| New Living Translation | NET Bible |
| 1About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” | 1At that time the disciples came to Jesus saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" |
| 2Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. | 2He called a child, had him stand among them, |
| 3Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. | 3and said, "I tell you the truth, unless you turn around and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven! |
| 4 So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. | 4Whoever then humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. |
| 5 “And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me. | 5And whoever welcomes a child like this in my name welcomes me. |
| 6 But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea. | 6"But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a huge millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the open sea. |
| 7 “What sorrow awaits the world, because it tempts people to sin. Temptations are inevitable, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting. | 7Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! It is necessary that stumbling blocks come, but woe to the person through whom they come. |
| 8 So if your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one hand or one foot than to be thrown into eternal fire with both of your hands and feet. | 8If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. |
| 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell. | 9And 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 to have two eyes and be thrown into fiery hell. |
| 10 “Beware that you don’t look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels are always in the presence of my heavenly Father. Parable of the Lost Sheep | 10"See that you do not disdain one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. |
| 12 “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost? | 12What do you think? If someone owns a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go look for the one that went astray? |
| 13 And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn’t wander away! | 13And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. |
| 14 In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish. Correcting Another Believer | 14In the same way, your Father in heaven is not willing that one of these little ones be lost. |
| 15 “If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. | 15"If your brother sins, go and show him his fault when the two of you are alone. If he listens to you, you have regained your brother. |
| 16 But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses. | 16But if he does not listen, take one or two others with you, so that at the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter may be established. |
| 17 If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector. | 17If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. If he refuses to listen to the church, treat him like a Gentile or a tax collector. |
| 18 “I tell you the truth, whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven. | 18"I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven. |
| 19 “I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. | 19Again, I tell you the truth, if two of you on earth agree about whatever you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. |
| 20 For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.” Parable of the Unforgiving Debtor | 20For where two or three are assembled in my name, I am there among them." |
| 21Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” | 21Then Peter came to him and said, "Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother who sins against me? As many as seven times?" |
| 22 “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven! | 22Jesus said to him, "Not seven times, I tell you, but seventy-seven times! |
| 23 “Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. | 23"For this reason, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his slaves. |
| 24 In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. | 24As he began settling his accounts, a man who owed ten thousand talents was brought to him. |
| 25 He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt. | 25Because he was not able to repay it, the lord ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, children, and whatever he possessed, and repayment to be made. |
| 26 “But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ | 26Then the slave threw himself to the ground before him, saying, 'Be patient with me, and I will repay you everything.' |
| 27 Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt. | 27The lord had compassion on that slave and released him, and forgave him the debt. |
| 28 “But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment. | 28After he went out, that same slave found one of his fellow slaves who owed him one hundred silver coins. So he grabbed him by the throat and started to choke him, saying, 'Pay back what you owe me!' |
| 29 “His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. | 29Then his fellow slave threw himself down and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will repay you.' |
| 30 But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full. | 30But he refused. Instead, he went out and threw him in prison until he repaid the debt. |
| 31 “When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. | 31When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were very upset and went and told their lord everything that had taken place. |
| 32 Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. | 32Then his lord called the first slave and said to him, 'Evil slave! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me! |
| 33 Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ | 33Should you not have shown mercy to your fellow slave, just as I showed it to you?' |
| 34 Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt. | 34And in anger his lord turned him over to the prison guards to torture him until he repaid all he owed. |
| 35 “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.” | 35So also my heavenly Father will do to you, if each of you does not forgive your brother from your heart." |
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