²²“I tell you, not as many as seven,” Jesus said to him, “but 70 times seven. ⁿ²³For this reason, the kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who wanted to settle accounts with his ^•slaves. ²⁴When he began to settle accounts, one who owed 10,000 talents ^owas brought before him. ²⁵Since he had no way to pay it back, his master commanded that he, his wife, his children, and everything he had be sold to pay the debt. ^p

²⁶“At this, the slave fell facedown before him and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything!’ ²⁷Then the master of that slave had compassion, released him, and forgave him the loan.

²⁸“But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him 100 ^•denarii. ^q^rHe grabbed him, started choking him, and said, ‘Pay what you owe!’

²⁹“At this, his fellow slave fell down ^sand began begging him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ ³⁰But he wasn’t willing. On the contrary, he went and threw him into prison until he could pay what was owed. ³¹When the other slaves saw what had taken place, they were deeply distressed and went and reported to their master everything that had happened.

³²“Then, after he had summoned him, his master said to him, ‘You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. ³³Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?’ ^t³⁴And his master got angry and handed him over to the jailers to be tortured until he could pay everything that was owed. ³⁵So My heavenly Father will also do to you if each of you does not forgive his brother ^ufrom his ^vheart.” ^w

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Footnotes

n18:22 Or but 77 times
•The strong Greek word doulos cannot be accurately translated in English as servant or bond servant; the HCSB translates this word as slave, not out of insensitivity to the legitimate concerns of modern English speakers, but out of a commitment to accurately convey the brutal reality of the Roman empire’s inhumane institution as well as the ownership called for by Christ.
o18:24 A huge sum of money that could never be repaid by a slave; a talent = 6,000 denarii
•A small silver Roman coin, which was equal to a day’s wage for a common laborer
q18:28 A small sum compared to 10,000 talents
s18:29 Other add at his feet
u18:35 Other add his trespasses
v18:35 your

Cross references

m18:21 Lk 17:3–4; Col 3:13
p18:25 Ex 21:2; Lv 25:39; 2Kg 4:1; Neh 5:5, 8; Lk 7:42
r18:28 Mt 20:2: 22:19; Mk 6:37; 14:5; Lk 7:41; 10:35; Jn 6:7
t18:33 Mt 6:12; Eph 4:32; Col 3:13; 1Jn 4:11
w18:35 Pr 21:13; Mt 6:14; Jms 2:13