Matthew 18:27

THE MESSAGE

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Then the master of that servant had compassion, released him, and forgave him the loan.

King James Version (1611)
Then the Lord of that seruant was moued with compassion, and loosed him, and forgaue him the debt.

King James Version
Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.

English Standard Version
And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.

New American Standard Bible
"And the master of that slave felt compassion, and he released him and forgave him the debt.

New Century Version
The master felt sorry for his servant and told him he did not have to pay it back. Then he let the servant go free.

Amplified Bible
"And his master's heart was moved with compassion and he released him and forgave him [canceling] the debt.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then that seruants Lord had compassion, and loosed him, and forgaue him the dette.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt.

Legacy Standard Bible
And feeling compassion, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt.

Berean Standard Bible
His master had compassion on him, forgave his debt, and released him.

Contemporary English Version
The king felt sorry for him and let him go free. He even told the official that he did not have to pay back the money.

Complete Jewish Bible
So out of pity for him, the master let him go and forgave the debt.

Darby Translation
And the lord of that bondman, being moved with compassion, loosed him and forgave him the loan.

Easy-to-Read Version
The master felt sorry for him. So he told the servant he did not have to pay. He let him go free.

George Lamsa Translation
Then the master of that servant had pity, so he released him, and cancelled his debt.

Good News Translation
The king felt sorry for him, so he forgave him the debt and let him go.

Lexham English Bible
So the master of that slave, because he had compassion, released him and forgave him the loan.

Literal Translation
And being filled with pity, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the loan.

American Standard Version
And the lord of that servant, being moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.

Bible in Basic English
And the lord of that servant, being moved with pity, let him go, and made him free of the debt.

Hebrew Names Version
The lord of that servant, being moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.

International Standard Version
The master of that servant had compassion and released him, canceling his debt.

Etheridge Translation
And the lord of that servant had mercy, and absolved him, and forgave him his debt.

Murdock Translation
And his lord had compassion on that servant, and set him free, and forgave him his debt.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Then the Lorde of that seruaunt, moued with pitie, loosed hym, and forgaue hym the debt.

English Revised Version
And the lord of that servant, being moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.

World English Bible
The lord of that servant, being moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And the lord of that servant, moved with tender compassion, loosed him and forgave him the debt.

Weymouth's New Testament
"Whereupon his master, touched with compassion, set him free and forgave him the debt.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And the lord hadde merci on that seruaunt, and suffride hym to go, and foryaf to hym the dette.

Update Bible Version
And the lord of that slave, being moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.

Webster's Bible Translation
Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.

New English Translation
The lord had compassion on that slave and released him, and forgave him the debt.

New King James Version
Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.

New Living Translation
Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.

New Life Bible
Then the king took pity on his servant and let him go. He told him he did not have to pay the money back.

New Revised Standard
And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, moved with compassion, the master of that servant released him, and, the loan, he, forgave, him.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the lord of that servant being moved with pity, let him go and forgave him the debt.

Revised Standard Version
And out of pity for him the lord of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
Then had the Lorde pytie on that servaunt and lowsed him and forgave him the det.

Young's Literal Translation
and the lord of that servant having been moved with compassion did release him, and the debt he forgave him.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Then had the lorde pytie on that seruaunt, & discharged him, and forgaue him the dett.

Mace New Testament (1729)
upon which the lord of that vassal, touch'd with compassion, gave him his liberty, and discharged him of the debt.

Simplified Cowboy Version
The rancher felt kind of sorry for the cowboy and decided to cancel the whole debt.

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

moved: Judges 10:16, Nehemiah 9:17, Psalms 78:38, Psalms 86:5, Psalms 86:15, Psalms 145:8, Hosea 11:8

Reciprocal: Nehemiah 10:31 - the exaction Ezekiel 18:17 - hath taken Luke 6:30 - and

Cross-References

Genesis 18:1
God appeared to Abraham at the Oaks of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent. It was the hottest part of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing. He ran from his tent to greet them and bowed before them.

Genesis 18:6
Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. He said, "Hurry. Get three cups of our best flour; knead it and make bread."

Genesis 18:30
He said, "Master, don't be irritated with me, but what if only thirty are found?" "No, I won't do it if I find thirty."

Genesis 18:32
He wouldn't quit, "Don't get angry, Master—this is the last time. What if you only come up with ten?" "For the sake of only ten, I won't destroy the city."

Psalms 144:3
I wonder why you care, God — why do you bother with us at all? All we are is a puff of air; we're like shadows in a campfire.

Isaiah 64:8
Still, God , you are our Father. We're the clay and you're our potter: All of us are what you made us. Don't be too angry with us, O God . Don't keep a permanent account of wrongdoing. Keep in mind, please, we are your people—all of us. Your holy cities are all ghost towns: Zion's a ghost town, Jerusalem's a field of weeds. Our holy and beautiful Temple, which our ancestors filled with your praises, Was burned down by fire, all our lovely parks and gardens in ruins. In the face of all this, are you going to sit there unmoved, God ? Aren't you going to say something? Haven't you made us miserable long enough?

