Matthew 18:26

THE MESSAGE

"The poor wretch threw himself at the king's feet and begged, ‘Give me a chance and I'll pay it all back.' Touched by his plea, the king let him off, erasing the debt.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“At this, the servant fell facedown before him and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything’

King James Version (1611)
The seruant therfore fell downe, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, haue patience with mee, and I will pay thee all.

King James Version
The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

English Standard Version
So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.'

New American Standard Bible
"So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, 'Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.'

New Century Version
"But the servant fell on his knees and begged, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything I owe.'

Amplified Bible
"So the slave fell on his knees and begged him, saying, 'Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.'

Geneva Bible (1587)
The seruant therefore fell downe, and worshipped him, saying, Lorde, refraine thine anger toward me, and I will pay thee all.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, 'Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.'

Legacy Standard Bible
Therefore, the slave fell to the ground and was prostrating himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.'

Berean Standard Bible
Then the servant fell on his knees before him. 'Have patience with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.'

Contemporary English Version
The official got down on his knees and began begging, "Have pity on me, and I will pay you every cent I owe!"

Complete Jewish Bible
But the servant fell down before him. ‘Be patient with me,' he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.'

Darby Translation
The bondman therefore falling down did him homage, saying, Lord, have patience with me and I will pay thee all.

Easy-to-Read Version
"But the servant fell on his knees and begged, ‘Be patient with me. I will pay you everything I owe.'

George Lamsa Translation
The servant then fell down, worshipped him, and said, My lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.

Good News Translation
The servant fell on his knees before the king. ‘Be patient with me,' he begged, ‘and I will pay you everything!'

Lexham English Bible
Then the slave threw himself to the ground and began to do obeisance to him, saying, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay back everything to you!'

Literal Translation
Then having fallen down, the slave bowed the knee to him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay all to you.

American Standard Version
The servant therefore fell down and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

Bible in Basic English
So the servant went down on his face and gave him worship, saying, Lord, give me time to make payment and I will give you all.

Hebrew Names Version
The servant therefore fell down and kneeled before him, saying, 'Lord, have patience with me, and I will repay you all.'

International Standard Version
Then the servant fell down and bowed low before him, saying, 'Be patientMaster, be patient">[fn] with me, and I will repay you everything!'

Etheridge Translation
And that servant fell and worshipped him, saying, My lord, be patient of spirit toward me, and all things I (will) pay thee.

Murdock Translation
And that servant fell down and worshipped him, and said: My lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee the whole.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
The seruaunt fell downe, & besought hym, saying: Lorde, haue pacience with me, and I wyll pay thee all.

English Revised Version
The servant therefore fell down and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

World English Bible
The servant therefore fell down and kneeled before him, saying, 'Lord, have patience with me, and I will repay you all.'

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
Then the servant falling prostrate at his feet, said, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

Weymouth's New Testament
The servant therefore falling down, prostrated himself at his feet and entreated him. "`Only give me time,' he said, `and I will pay you the whole.'

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
But thilke seruaunt felde doun, and preiede hym, and seide, Haue pacience in me, and Y schal yelde to thee alle thingis.

Update Bible Version
The slave therefore fell down and worshiped him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will repay you all.

Webster's Bible Translation
The servant therefore fell down, and worshiped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

New English Translation
Then the slave threw himself to the ground before him, saying, ‘Be patient with me, and I will repay you everything.'

New King James Version
The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, "Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.'

New Living Translation
"But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.'

New Life Bible
The servant got down on his face in front of the king. He said, ‘Give me time, and I will pay you all the money.'

New Revised Standard
So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.'

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
The servant therefore, falling down, began to do homage unto him, saying - Have patience with me, and, all, will I pay thee.

Douay-Rheims Bible
But that servant falling down, besought him, saying: Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

Revised Standard Version
So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, 'Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.'

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
The servaunt fell doune and besought him sayinge: Sir geve me respyte and I wyll paye it every whit.

Young's Literal Translation
The servant then, having fallen down, was bowing to him, saying, Sir, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Then the seruaunt fell downe, & besought him, sayenge: Syr, haue paciece wt me, and I wil paye the all.

Mace New Testament (1729)
the servant therefore fell prostrate before him, and cry'd out, Lord, allow me but time and I will pay the whole.

Simplified Cowboy Version
"The cowboy got down on his knees and begged the rancher not to take everything he owned and told him that he would repay every dollar.

Contextual Overview

²¹ At that point Peter got up the nerve to ask, "Master, how many times do I forgive a brother or sister who hurts me? Seven?" ²² Jesus replied, "Seven! Hardly. Try seventy times seven. ²³"The kingdom of God is like a king who decided to square accounts with his servants. As he got under way, one servant was brought before him who had run up a debt of a hundred thousand dollars. He couldn't pay up, so the king ordered the man, along with his wife, children, and goods, to be auctioned off at the slave market. ²⁶"The poor wretch threw himself at the king's feet and begged, ‘Give me a chance and I'll pay it all back.' Touched by his plea, the king let him off, erasing the debt. ²⁸ "The servant was no sooner out of the room when he came upon one of his fellow servants who owed him ten dollars. He seized him by the throat and demanded, ‘Pay up. Now!' ²⁹"The poor wretch threw himself down and begged, ‘Give me a chance and I'll pay it all back.' But he wouldn't do it. He had him arrested and put in jail until the debt was paid. When the other servants saw this going on, they were outraged and brought a detailed report to the king. ³²"The king summoned the man and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave your entire debt when you begged me for mercy. Shouldn't you be compelled to be merciful to your fellow servant who asked for mercy?' The king was furious and put the screws to the man until he paid back his entire debt. And that's exactly what my Father in heaven is going to do to each one of you who doesn't forgive unconditionally anyone who asks for mercy."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

