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King James Version
Matthew 18:6
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“But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to fall away—it would be better for him if a heavy millstone were hung around his neck and he were drowned in the depths of the sea.
But who so shall offend one of these little ones which beleeue in me, it were better for him that a milstone were hanged about his necke, and that hee were drowned in the depth of the Sea.
but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it is better for him that a heavy millstone be hung around his neck, and that he be drowned in the depths of the sea.
If one of these little children believes in me, and someone causes that child to sin, it would be better for that person to have a large stone tied around the neck and be drowned in the sea.
but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble and sin [by leading him away from My teaching], it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone [as large as one turned by a donkey] hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
But whosoeuer shal offend one of these litle ones which beleeue in me, it were better for him, that a milstone were hanged about his necke, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it is better for him that a heavy millstone be hung around his neck, and that he be drowned in the depth of the sea.
But 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.
It will be terrible for people who cause even one of my little followers to sin. Those people would be better off thrown into the deepest part of the ocean with a heavy stone tied around their necks!
and whoever ensnares one of these little ones who trust me, it would be better for him to have a millstone hung around his neck and be drowned in the open sea!
But whosoever shall offend one of these little ones who believe in me, it were profitable for him that a great millstone had been hanged upon his neck and he be sunk in the depths of the sea.
"If one of these little children believes in me, and someone causes that child to sin, it will be very bad for that person. It would be better for them to have a millstone tied around their neck and be drowned in the deep sea.
And whoever misleads one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for him that an ass'' millstone were hanged on his neck and he were sunk in the depths of the sea.
"If anyone should cause one of these little ones to lose his faith in me, it would be better for that person to have a large millstone tied around his neck and be drowned in the deep sea.
But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him that a large millstone be hung on his neck and he be drowned in the depths of the sea.
But whoever causes one of these little ones believing in Me to offend, it is better for him that a millstone turned by an ass be hung on his neck, and he be sunk in the depth of the sea.
but whoso shall cause one of these little ones that believe on me to stumble, it is profitable for him that a great millstone should be hanged about his neck, and that he should be sunk in the depth of the sea.
But whoever is a cause of trouble to one of these little ones who have faith in me, it would be better for him to have a great stone fixed to his neck, and to come to his end in the deep sea.
but whoever will cause one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for him that a huge millstone should be hung around his neck, and that he should be sunk in the depths of the sea.
"If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a large millstone were hung around his neck and he were drowned at the bottom of the sea.Mark 9:42; Luke 17:1-2;">[xr]
6 And every one that shall offend one of these little ones who believe in me, to him it had been better that the mill-stone of an ass [fn] were hung to his neck, and himself plunged into the depths of the sea.
And whosoever shall stumble one of these little ones that believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were suspended to his neck, and that he were sunk in the depths of the sea.
But who so shall offende one of these litle ones, which beleue in me, it were better for hym, that a myll stone were hanged about his necke, & that he were drowned in the deapth of the sea.
But whoso shall cause one of these little ones which believe on me to stumble, it is profitable for him that a great millstone should be hanged about his neck, and that he should be sunk in the depth of the sea.
but whoever will cause one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for him that a huge millstone should be hung around his neck, and that he should be sunk in the depths of the sea.
But whoso shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it were better for him that a milstone were hanged about his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
But whoever shall occasion the fall of one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for him to have a millstone hung round his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.
But who so sclaundrith oon of these smale, that bileuen in me, it spedith to hym that a mylnstoon `of assis be hangid in his necke, and he be drenchid in the depnesse of the see.
But whoever shall cause one of these little ones that believe on me to stumble, it is profitable for him that a great millstone should be hanged about his neck, and [that] he should be sunk in the depth of the sea.
But whoever shall cause one of these little ones who believe in me, to sin, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and [that] he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
"But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a huge millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the open sea.
Mark 9:42-48; Luke 17:1,2">[xr] "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea.
But whoever is the reason for one of these little children who believe in Me to fall into sin, it would be better for him to have a large rock put around his neck and to be thrown into the sea.
"If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea.
And, whosoever shall cause to stumble one of these little ones who believe in me, it profiteth him, that there be hung a large mill-stone about his neck, and he be sunk in the wide main of the sea.
But he that shall scandalize one of these little ones that believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone should be hanged about his neck, and that he should be drowned in the depth of the sea.
but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened round his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
But whosoever offende one of these lytelons which beleve in me: it were better for him that a milstone were hanged aboute his necke and that he were drouned in the depth of the see.
and whoever may cause to stumble one of those little ones who are believing in me, it is better for him that a weighty millstone may be hanged upon his neck, and he may be sunk in the depth of the sea.
But who so offendeth one of these litle ones which beleue in me, it were better for him, that a mylstone were hanged aboute his neck, and he drowned in the depth of the see.
But whoever shall occasion such an humble believer to fall off from the faith, it were better for him that a mill-stone were hang'd about his neck, and that he were plung'd to the bottom of the sea.
"But if you give them a hard time, bullying or taking advantage of their simple trust, you'll soon wish you hadn't. You'd be better off dropped in the middle of the lake with a millstone around your neck. Doom to the world for giving these God-believing children a hard time! Hard times are inevitable, but you don't have to make it worse—and it's doomsday to you if you do.
