Matthew 18:21-35

Christian Standard Bible

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

²¹ Then Peter approached him and asked, “Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? As many as seven times?” ^(A)

²² “I tell you, not as many as seven,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven.^[a]

²³ “For this reason, the kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴ When he began to settle accounts, one who owed ten thousand talents^[b] was brought before him. ²⁵ Since he did not have the money to pay it back, his master commanded that he, his wife, his children, and everything he had be sold to pay the debt.^(B)

²⁶ “At this, the servant fell facedown before him and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything.’ ²⁷ Then the master of that servant had compassion, released him, and forgave him the loan.

²⁸ “That servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii.^[c](C) He grabbed him, started choking him, and said, ‘Pay what you owe!’

²⁹ “At this, his fellow servant fell down^[d] and began begging him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ ³⁰ But he wasn’t willing. Instead, he went and threw him into prison until he could pay what was owed. ³¹ When the other servants saw what had taken place, they were deeply distressed and went and reported to their master everything that had happened. ³² Then, after he had summoned him, his master said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. ³³ Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’^{(D) 34} And because he was angry, his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured until he could pay everything that was owed. ³⁵ So also my heavenly Father will do to you unless every one of you forgives his brother or sister^[e] from your heart.”^(E)