1In that hour the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of the heavens?”
2And he called a child to him, stood him in their midst,
3and said, “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of the heavens.
4Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of the heavens.
5And whoever receives one such child in my name receives me.
6But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a donkey’s millstone hung around his neck and be drowned in the depth of the sea.
7Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! For it is necessary that stumbling blocks come, but woe to the person through whom the stumbling block comes.
8And if your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away from you. It is better for you to enter into life maimed or lame than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into the eternal fire.
9And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the Gehenna of fire.
10See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I say to you that their angels in the heavens always see the face of my Father who is in the heavens.
12What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains, go, and seek the one that is straying?
13And if he happens to find it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that have not gone astray.
14So it is not the will of your Father in the heavens that one of these little ones should perish.
15But if your brother sins, go and reprove him, just between you and him. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.
16But if he does not listen, take one or two others with you, so that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every matter may be established.’
17If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.
18Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will have been loosed in heaven.
19Again, amen, I say to you, if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in the heavens.
20For where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in their midst.
21Then Peter came to him and said, “Lord, how many times shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?”
22Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you up to seven times, but up to seventy-seven times.”
23For this reason the kingdom of the heavens may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves.
24When he began to settle them, one was brought to him who owed ten thousand talents.
25Since he did not have the means to repay, his master commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and for repayment to be made.
26So the slave fell down and prostrated himself before him, saying, ‘Be patient with me, and I will repay you everything.’
27And the lord of that slave, moved with compassion, released him and forgave him the debt.
28But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii. He seized him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe!’
29So his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him, saying, ‘Be patient with me, and I will repay you.’
30But he refused. Instead, he went and threw him into prison until he repaid what was owed.
31When his fellow slaves saw what had taken place, they were deeply grieved, and they went and reported to their master everything that had happened.
32Then his lord summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.
33Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’
34And in his anger, his lord handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back all that he owed.
35So also my heavenly Father will do to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your hearts.
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