Matthew 16:17-19

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

¹⁷And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸And I tell you, you are Peter,^[a] and on this rock^[b] I will build my church, and the powers of death^[c] shall not prevail against it.^[d] ¹⁹I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven,^[e] and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

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Footnotes

Matthew 16:18 Greek Petros
Matthew 16:18 Greek petra
Matthew 16:18 Greek the gates of Hades
16.18 The name “Peter” comes from the Greek word for “rock.” Jesus makes him the foundation on which the church is to be built. The word “church” means “assembly” or “society” of believers. The Hebrew equivalent is used in the Old Testament to indicate the chosen people. In applying it to the church, Jesus shows it to be the Messianic community foretold by the prophets.
16.19 the kingdom of heaven: Peter has the key to the gates of the city of God. This power is exercised through the church. “Binding” and “loosing” are rabbinic terms referring to excommunication, then later to forbidding or allowing something. Not only can Peter admit to the kingdom; he also has power to make authoritative decisions in matters of faith or morals.

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.