Matthew 18

NEW JERUSALEM	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 At this time the disciples came to Jesus and said, 'Who is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven?'	1 At that time the disciples approached Jesus and said, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"
2 So he cal ed a little child to him whom he set among them.	2 He called a child over, placed it in their midst,
3 Then he said, 'In truth I tel you, unless you change and become like little children you wil never enterthe kingdom of Heaven.	3 and said, "Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
4 And so, the one who makes himself as little as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven.	4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
5 'Anyone who welcomes one little child like this in my name welcomes me.	5 And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.
6 But anyone who is the downfall of one of these little ones who have faith in me would be betterdrowned in the depths of the sea with a great millstone round his neck.	6 "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.
7 Alas for the world that there should be such causes of fal ing! Causes of falling indeed there must be,but alas for anyone who provides them!	7 Woe to the world because of things that cause sin! Such things must come, but woe to the one through whom they come!
8 'If your hand or your foot should be your downfal , cut it off and throw it away: it is better for you toenter into life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire.	8 If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter into life maimed or crippled than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into eternal fire.
9 And if your eye should be your downfal , tear it out and throw it away: it is better for you to enter intolife with one eye, than to have two eyes and be thrown into the hel of fire.	9 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into fiery Gehenna.
10 'See that you never despise any of these little ones, for I tel you that theirin heaven are continually inthe presence of my Father in heaven.	10 "See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.
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12 'Tel me. Suppose a man has a hundred sheep and one of them strays; will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hillside and go in search of the stray?	12 What is your opinion? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray?
13 In truth I tel you, if he finds it, it gives him more joy than do the ninety-nine that did not stray at al .	13 And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray.
14 Similarly, it is never the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.	14 In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost.
15 'If your brother does something wrong, go and have it out with him alone, between your two selves. Ifhe listens to you, you have won back your brother.	15 "If your brother sins (against you), go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother.
16 If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you: whatever the misdemeanour, theevidence of two or three witnesses is required to sustain the charge.	16 If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that 'every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.'
17 But if he refuses to listen to these, report it to the community; and if he refuses to listen to thecommunity, treat him like a gentile or a tax col ector.	17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.
18 'In truth I tel you, whatever you bind on earth wil be bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earthwil be loosed in heaven.	18 Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
19 'In truth I tel you once again, if two of you on earth agree to ask anything at al , it wil be granted toyou by my Father in heaven.	19 Again, (amen,) I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father.
20 For where two or three meet in my name, I am there among them.'	20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."
21 Then Peter went up to him and said, 'Lord, how often must I forgive my brother if he wrongs me? Asoften as seven times?'	21 Then Peter approaching asked him, "Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?"
22 Jesus answered, 'Not seven, I tel you, but seventy-seven times.	22 Jesus answered, "I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.
23 'And so the kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a king who decided to settle his accounts withhis servants.	23 That is why the kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants.
24 When the reckoning began, they brought him a man who owed ten thousand talents;	24 When he began the accounting, a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount.
25 he had no means of paying, so his master gave orders that he should be sold, together with his wifeand children and al his possessions, to meet the debt.	25 Since he had no way of paying it back, his master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, his children, and all his property, in payment of the debt.
26 At this, the servant threw himself down at his master's feet, with the words, "Be patient with me and Iwil pay the whole sum."	26 At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.'
27 And the servant's master felt so sorry for him that he let him go and cancel ed the debt.	27 Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan.
28 Now as this servant went out, he happened to meet a fel ow-servant who owed him one hundreddenari ; and he seized him by the throat and began to throttle him, saying, "Pay what you owe me."	28 When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a much smaller amount. He seized him and started to choke him, demanding, 'Pay back what you owe.'
29 His fel ow-servant fell at his feet and appealed to him, saying, "Be patient with me and I wil pay you."	29 Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'
30 But the other would not agree; on the contrary, he had him thrown into prison til he should pay thedebt.	30 But he refused. Instead, he had him put in prison until he paid back the debt.
31 His fel ow-servants were deeply distressed when they saw what had happened, and they went totheir master and reported the whole affair to him.	31 Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master and reported the whole affair.
32 Then the master sent for the man and said to him, "You wicked servant, I cancelled all that debt ofyours when you appealed to me.	32 His master summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to.
33 Were you not bound, then, to have pity on your fellow-servant just as I had pity on you?"	33 Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?'
34 And in his anger the master handed him over to the torturers til he should pay al his debt.	34 Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt.
35 And that is how my heavenly Father wil deal with you unless you each forgive your brother from yourheart.'	35 So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart."