Matthew 18:5-11
New Catholic Bible
Woe to the World because of Scandals.[a] 5 “And whoever receives one such child in my name receives me. 6 But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. 7 Woe to the world because of scandals. Such things are bound to occur, but woe to the one through whom they come.
8 [b]“If your hand or your foot is an occasion of sin for you, cut it off and throw it away. It is preferable for you to enter into life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is preferable for you to enter into life with one eye than to have two eyes and be cast into the fires of Gehenna.
10 “Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I tell you that their angels in heaven gaze continually on the face of my heavenly Father. [ 11 For the Son of Man has come to save what was lost.][c]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Matthew 18:5 Woe to those who give scandal to the little ones, i.e., the disciples of the Gospel, so as to make them fall. The Lord identifies himself with them and issues severe threats for those who wish to pervert them. Indeed, they have angels who always see the face of the Father in heaven—the guardian angels—thus showing their great worth in God’s eyes.
- Matthew 18:8 These verses are already to be found substantially in Mt 5:29-30; the evangelist repeats them because they have to do with “scandal.” The point is that no one can be saved who does not break completely with evil.
- Matthew 18:11 This verse is missing from the most important manuscripts and seems to have been transferred to this point from Lk 19:10.
