His master had compassion on him, forgave his debt, and released him.
Parallel translations
- WEB The lord of that servant, being moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.
- KJV Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.
- 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 145:8The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in loving devotion.
- Ps 86:15But You, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness.
- Hos 11:8How could I give you up, O Ephraim? How could I surrender you, O Israel? How could I make you like Admah? How could I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart is turned within Me; My compassion is stirred!
- Neh 9:17They refused to listen and failed to remember the wonders You performed among them. They stiffened their necks and appointed a leader to return them to their bondage in Egypt. But You are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in loving devotion, and You did not forsake them.
- Judg 10:16So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the LORD, and He could no longer bear the misery of Israel.
- Ps 78:38And yet He was compassionate; He forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them. He often restrained His anger and did not unleash His full wrath.
- Ps 86:5For You, O Lord, are kind and forgiving, rich in loving devotion to all who call on You.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 18:27 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.