worshipped him: or, besought him

have: Matthew 18:29, Luke 7:43, Romans 10:3

Reciprocal: Judges 9:7 - Hearken Matthew 8:2 - worshipped Luke 7:42 - when

Cross-References

Isaiah 19:24
On that Day, Israel will take its place alongside Egypt and Assyria, sharing the blessing from the center. God -of-the-Angel-Armies, who blessed Israel, will generously bless them all: "Blessed be Egypt, my people!... Blessed be Assyria, work of my hands!... Blessed be Israel, my heritage!"

Isaiah 65:8
God 's Message: "But just as one bad apple doesn't ruin the whole bushel, there are still plenty of good apples left. So I'll preserve those in Israel who obey me. I won't destroy the whole nation. I'll bring out my true children from Jacob and the heirs of my mountains from Judah. My chosen will inherit the land, my servants will move in. The lush valley of Sharon in the west will be a pasture for flocks, And in the east, the valley of Achor, a place for herds to graze. These will be for the people who bothered to reach out to me, who wanted me in their lives, who actually bothered to look for me.

Jeremiah 5:1
"Patrol Jerusalem's streets. Look around. Take note. Search the market squares. See if you can find one man, one woman, A single soul who does what is right and tries to live a true life. I want to forgive that person." God 's Decree. "But if all they do is say, ‘As sure as God lives...' they're nothing but a bunch of liars."

Ezekiel 22:30
"I looked for someone to stand up for me against all this, to repair the defenses of the city, to take a stand for me and stand in the gap to protect this land so I wouldn't have to destroy it. I couldn't find anyone. Not one. So I'll empty out my wrath on them, burn them to a crisp with my hot anger, serve them with the consequences of all they've done. Decree of God , the Master."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

The servant therefore fell down,.... At his feet, upon his knees, or on his face, to the ground; not being able to stand before him, or look him in the face, and much less to answer the demands of his law and justice; but owned the debt, and his present inability to pay,

and worshipped him: the Vulgate Latin reads it, "prayed", or entreated him,

saying, Lord have patience with me; give me but time, spare me a little longer, send me not to prison, and I will pay thee all: a very weak and foolish promise, but what is usual for men in such circumstances to make. Thus men, under guilt, and dreadful apprehensions of wrath and ruin, frequently promise, that if their lives are but spared, what they will do for God, and in a religious way; and very foolishly and ignorantly imagine, that by their humiliation and tears, their prayers and other services by their good lives and conversations, for the future, they shall be able to make compensation to God for all the iniquities they have been guilty of: which shows them to be exceeding ignorant of the nature of sin, which is committed against an infinite being, and therefore reconciliation for it cannot be made by finite creature; as also of the nature of their duties and services, which, when performed, in ever so good a manner, can never make satisfaction for past offences, these being duties they are obliged to perform; and would have been equally obliged thereunto if they had never offended; and likewise betrays great vanity, pride, boasting, and conceit of themselves, and abilities, as that they shall be able, in a little time to pay all, when they have nothing at all to pay with: and was patience to be exercised towards them ever so long, they would still be in the same condition, and in no better capacity to make payment; but, on the contrary, would still run a larger score, and be more and more in debt. Indeed, the patience and longsuffering of God to his people is salvation; not that by giving them time, and bearing with them, they discharge their debts, and work out their salvation; but waiting upon them to be gracious to them, he brings them to repentance, to a sense of themselves and sins, and to an acknowledgment of them, and leads them, by faith, to his Son for righteousness, forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life; but as for others, his patience towards them, and forbearance of them, issue in their everlasting destruction, which, by their iniquities, they are fitted for.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him - This does not mean that he paid him religious homage, but that in a humble, reverent, and earnest manner he entreated him to have patience with him. He prostrated himself before his lord, as is customary in all Eastern nations when subjects are in the presence of their king. See the notes at Matthew 2:2.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Matthew 18:26. Fell down and worshipped him — προσεκυνει αυτω, crouched as a dog before him, with the greatest deference, submission, and anxiety.

Have patience with me — μακροθυμησον επ' εμοι, be long-minded towards me - give me longer space.

The means which a sinner should use to be saved, are,

1. Deep humiliation of heart - he fell down.

2. Fervent prayer.

3. Confidence in the mercy of God - have patience.

4. A firm purpose to devote his soul and body to his Maker - I will pay thee all.

A sinner may be said, according to the economy of grace, to pay all, when he brings the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus to the throne of justice, by faith; thus offering an equivalent for the pardon he seeks, and paying all he owes to Divine justice, by presenting the blood of the Lamb.