnva Wo be vnto the world because of offences: for it must needes be that offences shall come, but wo be to that man by whome the offence commeth.
(Woe be unto the world because of offences: for it must needes be that offences shall come, but woe be to that man by whom the offence cometh/comes. )
Cvdl Wo vnto the worlde because of slauders. Yee there must slaunders come: but wo vnto that man, by whom slaunder commeth.
(Woe unto the world because of slanders. Ye/You_all there must slanders come: but woe unto that man, by whom slander cometh/comes.)
TNT Wo be vnto the world because of offences. How be it it cannot be avoided but that offences shalbe geven. Neverthelesse woo be to the man by who the offence cometh.
(Woe be unto the world because of offences. How be it it cannot be avoided but that offences shall be given. Nevertheless woo be to the man by who the offence cometh/comes. )
Wycl Woo to the world, for sclaundris; for it is nede that sclaundris come; netheles wo to thilke man bi whom a sclaundre cometh.
(Woe to the world, for sclaundris; for it is need that sclaundris come; nevertheless woe to that man by whom a sclaundre cometh/comes.)
Luth Wehe der Welt der Ärgernisse halben! Es muß ja Ärgernis kommen; doch wehe dem Menschen, durch welchen Ärgernis kommt!
(Woe the/of_the world the/of_the annoyancese half/halfway! It must ya annoyance coming; though/but woe to_him people, through which_(ones) annoyance comes!)
ClVg Væ mundo a scandalis ! Necesse est enim ut veniant scandala: verumtamen væ homini illi, per quem scandalum venit.[fn]
(Alas/Woe to_the_world from scandals ! Necesse it_is because as they_come scandala: nevertheless woe to_man them, through which scandal he_came. )
18.7 Væ homini. Quia non judicatur secundum utilitatem quæ inde provenit, sed secundum exitum quem intendit.
18.7 Alas/Woe to_man. Because not/no is_judged after/second benefit which therefore/from_there provenit, but after/second exitm which he_intends.
UGNT οὐαὶ τῷ κόσμῳ ἀπὸ τῶν σκανδάλων! ἀνάγκη γὰρ ἔστιν ἐλθεῖν τὰ σκάνδαλα, πλὴν οὐαὶ τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ δι’ οὗ τὸ σκάνδαλον ἔρχεται!
(ouai tōi kosmōi apo tōn skandalōn! anagkaʸ gar estin elthein ta skandala, plaʸn ouai tōi anthrōpōi di’ hou to skandalon erⱪetai!)
SBL-GNT οὐαὶ τῷ κόσμῳ ἀπὸ τῶν σκανδάλων· ἀνάγκη ⸀γὰρ ἐλθεῖν τὰ σκάνδαλα, πλὴν οὐαὶ τῷ ⸀ἀνθρώπῳ διʼ οὗ τὸ σκάνδαλον ἔρχεται.
(ouai tōi kosmōi apo tōn skandalōn; anagkaʸ ⸀gar elthein ta skandala, plaʸn ouai tōi ⸀anthrōpōi diʼ hou to skandalon erⱪetai.)
RP-GNT Οὐαὶ τῷ κόσμῳ ἀπὸ τῶν σκανδάλων· ἀνάγκη γάρ ἐστιν ἐλθεῖν τὰ σκάνδαλα· πλὴν οὐαὶ τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ ἐκείνῳ, δι' οὗ τὸ σκάνδαλον ἔρχεται.
(Ouai tōi kosmōi apo tōn skandalōn; anagkaʸ gar estin elthein ta skandala; plaʸn ouai tōi anthrōpōi ekeinōi, di' hou to skandalon erⱪetai.)
TC-GNT Οὐαὶ τῷ κόσμῳ ἀπὸ τῶν σκανδάλων· ἀνάγκη γάρ [fn]ἐστιν ἐλθεῖν τὰ σκάνδαλα· πλὴν οὐαὶ τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ [fn]ἐκείνῳ, δι᾽ οὗ τὸ σκάνδαλον ἔρχεται.
(Ouai tōi kosmōi apo tōn skandalōn; anagkaʸ gar estin elthein ta skandala; plaʸn ouai tōi anthrōpōi ekeinōi, di hou to skandalon erⱪetai. )
Key for above GNTs: orange:accents differ, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).
18:1-35 This fourth major discourse in Matthew (see study note on Matt 5:1–7:29) focuses on responses to the Messiah—acceptance by the disciples and rejection by the Jewish leaders and most of the populace. In light of this growing polarization, Jesus began to instruct his followers on the nature of community life. For a community to live according to Jesus’ standards, it must live with humility (18:1-5), sensitivity (18:6-9), compassion (18:10-14), discipline (18:15-18), and forgiveness (18:21-35). As with the other discourses, a concluding formula (19:1-2) bridges to the next section.
In the previous section, Jesus used a child to illustrate what it meant for a disciple to be great in the kingdom. In this section, he compared a humble disciple to a child. He warned people not to cause one of them to sin. If they did, the consequences would be serious.
Jesus also warned his disciples to eliminate the source of sin in their own lives.
Here are some other possible headings for this section:
Temptations To Sin (GNT)
Eliminate the cause of sin
There are parallel passages for this section in Mark 9:42–48 and Luke 17:1–2.
Woe to the world for the causes of sin.
¶ It will be terrible for the world for tempting people to sin.
¶ Great trouble is waiting for the people of the world because they cause believers to sin.
