Matthew 18

³³Then they came to Capernaum. While Jesus was in the house, He asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?”

³⁴But they were silent, for on the way they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest.

⁴⁶Then an argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest.

⁴⁷But Jesus, knowing the thoughts of their hearts, had a little child stand beside Him.

²⁰Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and knelt down to make a request of Him.

²¹“What do you want?” He inquired. She answered, “Declare that in Your kingdom one of these two sons of mine may sit at Your right hand, and the other at Your left.”

²⁴A dispute also arose among the disciples as to which of them should be considered the greatest.

²⁵So Jesus declared, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in authority over them call themselves benefactors.

³Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves.

³⁵Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and declared, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask.”

³⁶“What do you want Me to do for you?” He inquired.

¹³Then little children were brought to Jesus for Him to place His hands on them and pray for them. And the disciples rebuked those who brought them.

¹⁴But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them! For the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

³⁶Then He had a little child stand among them. Taking the child in His arms, He said to them,

³⁷“Whoever welcomes one of these little children in My name welcomes Me, and whoever welcomes Me welcomes not only Me, but the One who sent Me.”

⁷And now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king in my father David’s place. But I am only a little child, not knowing how to go out or come in.

⁷But the Lord told me: “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ For to everyone I send you, you must go, and all that I command you, you must speak.

¹⁴But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and told them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them! For the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

¹⁵Truly I tell you, anyone who does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

²Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,

¹⁴But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them! For the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

²⁰Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature.

¹⁶But Jesus called the children to Him and said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them! For the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

¹⁷Truly I tell you, anyone who does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

²Surely I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with his mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me.

¹⁰Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.

⁴³But it shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,

¹¹For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

⁴⁸And He said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in My name welcomes Me, and whoever welcomes Me welcomes the One who sent Me. For whoever is the least among all of you, he is the greatest.”

¹¹The greatest among you shall be your servant.

¹²For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

²⁶It shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,

²⁷and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave—

⁴⁰And the King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’

²⁰Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever receives the one I send receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives the One who sent Me.”

³⁷“Whoever welcomes one of these little children in My name welcomes Me, and whoever welcomes Me welcomes not only Me, but the One who sent Me.”

¹⁴And although my illness was a trial to you, you did not despise or reject me. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus Himself.

¹Jesus said to His disciples, “It is inevitable that stumbling blocks will come, but woe to the one through whom they come!

²It would be better for him to have a millstone hung around his neck and to be thrown into the sea than to cause one of these little ones to stumble.

⁴⁵Then the King will answer, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.’

⁴²But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be thrown into the sea.

¹Jesus said to His disciples, “It is inevitable that stumbling blocks will come, but woe to the one through whom they come!

²It would be better for him to have a millstone hung around his neck and to be thrown into the sea than to cause one of these little ones to stumble.

¹⁰See that you do not look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of My Father in heaven.

⁶After all, it is only right for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you,

⁷and to grant relief to you who are oppressed and to us as well. This will take place when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels

¹⁴In the same way, your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.

¹We who are strong ought to bear with the shortcomings of the weak and not to please ourselves.

²Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.

¹Jesus said to His disciples, “It is inevitable that stumbling blocks will come, but woe to the one through whom they come!

¹⁹And indeed, there must be differences among you to show which of you are approved.

²⁴The Son of Man will go just as it is written about Him, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed. It would be better for him if he had not been born.”

¹Now the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons,

²influenced by the hypocrisy of liars, whose consciences are seared with a hot iron.

⁴For certain men have crept in among you unnoticed—ungodly ones who were designated long ago for condemnation. They turn the grace of our God into a license for immorality, and they deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

¹But understand this: In the last days terrible times will come.

²For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,

²⁹If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

³⁰And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to depart into hell.

⁸More than that, I count all things as loss compared to the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ

⁹and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God on the basis of faith.

