Passage

Matthew 18.21-22

Book: Matthew · ASV

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"19. Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father who is in heaven. 20. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the middle of them."

"21. Then came Peter and said to him, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? until seven times? 22. Jesus says unto him, I say not unto you, Until seven times; but, Until seventy times seven."

"23. Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, who would make a reckoning with his servants. 24. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, that owed him ten thousand talents." (Matthew 18:19-24, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"19. Again, assuredly I tell you, that if two of you will agree on earth concerning anything that they will ask, it will be done for them by my Father who is in heaven. 20. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the middle of them.”"

"21. Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Until seven times?” 22. Jesus said to him, “I don’t tell you until seven times, but, until seventy times seven."

"23. Therefore the Kingdom of Heaven is like a certain king, who wanted to reconcile accounts with his servants. 24. When he had begun to reconcile, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents." (Matthew 18:19-24, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"19. Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. 20. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."

"21. Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? 22. Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven."

"23. Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. 24. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. ^{talents: a talent is 750.ounces of silver, which after five shillings the ounce is 187.li. 10.s.}" (Matthew 18:19-24, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"19. 'Again, I say to you, that, if two of you may agree on the earth concerning anything, whatever they may ask, it shall be done to them from my Father who is in the heavens, 20. for where there are two or three gathered together, to my name, there am I in the midst of them.'"

"21. Then Peter having come near to him, said, 'Sir, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him, till seven times?' 22. Jesus saith to him, 'I do not say to thee till seven times, but till seventy times seven."

"23. 'Because of this was the reign of the heavens likened to a man, a king, who did will to take reckoning with his servants, 24. and he having begun to take account, there was brought near to him one debtor of a myriad of talents," (Matthew 18:19-24, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: Peter asks; Jesus answers; transition to the unmerciful-servant parable
Audience: the disciples, in the discourse on community discipline (Matt 18)
Location: Capernaum (Matt 17:24); the fourth Matthean discourse (the Community Discourse)
Time period: late Galilean ministry, c. AD 29-30, before the final Jerusalem journey

Theological reading

Matthew 18:21-22 caps a discourse on community discipline (Matt 18:15-20, the procedure for confronting a brother who sins) by pressing the question of how often the offended party must extend forgiveness. Peter's "until seven times" offers what would have struck a first-century Jewish audience as generous, rabbinic tradition (Amos 1:3-2:6's threefold structure; later Talmudic discussion at Yoma 86b-87a) often held three offenses as the limit. Jesus's reply "seventy times seven" (or seventy-seven times; the Greek hebdomēkontakis hepta is ambiguous between 77 and 490) deliberately echoes Genesis 4:24, Lamech's "if Cain be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold", and inverts Lamech's vengeance into Christ's forgiveness. The Cainite-cycle of escalating retaliation that opens Genesis 4 is broken by the Christian-cycle of escalating remission.

The number is deliberately impractical: Jesus is not authorizing forgiveness up to attempt 490 and refusal at 491. The figure names limitless forgiveness, structurally, the disciple does not count, because the kingdom-economy of remission is not amenable to ledger-keeping. The parable that follows (vv. 23-35) drives the point home: a slave forgiven a 10,000-talent debt (an astronomical sum, perhaps 60 million denarii, or 200,000 years' wages) refuses to forgive a fellow-slave's 100-denarius debt (100 days' wages). The disparity exposes the unforgiving disciple as one who has not grasped the magnitude of the divine forgiveness he claims to have received.

The pericope reinforces the warrant-clause of the Lord's Prayer (Matt 6:12), forgiveness extended is the diagnostic of forgiveness received, and supplies the parable form that Matthew uses to embed the doctrine in narrative.

Key words

G0863 - aphiemi, aphiēmi, the verb of forgiveness throughout the pericope (aphēsō, aphiēsin); the same lexeme that runs through Matt 6:12 and the rest of the NT remission vocabulary.
hebdomēkontakis hepta, "seventy times seven" or "seventy-seven times"; LXX echo of Gen 4:24.

Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.