Matthew

At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?

1At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"

2And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,

2Jesus called a little child over and had the child stand in the middle of them.

3And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

3He said, "I tell you the truth. Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

4Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

4So whoever makes himself low and humble, like this little child, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

5And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.

5And whoever welcomes one little child like this because of me is welcoming me.

6But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

6But suppose someone trips up one of these little ones who trust me, so that they fall into sin. It would be better for that person to have a heavy millstone tied around his neck and be drowned in the deep sea.

NoteThe KJV word "offend" here does not mean hurting someone's feelings. It means tripping someone up so they fall into sin. A millstone is a heavy stone wheel used for grinding grain.

7Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!

7How sad for the world, because of the things that trip people into sin. Such things are sure to come, but how sad for the person who brings them.

8Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.

8If your hand or your foot makes you sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better to enter life crippled or lame than to keep both hands and both feet and be thrown into the fire that never ends.

9And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.

9And if your eye makes you sin, pull it out and throw it away. It is better to enter life with one eye than to keep both eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

10Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.

10Be careful not to look down on even one of these little ones. I tell you, their angels in heaven always stand before the face of my Father in heaven.

11For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.

11For the Son of Man came to save people who were lost.

ManuscriptsMost modern translations leave this verse out. It is in the Greek text the King James translators worked from, but not in the older manuscripts found since, so scholars generally take it as a copyist’s addition rather than part of the original.

12How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?

12What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders off, won't he leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go look for the one that strayed?

13And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.

13And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that never wandered off.

14Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.

14In the same way, your Father in heaven does not want even one of these little ones to be lost.

15Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.

15If another believer sins against you, go to him and point out what he did wrong, just the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won him back.

16But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.

16But if he will not listen, take one or two others with you, so that every word is backed up by two or three witnesses.

17And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.

17If he still refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen to the church, treat him as you would an outsider or a tax collector.

NoteA "publican" was a Jew who collected taxes for Rome, and a "heathen man" was someone outside Israel. Both were treated as outsiders.

18Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

18I tell you the truth. Whatever you tie up on earth will be tied up in heaven, and whatever you set free on earth will be set free in heaven.

19Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.

19Again I tell you, if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, my Father in heaven will do it for you.

20For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

20For where two or three come together in my name, I am right there with them."

21Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?

21Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times should I forgive another believer who sins against me? Up to seven times?"

22Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.

22Jesus said to him, "Not seven times, I tell you, but seventy times seven.

23Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.

23So the kingdom of heaven is like a king who decided to settle up with his servants.

24And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.

24As he began, a man was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.

NoteA talent was a huge amount of money, worth about twenty years of a worker's pay. Ten thousand talents was a debt no servant could ever repay.

25But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.

25The man could not pay. So the master ordered that he be sold, along with his wife and children and everything he owned, to cover the debt.

26The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

26The servant fell to his knees and bowed before him. "Be patient with me," he begged, "and I will pay you everything."

27Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.

27The master felt deep pity for him. He let the man go and wiped out the whole debt.

28But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.

28But that same servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred pence. He grabbed him by the throat and said, "Pay me what you owe!"

NoteThe KJV "pence" stands for Roman coins worth about one day's pay each. A hundred of them was a real debt, but tiny next to the first one.

29And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

29The fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, "Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything."

30And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.

30But he refused. He went and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.

31So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.

31When the other servants saw what had happened, they were very upset. They went and told their master everything.

32Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:

32Then the master called the servant in and said, "You wicked servant! I wiped out your whole debt because you begged me.

33Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?

33Shouldn't you have shown pity to your fellow servant, just as I showed pity to you?"

34And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.

34His master was angry. He handed the servant over to the jailers to be punished until he paid back everything he owed.

35So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

35That is how my Father in heaven will treat each of you, unless you forgive your brother from your heart."