Matthew 16:18-20

Easy-to-Read Version

¹⁸So I tell you, you are Peter.^[a] And I will build my church on this rock. The power of death^[b] will not be able to defeat my church. ¹⁹I will give you the keys to God’s kingdom. When you speak judgment here on earth, that judgment will be God’s judgment. When you promise forgiveness here on earth, that forgiveness will be God’s forgiveness.”^[c]

²⁰Then Jesus warned his followers not to tell anyone he was the Messiah.

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Footnotes

Matthew 16:18 Peter The Greek name “Peter,” like the Aramaic name “Cephas,” means “rock.”
Matthew 16:18 power of death Literally, “gates of Hades.”
Matthew 16:19 When you speak … God’s forgiveness Literally, “Whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will have been loosed in heaven.”