¹²The night is nearly over; the day has drawn near. So let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

²²On hearing this, Jesus told him, “You still lack one thing: Sell everything you own and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”

²³But when the ruler heard this, he became very sad, because he was extremely wealthy.

³¹Cast away from yourselves all the transgressions you have committed, and fashion for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, O house of Israel?

²⁶“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be My disciple.

²⁷And whoever does not carry his cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple.

²²strengthening the souls of the disciples and encouraging them to continue in the faith. “We must endure many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.

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 and two feet and be thrown into the eternal fire.

²⁷But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who practices an abomination or a lie, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

²²But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ will be subject to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be subject to the fire of hell.

²⁹If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

²⁴For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.

²⁵What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet lose or forfeit his very self?

¹¹For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.

⁷The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and he delivers them.

¹⁴Are not the angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

²²One day the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. And the rich man also died and was buried.

⁷Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his wrists.

⁸“Get dressed and put on your sandals,” said the angel. Peter did so, and the angel told him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.”

¹⁶“Do not be afraid,” Elisha answered, “for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”

¹⁷Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw that the hills were full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

¹²As a shepherd looks for his scattered sheep when he is among the flock, so I will look for My flock. I will rescue them from all the places to which they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.

⁴“What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the pasture and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?

⁵And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders,

¹⁶I will seek the lost, bring back the strays, bind up the broken, and strengthen the weak; but the sleek and strong I will destroy. I will shepherd them with justice.’

⁶We all like sheep have gone astray, each one has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all.

²⁸They will no longer be prey for the nations, and the beasts of the earth will not consume them. They will dwell securely, and no one will frighten them.

⁶My flock went astray on all the mountains and every high hill. They were scattered over the face of all the earth, with no one to search for them or seek them out.’

⁵And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders,

⁶comes home, and calls together his friends and neighbors to tell them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost sheep!’

¹⁷The Lord your God is among you; He is mighty to save. He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you with His love; He will rejoice over you with singing.”

¹¹The Lord is pleased with those who fear Him, who hope in His loving devotion.

²³Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let us feast and celebrate.

²⁴For this son of mine was dead and is alive again! He was lost and is found!’ So they began to celebrate.

³⁴Jesus explained, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work.

³⁵Do you not say, ‘There are still four months until the harvest’? I tell you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are ripe for harvest.

¹³For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

¹²While I was with them, I protected and preserved them by Your name, the name You gave Me. Not one of them has been lost, except the son of destruction, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.

⁹The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise as some understand slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance.

³⁹And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of those He has given Me, but raise them up at the last day.

⁴⁰For it is My Father’s will that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”

²⁷My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.

²⁸I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand.

¹¹He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. He gently leads the nursing ewes.

⁷Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, against the man who is My Companion, declares the Lord of Hosts. Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn My hand against the little ones.

¹⁷You must not harbor hatred against your brother in your heart. Directly rebuke your neighbor, so that you will not incur guilt on account of him.

¹Brothers, if someone is caught in a trespass, you who are spiritual should restore him with a spirit of gentleness. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.

³Watch yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.

⁴Even if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times returns to say, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

¹⁵Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.

¹³Bear with one another and forgive any complaint you may have against someone else. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

¹⁹My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back,

²⁰consider this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

¹⁵A lone witness is not sufficient to establish any wrongdoing or sin against a man, regardless of what offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.

¹This is the third time I am coming to you. “Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.”

¹⁷Even in your own Law it is written that the testimony of two men is valid.

¹⁹Do not entertain an accusation against an elder, except on the testimony of two or three witnesses.

²⁸Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.

³⁰If anyone kills a person, the murderer is to be put to death on the testimony of the witnesses. But no one is to be put to death based on the testimony of a lone witness.

⁶Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from any brother who leads an undisciplined life that is not in keeping with the tradition you received from us.

⁹I wrote you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people.

¹⁴Take note of anyone who does not obey the instructions we have given in this letter. Do not associate with him, so that he may be ashamed.

¹⁵Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.

³Although I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, and I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present.

