When they were unable to repay him, he forgave both of them. Which one, then, will love him more?”
Parallel translations
- WEB When they couldn’t pay, he forgave them both. Which of them therefore will love him most?”
- KJV And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?
- NKJV And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?”
- NASB When they were unable to repay, he canceled the debts of both. So which of them will love him more?”
- NLT But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that?”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Unable to pay, both debtors are forgiven, and Jesus asks which will love the lender more. The question presses Simon toward the lesson on gratitude.
Overview
The lender's free forgiveness of both debts pictures God's grace toward those who cannot pay their debt of sin. Jesus' question invites Simon to recognize that greater forgiveness perceived produces greater love. This points to the gospel, where God graciously cancels the unpayable debt of sinners through Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 20
- Rom 3:24and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
- Isa 43:25I, yes I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake and remembers your sins no more.
- Isa 44:22I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud, and your sins like a mist. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.
- Dan 9:18–19Incline Your ear, O my God, and hear; open Your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears Your name. For we are not presenting our petitions before You because of our righteous acts, but because of Your great compassion.
- Mic 7:18–20Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance—who does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in loving devotion?
- Acts 13:38–39Therefore let it be known to you, brothers, that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.
- Gal 3:10All who rely on works of the law are under a curse. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”
- Eph 4:32Be kind and tenderhearted to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you.
- Eph 1:7In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace
- Col 3:13Bear with one another and forgive any complaint you may have against someone else. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
- Ps 49:7–8No man can possibly redeem his brother or pay his ransom to God.
- Ps 32:1–5Of David. A Maskil. Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
- Ps 51:1–3For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. When Nathan the prophet came to him after his adultery with Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your loving devotion; according to Your great compassion, blot out my transgressions.
- Ps 103:3He who forgives all your iniquities and heals all your diseases,
- Jer 31:33–34“But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD. I will put My law in their minds and inscribe it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people.
- Matt 18:25–26Since the man was unable to pay, the master ordered that he be sold to pay his debt, along with his wife and children and everything he owned.
- Matt 18:34In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should repay all that he owed.
- Rom 5:6For at just the right time, while we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
- Rom 4:5–8However, to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.
- Matt 6:12And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 7:42 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.