The Gospel According to St. Matthew

⭑ Geneva Bible :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 18 -

(Mark 9:33–41; Luke 9:46–50)

The same time the disciples came vnto Iesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdome of heauen?

And Iesus called a litle childe vnto him, and set him in the mids of them,

And sayd, Verely I say vnto you, except ye be conuerted, and become as litle children, ye shall not enter into the kingdome of heauen.

Whosoeuer therefore shall humble himselfe as this litle childe, the same is the greatest in the kingdome of heauen.

And whosoeuer shall receiue one such litle childe in my name, receiueth me.

Temptations and Trespasses

(Mark 9:42–48; Luke 17:1–4)

But whosoeuer shall offend one of these litle ones which beleeue in me, it were better for him, that a milstone were hanged about his necke, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

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.

Wherefore, if thy hand or thy foote cause thee to offend, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life, halt, or maimed, then hauing two hands, or two feete, to be cast into euerlasting fire.

And if thine eye cause thee to offende, plucke it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, then hauing two eyes to be cast into hell fire.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

(Luke 15:1–7)

See that ye despise not one of these litle ones: for I say vnto you, that in heauen their Angels alwayes behold the face of my Father which is in heauen.

For the Sonne of man is come to saue that which was lost.

How thinke ye? If a man haue an hundreth sheepe, and one of them be gone astray, doeth he not leaue ninetie and nine, and go into the mountaines, and seeke that which is gone astray?

And if so be that he finde it, verely I say vnto you, he reioyceth more of that sheepe, then of the ninetie and nine which went not astray:

So is it not ye wil of your Father which is in heauen, that one of these litle ones should perish.

A Brother Who Sins

(Deuteronomy 19:15–21)

Moreouer, if thy brother trespasse against thee, goe and tell him his fault betweene thee and him alone: if he heare thee, thou hast wonne thy brother.

But if he heare thee not, take yet with thee one or two, that by the mouth of two or three witnesses euery worde may be confirmed.

And if he refuse to heare them, tell it vnto the Church: and if he refuse to heare the Church also, let him be vnto thee as an heathen man, and a Publicane.

Verely I say vnto you, Whatsoeuer ye bind on earth, shall be bound in heauen: and whatsoeuer ye loose on earth, shalbe loosed in heauen.

Ask in My Name

(John 16:23–33)

Againe, verely I say vnto you, that if two of you shall agree in earth vpon any thing, whatsoeuer they shall desire, it shall be giuen them of my Father which is in heauen.

For where two or three are gathered together in my Name, there am I in the mids of them.

The Unforgiving Servant

(Romans 12:14–21)

Then came Peter to him, and said, Master, howe oft shall my brother sinne against me, and I shall forgiue him? vnto seuen times?

Iesus said vnto him, I say not to thee, Vnto seuen times, but, Vnto seuentie times seuen times.

Therefore is the kingdome of heauen likened vnto a certaine King, which would take an account of his seruants.

And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought vnto him, which ought him ten thousand talents.

And because he had nothing to pay, his Lord commanded him to be solde, and his wife, and his children, and all that he had, and the dette to be payed.

The seruant therefore fell downe, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, refraine thine anger toward me, and I will pay thee all.

Then that seruants Lord had compassion, and loosed him, and forgaue him the dette.

But when the seruant was departed, hee found one of his felow seruants, which ought him an hundred pence, and he layde hands on him, and thratled him, saying, Pay me that thou owest.

Then his fellow seruant fell downe at his feete, and besought him, saying, Refraine thine anger towards me, and I will pay thee all.

Yet he would not, but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the dette.

And when his other felowe seruants sawe what was done, they were very sory, and came, and declared vnto their Lord all that was done.

Then his Lord called him vnto him, and sayd to him, O euil seruant, I forgaue thee all that dette, because thou prayedst me.

Oughtest not thou also to haue had pitie on thy fellowe seruant, euen as I had pitie on thee?

So his Lord was wroth, and deliuered him to the tormentours, till he should pay all that was due to him.

So likewise shall mine heauenly Father doe vnto you, except ye forgiue from your hearts, eche one to his brother their trespasses.

(Mark 9:33–41; Luke 9:46–50)

In that hour the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”

Jesus called a little child to himself, and set him in the middle of them

and said, “Most certainly I tell you, unless you turn and become as little children, you will in no way enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.

Whoever therefore humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Whoever receives one such little child in my name receives me,

Temptations and Trespasses

(Mark 9:42–48; Luke 17:1–4)

but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for him if a huge millstone were hung around his neck and that he were sunk in the depths of the sea.

“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!

If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life maimed or crippled, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into the eternal fire.

If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into the Gehenna (a) of fire.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

(Luke 15:1–7)

See that you don’t despise one of these little ones, for I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.

For the Son of Man came to save that which was lost. (b)

“What do you think? If a man has one hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine, go to the mountains, and seek that which has gone astray?

If he finds it, most certainly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray.

Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

A Brother Who Sins

(Deuteronomy 19:15–21)

“If your brother sins against you, go, show him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained back your brother.

But if he doesn’t listen, take one or two more with you, that at the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. (c)

If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the assembly. If he refuses to hear the assembly also, let him be to you as a Gentile or a tax collector.

Most certainly I tell you, whatever things you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever things you release on earth will have been released in heaven.

Ask in My Name

(John 16:23–33)

Again, assuredly I tell you, that if two of you will agree on earth concerning anything that they will ask, it will be done for them by my Father who is in heaven.

For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the middle of them.”

The Unforgiving Servant

(Romans 12:14–21)

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

Jesus said to him, “I don’t tell you until seven times, but, until seventy times seven.

Therefore the Kingdom of Heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.

When he had begun to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. (d)

But because he couldn’t pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, with his wife, his children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.

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

The lord of that servant, being moved with compassion, released him and forgave him the debt.

“But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him one hundred denarii, (e) and he grabbed him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’

“So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will repay you!’

He would not, but went and cast him into prison until he should pay back that which was due.

So when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were exceedingly sorry, and came and told their lord all that was done.

Then his lord called him in and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.

Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow servant, even as I had mercy on you?’

His lord was angry, and delivered him to the tormentors until he should pay all that was due to him.

So my heavenly Father will also do to you, if you don’t each forgive your brother from your hearts for his misdeeds.”

Footnotes

(a)18:9 or, Hell

(b)18:11 NU omits verse 11.

(d)18:24 Ten thousand talents (about 300 metric tons of silver) represents an extremely large sum of money, equivalent to about 60,000,000 denarii, where one denarius was typical of one day’s wages for agricultural labor.

(e)18:28 100 denarii was about one sixtieth of a talent, or about 500 grams (1.1 pounds) of silver.