Matthew 18:5–17

⁵And whoever welcomes a little child like this in My name welcomes Me.

⁶But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

⁷Woe to the world for the causes of sin. These stumbling blocks must come, but woe to the man through whom they come!

⁸If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than to have two hands and two feet and be thrown into the eternal fire. ⁹And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.^a

¹⁰See that you do not look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of My Father in heaven.^b

¹²What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost? ¹³And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices more over that one sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. ¹⁴In the same way, your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.

¹⁵If your brother sins against you,^c go and confront him privately. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. ¹⁶But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’^{d 17}If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, regard him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.