Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
Parallel translations
- WEB “If your brother sins against you, go, show him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained back your brother.
- BSB If your brother sins against you, go and confront him privately. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.
- NKJV “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother.
- NASB “Now if your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have gained your brother.
- NLT “If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back.
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
Jesus teaches that when a brother sins you should first address it privately, aiming to win him back. The goal of confronting sin is restoration, not exposure.
Overview
This begins Jesus' instruction on church discipline. The first step is a private, gracious appeal that seeks to gain the brother, not to shame him. Love that pursues a sinning believer reflects the seeking love of the shepherd just described and aims at reconciliation within the community.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Lev 19:17Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.
- Gal 6:1Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
- Luke 17:3–4Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.
- Col 3:13Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
- 2 Th 3:15Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.
- Jas 5:19–20Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;
- Prov 25:9–10Debate thy cause with thy neighbour himself; and discover not a secret to another:
- Rom 12:21Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
- Matt 18:35So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.
- Ps 141:5Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head: for yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities.
- 1 Cor 8:12But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ.
- 1 Cor 6:6–8But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers.
- Lev 6:2–7If a soul sin, and commit a trespass against the LORD, and lie unto his neighbour in that which was delivered him to keep, or in fellowship, or in a thing taken away by violence, or hath deceived his neighbour;
- 1 Pet 3:1Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives;
- Prov 11:30The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.
- 2 Cor 7:12Wherefore, though I wrote unto you, I did it not for his cause that had done the wrong, nor for his cause that suffered wrong, but that our care for you in the sight of God might appear unto you.
- 1 Cor 9:19–21For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more.
- 1 Th 4:6That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 18:15 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
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