Luke 5:8
Simon Peter, when he saw it, fell to his knees before Jesus. "Master, leave. I'm a sinner and can't handle this holiness. Leave me to myself." When they pulled in that catch of fish, awe overwhelmed Simon and everyone with him. It was the same with James and John, Zebedee's sons, coworkers with Simon. Jesus said to Simon, "There is nothing to fear. From now on you'll be fishing for men and women." They pulled their boats up on the beach, left them, nets and all, and followed him. One day in one of the villages there was a man covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus he fell down before him in prayer and said, "If you want to, you can cleanse me." Jesus put out his hand, touched him, and said, "I want to. Be clean." Then and there his skin was smooth, the leprosy gone. Jesus instructed him, "Don't talk about this all over town. Just quietly present your healed self to the priest, along with the offering ordered by Moses. Your cleansed and obedient life, not your words, will bear witness to what I have done." But the man couldn't keep it to himself, and the word got out. Soon a large crowd of people had gathered to listen and be healed of their ailments. As often as possible Jesus withdrew to out-of-the-way places for prayer. One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and religion teachers were sitting around. They had come from nearly every village in Galilee and Judea, even as far away as Jerusalem, to be there. The healing power of God was on him. Some men arrived carrying a paraplegic on a stretcher. They were looking for a way to get into the house and set him before Jesus. When they couldn't find a way in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof, removed some tiles, and let him down in the middle of everyone, right in front of Jesus. Impressed by their bold belief, he said, "Friend, I forgive your sins." That set the religion scholars and Pharisees buzzing. "Who does he think he is? That's blasphemous talk! God and only God can forgive sins." Jesus knew exactly what they were thinking and said, "Why all this gossipy whispering? Which is simpler: to say ‘I forgive your sins,' or to say ‘Get up and start walking'? Well, just so it's clear that I'm the Son of Man and authorized to do either, or both...." He now spoke directly to the paraplegic: "Get up. Take your bedroll and go home." Without a moment's hesitation, he did it—got up, took his blanket, and left for home, giving glory to God all the way. The people rubbed their eyes, incredulous—and then also gave glory to God. Awestruck, they said, "We've never seen anything like that!" After this he went out and saw a man named Levi at his work collecting taxes. Jesus said, "Come along with me." And he did—walked away from everything and went with him. Levi gave a large dinner at his home for Jesus. Everybody was there, tax men and other disreputable characters as guests at the dinner. The Pharisees and their religion scholars came to his disciples greatly offended. "What is he doing eating and drinking with crooks and ‘sinners'?" Jesus heard about it and spoke up, "Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? I'm here inviting outsiders, not insiders—an invitation to a changed life, changed inside and out." They asked him, "John's disciples are well-known for keeping fasts and saying prayers. Also the Pharisees. But you seem to spend most of your time at parties. Why?" Jesus said, "When you're celebrating a wedding, you don't skimp on the cake and wine. You feast. Later you may need to pull in your belt, but this isn't the time. As long as the bride and groom are with you, you have a good time. When the groom is gone, the fasting can begin. No one throws cold water on a friendly bonfire. This is Kingdom Come! "No one cuts up a fine silk scarf to patch old work clothes; you want fabrics that match. And you don't put wine in old, cracked bottles; you get strong, clean bottles for your fresh vintage wine. And no one who has ever tasted fine aged wine prefers unaged wine."

Luke 18:1
Jesus told them a story showing that it was necessary for them to pray consistently and never quit. He said, "There was once a judge in some city who never gave God a thought and cared nothing for people. A widow in that city kept after him: ‘My rights are being violated. Protect me!'

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then the Lord of that servant was moved with compassion,.... Or had compassion on him, showed pity to him, and extended mercy towards him; not that he was moved hereunto by any actions of his, as his prostrating himself before him, and his worshipping him, nor by his cries and entreaties, nor by his promises, which were not at all to be depended on, but by his own goodness, and will; for not to anything that this man said, or did, nor to any deserts of his, but to the pure mercy, and free grace of God, is to be ascribed what is after related:

and loosed him; from obligation to punishment, and from a spirit of bondage, through the guilt of sin, and work of the law upon his conscience:

and forgave him the debt; the whole debt of ten thousand talents: for when God forgives sin, he forgives all sin, original and actual, secret and open, sins of omission and commission, of heart, lip, and life, of thought, word, and deed, past, present, and to come; and that freely, according to his abundant mercy, and the riches of his grace; without any regard to any merits, motives and conditions in the creature; though not without respect to the satisfaction of Christ, which no ways detracts from the grace and mercy of God, since this is owing to his gracious provision and acceptation. It was grace in God that provided, sent, and parted with his Son to be the propitiatory sacrifice for sin, and accepted the satisfaction when made, in the room, and stead of sinners: it was grace in Christ to become a surety for them, to assume their nature, to shed his precious blood, and give himself an offering, and a sacrifice for them; and it is distinguishing grace that this satisfaction should be provided, made, and accepted, not for angels, but for men; and though it is at the expense of Christ's blood and life that this satisfaction is made, and remission of sins obtained, yet the whole is entirely free to those who are partakers of it; they have it without money; and without price. So, that though the satisfaction of Christ is not expressly mentioned in this parable, and forgiveness of sin, which lies in a non-remembrance, and non-imputation of it, in a covering, and blotting it out, and in remitting the obligation to punishment for it, is ascribed to the compassion and mercy of God, yet it is implied; since these two involve each other: the special mercy of God, in the forgiveness of sins, streams only through the blood, righteousness, and sacrifice of Christ; and the sacrifice and satisfaction of Christ largely display the grace and mercy of God.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The lord of that servant was moved with compassion ... - He had pity on him. He saw his distressed condition. He pitied his family. He forgave him the whole debt. This represents the mercy of God to people. “They have sinned.” They owe to God more than can be paid. They are about to be cast off; but God has mercy on them, and, in connection with their prayers, forgives them. We are not to interpret the circumstances of a parable too strictly. The illustration taken from selling the wife and children Matthew 18:25 is not to be taken literally, as if God would punish a man for the sins of his father; but it is a circumstance thrown in to keep up the story - to make it consistent - to explain the reason why the servant was so anxious to obtain a delay of the time of payment.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Matthew 18:27. Moved with compassion — Or with tender pity. This is the source of salvation to a lost world, the tender pity, the eternal mercy of God.