Old Testament

New Testament

Matthew 18:8-17 Contemporary English Version Anglicised (CEVUK00)

8. If your hand or foot causes you to sin, chop it off and throw it away! You would be better off to go into life crippled or lame than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into the fire that never goes out.

9. If your eye causes you to sin, poke it out and get rid of it. You would be better off to go into life with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fires of hell.

10-11. Don't be cruel to any of these little ones! I promise you that their angels are always with my Father in heaven.

12. Let me ask you this. What would you do if you had a hundred sheep and one of them wandered off? Wouldn't you leave the ninety-nine on the hillside and go and look for the one that had wandered away?

13. I am sure that finding it would make you happier than having the ninety-nine that never wandered off.

14. That's how it is with your Father in heaven. He doesn't want any of these little ones to be lost.

15. If one of my followers sins against you, go and point out what was wrong. But do it in private, just between the two of you. If that person listens, you have won back a follower.

16. But if that one refuses to listen, take along one or two others. The Scriptures teach that every complaint must be proved true by two or more witnesses.

17. If the follower refuses to listen to them, report the matter to the church. Anyone who refuses to listen to the church must be treated like an unbeliever or a tax collector.

Read complete chapter Matthew 18