The Gospel According to St. Matthew

⭑ Douay-Rheims :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 18 -

(Mark 9:33–41; Luke 9:46–50)

At that hour the disciples came to Jesus, saying: Who thinkest thou is the greater in the kingdom of heaven?

And Jesus calling unto him a little child, set him in the midst of them,

And said: Amen I say to you, unless you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, he is the greater in the kingdom of heaven.

And he that shall receive one such little child in my name, receiveth me.

Temptations and Trespasses

(Mark 9:42–48; Luke 17:1–4)

But he that shall scandalize one of these little ones that believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone should be hanged about his neck, and that he should be drowned in the depth of the sea.

Woe to the world because of scandals. For it must needs be that scandals come: but nevertheless woe to that man by whom the scandal cometh.

And if thy hand, or thy foot scandalize thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee. It is better for thee to go into life maimed or lame, than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into everlasting fire.

And if thy eye scandalize thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee. It is better for thee having one eye to enter into life, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

(Luke 15:1–7)

See that you despise not one of these little ones: for I say to you, that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.

For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.

What think you? If a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them should go astray: doth he not leave the ninety-nine in the mountains, and go to seek that which is gone astray?

And if it so be that he find it: Amen I say to you, he rejoiceth more for that, than for the ninety-nine that went not astray.

Even so it is not the will of your Father, who is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.

A Brother Who Sins

(Deuteronomy 19:15–21)

But if thy brother shall offend against thee, go, and rebuke him between thee and him alone. If he shall hear thee, thou shalt gain thy brother.

And if he will not hear thee, take with thee one or two more: that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may stand.

And if he will not hear them: tell the church. And if he will not hear the church, let him be to thee as the heathen and publican.

Amen I say to you, whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, shall be bound also in heaven; and whatsoever you shall loose upon earth, shall be loosed also in heaven.

Ask in My Name

(John 16:23–33)

Again I say to you, that if two of you shall consent upon earth, concerning any thing whatsoever they shall ask, it shall be done to them by my Father who is in heaven.

For where there are two or three gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

The Unforgiving Servant

(Romans 12:14–21)

Then came Peter unto him and said: Lord, how often shall my brother offend against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?

Jesus saith to him: I say not to thee, till seven times; but till seventy times seven times.

Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened to a king, who would take an account of his servants.

And when he had begun to take the account, one was brought to him, that owed him ten thousand talents.

And as he had not wherewith to pay it, his lord commanded that he should be sold, and his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.

But that servant falling down, besought him, saying: Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

And the lord of that servant being moved with pity, let him go and forgave him the debt.

But when that servant was gone out, he found one of his fellow servants that owed him an hundred pence: and laying hold of him, throttled him, saying: Pay what thou owest.

And his fellow servant falling down, besought him, saying: Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he paid the debt.

Now his fellow servants seeing what was done, were very much grieved, and they came and told their lord all that was done.

Then his lord called him; and said to him: Thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all the debt, because thou besoughtest me:

Shouldst not thou then have had compassion also on thy fellow servant, even as I had compassion on thee?

And his lord being angry, delivered him to the torturers until he paid all the debt.

So also shall my heavenly Father do to you, if you forgive not every one his brother from your hearts.

(Mark 9:33–41; Luke 9:46–50)

In that hour the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”

Jesus called a little child to himself, and set him in the middle of them

and said, “Most certainly I tell you, unless you turn and become as little children, you will in no way enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.

Whoever therefore humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Whoever receives one such little child in my name receives me,

Temptations and Trespasses

(Mark 9:42–48; Luke 17:1–4)

but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for him if a huge millstone were hung around his neck and that he were sunk in the depths of the sea.

“Woe to the world because of occasions of stumbling! For it must be that the occasions come, but woe to that person through whom the occasion comes!

If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life maimed or crippled, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into the eternal fire.

If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into the Gehenna (a) of fire.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

(Luke 15:1–7)

See that you don’t despise one of these little ones, for I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.

For the Son of Man came to save that which was lost. (b)

“What do you think? If a man has one hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine, go to the mountains, and seek that which has gone astray?

If he finds it, most certainly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray.

Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

A Brother Who Sins

(Deuteronomy 19:15–21)

“If your brother sins against you, go, show him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained back your brother.

But if he doesn’t listen, take one or two more with you, that at the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. (c)

If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the assembly. If he refuses to hear the assembly also, let him be to you as a Gentile or a tax collector.

Most certainly I tell you, whatever things you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever things you release on earth will have been released in heaven.

Ask in My Name

(John 16:23–33)

Again, assuredly I tell you, that if two of you will agree on earth concerning anything that they will ask, it will be done for them by my Father who is in heaven.

For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the middle of them.”

The Unforgiving Servant

(Romans 12:14–21)

Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Until seven times?”

Jesus said to him, “I don’t tell you until seven times, but, until seventy times seven.

Therefore the Kingdom of Heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.

When he had begun to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. (d)

But because he couldn’t pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, with his wife, his children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.

The servant therefore fell down and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord, have patience with me, and I will repay you all!’

The lord of that servant, being moved with compassion, released him and forgave him the debt.

“But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him one hundred denarii, (e) and he grabbed him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’

“So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will repay you!’

He would not, but went and cast him into prison until he should pay back that which was due.

So when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were exceedingly sorry, and came and told their lord all that was done.

Then his lord called him in and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.

Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow servant, even as I had mercy on you?’

His lord was angry, and delivered him to the tormentors until he should pay all that was due to him.

So my heavenly Father will also do to you, if you don’t each forgive your brother from your hearts for his misdeeds.”

Footnotes

(a)18:9 or, Hell

(b)18:11 NU omits verse 11.

(d)18:24 Ten thousand talents (about 300 metric tons of silver) represents an extremely large sum of money, equivalent to about 60,000,000 denarii, where one denarius was typical of one day’s wages for agricultural labor.

(e)18:28 100 denarii was about one sixtieth of a talent, or about 500 grams (1.1 pounds) of silver.