Matthew 18:21-19:12

New King James Version

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

²¹ Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? ^(A)Up to seven times?”

²² Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, ^(B)up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. ²³ Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴ And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. ²⁵ But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded ^(C)that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. ²⁶ The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ ²⁷ Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.

²⁸ “But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ ²⁹ So his fellow servant fell down ^[a]at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you ^[b]all.’ ³⁰ And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. ³¹ So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. ³² Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you ^(D)all that debt because you begged me. ³³ Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ ³⁴ And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.

^35 (E)“So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother ^[c]his trespasses.”

Marriage and Divorce^(F)

19 Now it came to pass, ^(G)when Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. ^2 (H)And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there.

³ The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?”

⁴ And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who ^[d]made them at the beginning ^(I)‘made them male and female,’ ⁵ and said, ^(J)‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and ^(K)the two shall become one flesh’? ⁶ So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”

⁷ They said to Him, ^(L)“Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?”

⁸ He said to them, “Moses, because of the ^(M)hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your ^(N)wives, but from the beginning it was not so. ^9 (O)And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for ^[e]sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.”

¹⁰ His disciples said to Him, ^(P)“If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry.”

Jesus Teaches on Celibacy

¹¹ But He said to them, ^(Q)“All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given: ¹² For there are ^[f]eunuchs who were born thus from their mother’s womb, and ^(R)there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He who is able to accept it, let him accept it.”