⁴When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, along with the power of the Lord Jesus,

¹⁰If anyone comes to you but does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your home or even greet him.

¹¹Whoever greets such a person shares in his evil deeds.

¹¹Have no fellowship with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.

¹²For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.

¹⁹I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

¹⁰If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And if I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven it in the presence of Christ for your sake,

²³If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.”

⁴When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, along with the power of the Lord Jesus,

⁵hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the Day of the Lord.

⁷To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of the One who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What He opens no one can shut, and what He shuts no one can open.

⁸I know your deeds. Behold, I have placed before you an open door, which no one can shut. I know that you have only a little strength, yet you have kept My word and have not denied My name.

²³and sent them with this letter: The apostles and the elders, your brothers, To the brothers among the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings.

²⁴It has come to our attention that some went out from us without our authorization and unsettled you, troubling your minds by what they said.

⁷Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.

¹⁴And this is the confidence that we have before Him: If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

¹⁵And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we already possess what we have asked of Him.

²⁴Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

¹³And I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

¹⁴If you ask Me for anything in My name, I will do it.

¹⁹because I know that through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, my distress will turn out for my deliverance.

²³In that day you will no longer ask Me anything. Truly, truly, I tell you, whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you.

⁴When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, along with the power of the Lord Jesus,

³And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God.

²⁰and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

⁵For I will be a wall of fire around it, declares the Lord, and I will be the glory within it.’”

²⁶Eight days later, His disciples were once again inside with the doors locked, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”

¹⁹It was the first day of the week, and that very evening, while the disciples were together with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them. “Peace be with you!” He said to them.

³Watch yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.

⁴Even if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times returns to say, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

¹⁵If your brother sins against you, go and confront him privately. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.

¹³Bear with one another and forgive any complaint you may have against someone else. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

²⁵And when you stand to pray, if you hold anything against another, forgive it, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your trespasses as well.”

²⁴If Cain is avenged sevenfold, then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”

³¹Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, outcry and slander, along with every form of malice.

¹⁴For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

¹⁵But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive yours.

²⁶“Be angry, yet do not sin.” Do not let the sun set upon your anger,

¹²So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

²⁴Jesus put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.

²and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

⁴⁴The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and in his joy he went and sold all he had and bought that field.

⁴⁵Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls.

⁴⁷Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea and caught all kinds of fish.

¹²So He said, “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to lay claim to his kingship and then return.

¹³Beforehand, he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. ‘Conduct business with this until I return,’ he said.

⁴For my iniquities have overwhelmed me; they are a burden too heavy to bear.

³If You, O Lord, kept track of iniquities, then who, O Lord, could stand?

⁴But with You there is forgiveness, so that You may be feared.

¹²For evils without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, so that I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart has failed within me.

⁴Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam collapsed on them: Do you think that they were more sinful than all the others living in Jerusalem?

⁵And he called in each one of his master’s debtors. ‘How much do you owe my master?’ he asked the first.

⁶and said: “O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to You, my God, because our iniquities are higher than our heads, and our guilt has reached the heavens.

⁵We and our children are just like our countrymen and their children, yet we are subjecting our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters are already enslaved, but we are powerless to redeem them because our fields and vineyards belong to others.”

¹Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant, my husband, is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord. And now his creditor is coming to take my two children as his slaves!”

⁴²When they were unable to repay him, he forgave both of them. Which one, then, will love him more?”

³⁹If a countryman among you becomes destitute and sells himself to you, then you must not force him into slave labor.

⁸and said, “We have done our best to buy back our Jewish brothers who were sold to foreigners, but now you are selling your own brothers, that they may be sold back to us!” But they remained silent, for they could find nothing to say.

¹This is what the Lord says: “Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce with which I sent her away? Or to which of My creditors did I sell you? Look, you were sold for your iniquities, and for your transgressions your mother was sent away.

²⁹So his fellow servant fell down and begged him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you back.’

⁴³“I suppose the one who was forgiven more,” Simon replied. “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.

