Matthew 18:21–20:16
The Parable of the Unforgiving Slave
21 Then Peter came up to him and* said,g “Lord, how many times will my brother sin against me and I will 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!h
23 “For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man—a king—who wanted to settle accounts with his slaves. 24 And when* he began to settle them,* someone was brought to him who owed ten thousand talents. 25 And because* he did not have enough* to repay it,* the master ordered him to be sold, and his* wife and his* children and everything that he had, and to be repaid. 26 Then the slave threw himself to the ground and* began to do obeisance to him, saying, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay back everything to you!’ 27 So the master of that slave, because he* 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 a hundred denarii, and taking hold of him, he began to choke him,* saying, ‘Pay back everything that you owe!’ 29 Then his fellow slave threw himself to the ground and* began to implore* him, saying, ‘Be patient with me and I will repay you!’ 30 But he did not want to, but rather he went and* threw him into prison until he would repay what was owed. 31 So when* his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were extremely distressed, and went and* reported to their master everything that had happened. 32 Then his master summoned him and* said to him, ‘Wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you implored me! 33 Should you not also have shown mercy to your fellow slave as I also showed mercy to you?’ 34 And because he* was angry, his master handed him over to the merciless jailersi until he would repay everything that was owed. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from your hearts!”
19 And it happened that when Jesus had finished these statements, he went away from Galilee and came into the region of Judea on the other side of the Jordan. 2 And large crowds followed him, and he healed them there. 3 And Pharisees came up to him in order to* test him, and asked* if it was permitted for a man to divorce his wife for any cause. 4 And he answered and* said, “Have you not read that the one who created them* from the beginning made them male and female 5 and said, ‘On account of this a man will leave his* father and his* mother and will be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?a 6 So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, man must not separate.” 7 They said to him, “Why then did Moses command us* to give a document—a certificate of divorce—and to divorce her?” 8 He said to them, “Moses, with reference to your hardness of heart, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not like this. 9 Now I say to you that whoever divorces his wife, except on the basis of sexual immorality, and marries another commits adultery, and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.”b
10 The disciplesc said to him, “If this is the case of a man with his* wife, it would be better not to marry!” 11 But he said to them, “Not everyone can accept this saying but those to whom it has been given. 12 For there are eunuchs who were born as such from their mother’s womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by people, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchsd for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who is able to accept this,* let him accept it.”*
Little Children Brought to Jesus
13 Then children were brought to him so that he could lay hise hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 But Jesus said, “Allow the children, and do not forbid them to come to me, ⌊for to such belongs⌋f the kingdom of heaven.” 15 And he laid his* hands on them and* traveled on from there.
16 And behold, someone came up to him and* said, “Teacher, what good thing must I do so that I will have eternal life?” 17 And he said to him, “Why are you asking me about what is good? There is one who is good. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments!” 18 He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “Do not commit murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, 19 honor your* father and your* mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.” 20 The young man said to him, “All these I have observed. What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give the proceeds* to the poor—and you will have treasure in heaven—and come, follow me.” 22 But when* the young man heard the statement, he went away sorrowful, because he was one who had many possessions.
23 And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I say to you that with difficulty a rich person will enter into the kingdom of heaven! 24 And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich person intog the kingdom of God.” 25 So when* the disciples heard this,* they were extremely amazed, saying, “Then who can be saved?” 26 But Jesus looked at them* and* said to them, “With human beings this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 27 Then Peter answered and* said to him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed you. What then will there be for us?” 28 And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you that in the renewal of the world,h when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me—you also will sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wifei or children or fields on account of my name will receive a hundred times as much, and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.
The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard
20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man—the master of the house—who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 And after* coming to an agreement with the workers for a denarius per day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And going out about the third hour, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace. 4 And to those people he said, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will give you whatever is right.’ 5 So they went. Going outa again about the sixth and ninth hour he did the same thing. 6 And about the eleventh hour he went out and* found others standing there and said to them, ‘Why are you standing here the whole day unemployed?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go also into the vineyard.’ 8 And when* evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the workers and pay them theirb wages, beginning from the last up to the first.’ 9 And when the ones hired about the eleventh hour came, they received a denarius apiece. 10 And when* the first came, they thought that they would receive more, and they also received a denarius apiece. 11 And when they* received it,* they began to complainc against the master of the house, 12 saying, ‘These last people worked one hour and you made them equal to us who have endured the burden of the day and the burning heat!’ 13 But he answered one of them and* said, ‘Friend, I am not doing you wrong. Did you not come to an agreement with me for a denarius? 14 Take what is yours and go! But I want to give to this last person the same as I gaved to you also. 15 Is it note permitted for me to do whatever I want with what is mine? Or is your eye evil because I am generous?’ 16 Thus the last will be first and the first last.”