15
AndδὲifἘὰνyour brotherὁ ἀδελφός σουsinsἁμαρτήσῃagainstεἰςyou,σὲgo,ὕπαγεreproveἔλεγξονhimαὐτὸνbetweenμεταξὺyouσοῦandκαὶhimαὐτοῦalone.μόνουIfἐάνhe listens toἀκούσῃyou,σουyou have gainedἐκέρδησαςyour brother.τὸν ἀδελφόν σου
Matthew 18:15
Study it in the app“And if your brother sins against you, go, reprove him between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.”
Jesus teaches to speak first, alone, with the one who wronged youConflict and Reconciliation
With the Greek beneath
Matthew 18:15, word by word
- your brotherἀδελφόςadelphos
fellow countryman
A neighbor, someone of the same people.
Where else “adelphos” appears- sinsἁμαρτήσῃhamartēsēi
sin
Sin: fail God, do what he forbids.
Where else “hamartēsēi” appears- goὕπαγεhypage
go away
Go away, leave; "go!".
Where else “hypage” appears- reproveἔλεγξονelenxon
reprove
To correct someone so they change.
Where else “elenxon” appears- betweenμεταξὺmetaxy
between
In the middle of two places or people.
Where else “metaxy” appears- aloneμόνουmonou
alone
With no one else.
Where else “monou” appears- he listens toἀκούσῃakousēi
listen
To pay attention and obey.
Where else “akousēi” appears- you have gainedἐκέρδησαςekerdēsas
win over
To bring a person to God or win them back, like gaining something precious.
Where else “ekerdēsas” appears
Parallel passages
Other books that tell the same thing or quote these words.
Forgiving a brother
A similar saying; scholars discuss whether it is the same saying in another setting or a repeated one.
See them side by side
Matthew 18:15-22
15And if your brother sins against you, go, reprove him between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16But if he does not listen, take with you one or two more, so that by the mouth of two witnesses or three every word may be established. 17And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the assembly; and if he refuses to listen even to the assembly, let him be to you as the Gentile and the tax collector. 18Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will have been loosed in heaven. 19Again, truly I tell you that if two of you agree on earth about any matter that they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father who is in heaven. 20For where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am among them.” 21Then Peter came to him and said, “Lord, how many times will my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” 22Jesus says to him, “I do not say to you up to seven times, but up to seventy-seven times.
3Watch yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he changes his mind, forgive him. 4And if seven times a day he sins against you and seven times turns back to you, saying, ‘I change my mind,’ you will forgive him.”
The context
14So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
15 · This verse (above)
16But if he does not listen, take with you one or two more, so that by the mouth of two witnesses or three every word may be established.
To study Matthew 18 in a group
1. What it says
What did Jesus put in the middle of the disciples when they asked who is greatest (vv. 1–3)?
2. What it means
Why does Jesus tell the parable of the slave who was forgiven a huge debt (vv. 23–35)?
3. How I live it
Peter asked how many times to forgive (v. 21). Whom do you find hard to forgive, and what small first step can you take?