24
Andδὲwhen heαὐτοῦbeganἀρξαμένουto settle them,συναίρεινoneεἷςdebtorὀφειλέτηςwas broughtπροσηνέχθηto himαὐτῷwho owedten thousandμυρίωνtalents.ταλάντων
Matthew 18:24
Study it in the app“And when he began to settle them, one debtor was brought to him who owed ten thousand talents.”
The forgiven servant will not forgive his fellow servantForgivenessA servant forgiven a huge debt will not forgive a small oneJustice and mercy
With the Greek beneath
Matthew 18:24, word by word
- beganἀρξαμένουarxamenou
begin
To start doing something.
Where else “arxamenou” appears- to settle themσυναίρεινsynairein
settle accounts
Settle accounts with someone.
Where else “synairein” appears- oneεἷςheis
one
The quantity one, or a single one within a group.
Where else “heis” appears- debtorὀφειλέτηςopheiletēs
debtor
Debtor: someone who owes something; also someone who owes for a wrong, an offender.
Where else “opheiletēs” appears- was broughtπροσηνέχθηprosēnechthē
bring
To lead someone to another.
Where else “prosēnechthē” appears- ten thousandμυρίωνmyriōn
ten thousand
Ten thousand; also countless.
Where else “myriōn” appears- talentsταλάντωνtalantōn
talent
Talent: the largest unit of money, worth about six thousand denarii.
Where else “talantōn” appears
Translation note
A talent was worth about six thousand denarii, the wages of about twenty years; ten thousand talents was a debt impossible to pay.
The context
23For this reason the kingdom of heaven has become like to a man, a king, who wanted to settle accounts with his slaves.
24 · This verse (above)
25And since he did not have the means to repay, the master ordered him to be sold, and his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.
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?