The lord of that servant, being moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.
Parallel translations
- KJV Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.
- BSB His master had compassion on him, forgave his debt, and released him.
- NKJV Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.
- NASB And the master of that slave felt compassion, and he released him and forgave him the debt.
- NLT Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.
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
Moved with compassion, the king releases the servant and forgives the entire debt. This pictures God's free, lavish mercy that cancels what we could never pay.
Overview
The king does far more than grant patience; out of pity he wipes out the whole impossible debt. This is a vivid image of the gospel: God forgives our sins fully and freely through Christ, moved by his own compassion. The depth of this forgiveness becomes the measure against which the servant's later cruelty is judged.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Ps 145:8Yahweh is gracious, merciful, slow to anger, and of great loving kindness.
- Ps 86:15But you, Lord, are a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth.
- Hos 11:8“How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboiim? My heart is turned within me, my compassion is aroused.
- Neh 9:17and refused to obey. They weren’t mindful of your wonders that you did among them, but hardened their neck, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage. But you are a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and didn’t forsake them.
- Judg 10:16They put away the foreign gods from among them, and served Yahweh; and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.
- Ps 78:38But he, being merciful, forgave iniquity, and didn’t destroy them. Yes, many times he turned his anger away, and didn’t stir up all his wrath.
- Ps 86:5For you, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive; abundant in loving kindness to all those who call on you.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 18:27 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.