²Suddenly a leper came and knelt before Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”

³Because they were ignorant of God’s righteousness and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.

⁸The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in loving devotion.

¹⁵But You, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness.

⁵For You, O Lord, are kind and forgiving, rich in loving devotion to all who call on You.

¹⁷They refused to listen and failed to remember the wonders You performed among them. They stiffened their necks and appointed a leader to return them to their bondage in Egypt. But You are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in loving devotion, and You did not forsake them.

³⁸And yet He was compassionate; He forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them. He often restrained His anger and did not unleash His full wrath.

⁸How could I give you up, O Ephraim? How could I surrender you, O Israel? How could I make you like Admah? How could I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart is turned within Me; My compassion is stirred!

⁹For this is what the Lord God says: ‘Enough, O princes of Israel! Cease your violence and oppression, and do what is just and right. Stop dispossessing My people, declares the Lord God.’

²He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.

²This is the manner of remission: Every creditor shall cancel what he has loaned to his neighbor. He is not to collect anything from his neighbor or brother, because the Lord’s time of release has been proclaimed.

³“Why have we fasted, and You have not seen? Why have we humbled ourselves, and You have not noticed?” “Behold, on the day of your fast, you do as you please, and you oppress all your workers.

¹⁰I, as well as my brothers and my servants, have been lending the people money and grain. Please, let us stop this usury.

¹¹Please restore to them immediately their fields, vineyards, olive groves, and houses, along with the percentage of the money, grain, new wine, and oil that you have been assessing them.”

⁷and after serious thought I rebuked the nobles and officials, saying, “You are exacting usury from your own brothers!” So I called a large assembly against them

¹²And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

²⁶Then the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Have patience with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’

¹⁸But if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge it to my account.

¹⁹I, Paul, write this with my own hand. I will repay it—not to mention that you owe me your very self.

²⁷and tell them that this is what the king says: ‘Put this man in prison and feed him only bread and water until I return safely.’”

²⁷When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and fasted. He lay down in sackcloth and walked around meekly.

²⁸Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying:

¹⁵Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.

³Remember those in prison as if you were bound with them, and those who are mistreated as if you were suffering with them.

⁵Jesus looked around at them with anger and sorrow at their hardness of heart. Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and it was restored.

¹Oh, that my head were a spring of water, and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night over the slain daughter of my people.

¹⁷Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they watch over your souls as those who must give an account. To this end, allow them to lead with joy and not with grief, for that would be of no advantage to you.

²This is the account of Jacob. When Joseph was seventeen years old, he was tending the flock with his brothers, the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah, and he brought their father a bad report about them.

¹⁹Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.

²²His master replied, ‘You wicked servant, I will judge you by your own words. So you knew that I am a harsh man, withdrawing what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow?

²⁶‘You wicked, lazy servant!’ replied his master. ‘You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed.

¹³Bear with one another and forgive any complaint you may have against someone else. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

³²Be kind and tenderhearted to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you.

¹²And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

³⁵But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

³⁶Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

⁴⁴But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

⁴⁵that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

¹³For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

²⁵Reconcile quickly with your adversary, while you are still on the way to court. Otherwise, he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison.

²⁶Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.

⁵⁸Make every effort to reconcile with your adversary while you are on your way to the magistrate. Otherwise, he may drag you off to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and the officer may throw you into prison.

⁵⁹I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the very last penny.”

⁸in blazing fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

⁹They will suffer the penalty of eternal destruction, separated from the presence of the Lord and the glory of His might,

¹⁰he too will drink the wine of God’s anger, poured undiluted into the cup of His wrath. And he will be tormented in fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb.

¹¹And the smoke of their torment rises forever and ever. Day and night there is no rest for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”

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

¹⁴For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

¹⁵But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive yours.

¹³For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

³⁷Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

³⁸Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”

²⁵And when you stand to pray, if you hold anything against another, forgive it, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your trespasses as well.”

¹²And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

²All a man’s ways seem right to him, but the Lord weighs the heart.