181 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said , " Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven ?" 2 And He called a child to Himself and set him before e them, 3 and said , "Truly I say to you, unless e you are converted and become like children , you will not enter the kingdom of heaven . 4 "Whoever then humbles himself as this child , he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven . 5 "And whoever e receives one such child in My name receives Me;
6 but whoever e causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble , it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck , and to be drowned in the depth of the sea .
7 "Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks ! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come ; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes ! 8 " If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble , cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame , than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire . 9 " If your eye causes you to stumble , pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye , than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell .
10 "See that you do not despise one of these little ones , for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually e see the face of My Father who is in heaven . 11 [" For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost .] 12 "What do you think ? If any man has a hundred sheep , and one of them has gone astray , does he not leave the ninety-nine e on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying ? 13 "If it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine e which have not gone astray . 14 "So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish .
15 " If your brother sins , go and show him his fault in private ; if he listens to you, you have won your brother . 16 "But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES EVERY FACT MAY BE CONFIRMED . 17 "If 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 . 18 "Truly I say to you, whatever e you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven ; and whatever e you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven . 19 "Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything e that they may ask , it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven . 20 "For where two or three have gathered together in My name , I am there in their midst ."
21 Then Peter came and said to Him, "Lord , how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times ?" 22 Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times , but up to seventy times seven . 23 "For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves . 24 "When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25 "But since he did not have the means to repay , his lord commanded him to be sold , along with his wife and children and all that he had , and repayment to be made . 26 "So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying , 'Have patience with me and I will repay you everything .' 27 "And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt . 28 "But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii ; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying , 'Pay back what you owe .' 29 "So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying , 'Have patience with me and I will repay you.' 30 "But he was unwilling e and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed . 31 "So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened , they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened . 32 "Then summoning him, his lord said to him, 'You wicked slave , I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 ' Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave , in the same way that I had mercy on you?' 34 "And his lord , moved with anger , handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. 35 " My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart ."