Woe to the world: This clause means that the world will experience pain and deep sorrow. It is a prediction and warning by Jesus that something bad is going to happen to the world. It implies that God will judge and punish the world. It is not a curse.
Here are some other ways to translate this expression:
How terrible for the world (GNT)
The world is going to experience great pain and sadness
Great trouble is waiting for the world
The word Woe also occurs in 11:21a.
the world: This phrase refers to the people in the world. For example:
the people of the world (NCV)
These people are opposed to the people of God.
for the causes of sin: The Greek word that the BSB translates as the causes of sin is the noun form of the verb translated as “causes…to stumble” in 18:6a. Here it refers to the people of the world “causing others to sin.” More specifically, it refers to causing to sin these little ones who believe (in 18:6a).
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
because it tempts people to sin (NLT)
because of the way it causes people to sin (CEV)
because they tempt/cause believers to sin
These stumbling blocks must come,
Because temptations will certainly happen,
The things that cause people/believers to sin will definitely occur,
People of the world will always tempt/cause believers to sin,
Verse 18:7b is the reason that the people of the world will have pain and sorrow (in 18:7a). The Greek introduces this reason with a conjunction that many English versions translate as “For.”
Some English versions, including the BSB, do not translate this conjunction. Instead, they let the context indicate the connection. In some languages, it will not be necessary to translate this conjunction either.
These stumbling blocks must come: The phrase stumbling blocks is the same word translated as “causes of sin” in 18:7a.
In some languages, it will not be natural to say that temptations come. So you may need to use another verb. Or you can translate the noun stumbling blocks as a verb. For example:
These temptations must/will happen
Such things will always happen (GNT)
People will always be tempted
People of the world will always tempt/cause believers to sin
must come: The Greek word that the BSB translates as must come indicates that temptations must/will happen. This is because the world is evil.
Here are some other ways to translate this word:
must happen (REB)
will always happen (GNT)
but woe to the man through whom they come!
but it will be terrible for the person who causes these temptations to happen.
but great trouble is waiting for the person who tempts/causes believers to sin.
but God will punish the person who does that.
but: There is a contrast here. The contrast is that, even though temptations will certainly come (18:7b), the person who is the source of them cannot escape responsibility (18:7c). The BSB indicates this contrast with the conjunction but.
woe to the man through whom they come: This is the same sort of clause as “Woe to the world” in 18:7a. However, here Jesus focused his prediction and warning on the person who causes the temptation rather than on the whole world.
This whole clause expresses a passive idea. It refers to the person who is the source of the temptation. He is the person who tempts/causes a believer to sin.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
Great trouble is waiting for the person who tempts/causes a believer to sin
how terrible for the one who causes them to happen (NCV)
God will punish the person who does this.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
οὐαὶ τῷ κόσμῳ & οὐαὶ τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οὐαί τῷ κόσμῳ ἀπό τῶν σκανδάλων ἀνάγκη Γάρ ἐστίν ἐλθεῖν τά σκάνδαλα πλήν οὐαί τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ ἐκείνῳ διʼ οὗ τό σκάνδαλον ἔρχεται)
The phrases Woe to the world and woe to the man are the opposite of blessing the world and the man. The phrases indicate that bad things are going to happen to the people being addressed. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable phrase or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [How bad it is for the world … how bad it is for the man] or [Trouble will come to the world … trouble will come to the man]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
τῷ κόσμῳ
˱to˲_the world
Here, the word world refers primarily to the people who live in the world. If it would be helpful in your language, you could refer specifically to people here. Alternate translation: [to the people living in the world] or [to people]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
τῶν σκανδάλων & τὰ σκάνδαλα & τὸ σκάνδαλον
the temptations & (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οὐαί τῷ κόσμῳ ἀπό τῶν σκανδάλων ἀνάγκη Γάρ ἐστίν ἐλθεῖν τά σκάνδαλα πλήν οὐαί τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ ἐκείνῳ διʼ οὗ τό σκάνδαλον ἔρχεται)
Here Jesus speaks of things that cause people to sin as if they were stumbling blocks. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [the things that lead people to disobey … the things that lead people to disobey … the thing that leads people to disobey]
Note 4 topic: grammar-connect-words-phrases
γὰρ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οὐαί τῷ κόσμῳ ἀπό τῶν σκανδάλων ἀνάγκη Γάρ ἐστίν ἐλθεῖν τά σκάνδαλα πλήν οὐαί τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ ἐκείνῳ διʼ οὗ τό σκάνδαλον ἔρχεται)
Here, the word For introduces a further explanation about the stumbling blocks. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word or phrase that introduces an explanation, or you could leave For untranslated. Alternate translation: [Here is what I mean:] or [Further,]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun
τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ & τὸ σκάνδαλον
˱to˲_the ˱to˲_the person & (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οὐαί τῷ κόσμῳ ἀπό τῶν σκανδάλων ἀνάγκη Γάρ ἐστίν ἐλθεῖν τά σκάνδαλα πλήν οὐαί τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ ἐκείνῳ διʼ οὗ τό σκάνδαλον ἔρχεται)
The words man and stumbling block represent men and stumbling blocks in general, not one particular man or stumbling block. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea in another way. Alternate translation: [to any man … a stumbling block]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations
τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ
˱to˲_the ˱to˲_the person
Although the term man is masculine, Jesus is using the word in a generic sense that includes both men and women. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a phrase that makes this clear. Alternate translation: [to the person] or [to the man or woman]