But I don't care who you are, if you make one of these kiddos lose their faith or their trust and cause them to sin, it would be better if you were killed by a pack of coyotes.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
offend: Psalms 105:15, Zechariah 2:8, Mark 9:42, Luke 17:1, Luke 17:2, Acts 9:5, Romans 14:13-15, Romans 14:21, Romans 15:1-3, 1 Corinthians 8:9-13, 1 Corinthians 10:32, 1 Corinthians 10:33, 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9
little: Matthew 18:10, Matthew 18:14, Zechariah 13:7, Luke 17:2
that a: This mode of punishment appears to have obtained in Syria as well as in Greece, especially in cases of parricide. That it was customary in Greece we learn from Suidas, in ×¥× ×ס××××× ×××××, and the scholiast on the Equites of Aristophanes: ïפ×× [Strong's G3752], ××ס [Strong's G1063], ××פ×× ×××¤×©× [Strong's G2671], פ××××¢ [Strong's G5099], ××ס××¢ [Strong's G922], ×× × [Strong's G575], ×¤×©× ×¤×¡×ק×××©× [Strong's G5137], ××ס×××©× [Strong's G2910]. "When a person was drowned, they hung a weight about his neck."
Reciprocal: Exodus 15:5 - depths Deuteronomy 22:8 - thou bring Psalms 73:15 - offend Matthew 5:30 - offend Matthew 25:40 - the least Mark 14:21 - good Luke 9:48 - Whosoever shall receive this Romans 14:20 - For 1 Corinthians 9:15 - for 2 Corinthians 6:3 - General Philippians 1:10 - without Philippians 2:4 - General
Cross-References
But the liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall he stand.
Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.
And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us.
Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.
For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
Use hospitality one to another without grudging.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
But whoso shall offend one of these little ones,.... Not in age, but are little and mean in their own eyes, and contemptible in the esteem of the world; though otherwise men of great grace, gifts, and usefulness; who may be said to be offended, when they are not received; their persons despised, their ministry rejected, and they reproached and persecuted; and everything done to them to discourage, and cause them to stumble and fall, to drop their profession of Christ, to quit his service, and desert his cause: and that such persons are designed, appears by the following descriptive character of them,
which believe in me; which cannot be said of infants, or little ones in age, and who also are not capable of offence; but must be understood of adult persons, of such who by faith look unto, lay hold on, and receive the Lord Jesus Christ, as their Saviour and Redeemer, and who make a profession of their faith in him; and chiefly of such who preach the doctrine of faith, who having believed, therefore speak; and who are generally the butt of the contempt, reproach, and persecution of men.
It were better for him, that a mill stone be hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. The word translated "depth", is sometimes used for the Sea itself,
Isaiah 51:10 and signifies the middle, or deeper path, and answers to the Hebrew phrase, "the heart of the sea"; פ××××ס ×××× ×¨××, used by the Targum, in Psalms 46:3 and by Jonathan ben Uzziel, in
Exodus 15:8. Jerom thinks, that this was a sort of punishment in use among the Jews, that is here referred to; but this does not appear. The four capital punishments inflicted by them were stoning, burning, slaying with the sword, and strangling z: they had indeed other sorts of punishment, which they borrowed from other nations; and so they might this, either from the Romans, or Greeks, or their neighbours the Syrians. The mill stone, in the original, is called Î¼Ï Î»Î¿Ï Î¿Î½Î¹ÎºÎ¿Ï, which may be rendered "the ass mill stone", being either the nether mill stone, as some think, which was called "the ass", because, like an ass, it bears the chief of the weight and burden; or else respects such mill stones as were turned about by an ass, in distinction from those that were turned by the hand; for that it was usual with the Jews to make use of asses in grinding, as well as other nations, is certain: hence we read a of ×××¨× ×¨×××× "the ass of mills", that were employed in grinding in the mills, and of one that turned his mill with wild asses b: but it is further to be observed, that mention is made c of ×××ר ×©× ×¨××× ×©× ××, "the ass of an handmill": which the commentators say d, was a beam on which an handmill was fixed, and was called "the ass." Now, I should rather think that this is meant than the other. It does not seem likely that a nether mill stone, or one that required an ass to turn it, should be tied to a man's neck, in order to drown him, when cast into the sea; for our Lord must be thought to refer to a practice somewhere in use: but rather, that such a beam, or log, of an handmill, so called, were wont to be put about the necks of malefactors, in drowning them. Our Lord's sense is, that it was much better for a man to endure the severest temporal punishment, rather than by offending, and evil treating any of his disciples, expose himself to everlasting destruction. The phrase of having a mill stone about the neck, I find, is sometimes used to denote anything very troublesome and burdensome e.
"The tradition is, a man that marries a wife, and after that learns the law, R. Jochanan says, ר×××× ×צ××ר×, "though a mill stone is about his neck", yet he must study in the law: that is, though his worldly circumstances are narrow, and his wife and family are as burdensome as if he had a mill stone about his neck, he must continue his studies.''
z Misn. Sanhedrim. c. 7. sect. 1. a T. Bab. Moed Katon, fol. 1. 10. 2. Maimon. Hileh. Yom Tob, c. 8. sect. 15. b T Bab. Avoda Zara, fol. 16. 2. c Mish. Zabim. c. 4. sect. 2. d R. Maimon. R. Sampson. & R. Obadiah Bartenora, in. ib. e T. Bab. Kiddusbin, fol. 29. 2.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
See also Mark 9:33-41; Luke 9:46-50.
Who is the greatest in the kingdom, of heaven? - By the kingdom of heaven they meant the kingdom which they supposed he was about to set up - his kingdom as the Messiah. They asked the question because they supposed, in accordance with the common expectation of the Jews, that he was about to set up a temporal kingdom of great splendor, and they wished to know who should have the principal offices, and posts of honor and profit. This was among them a frequent subject of inquiry and controversy. Mark Mark 9:34 informs us that they had had a dispute on this subject in the way. Jesus, he says, inquired of them what they had been disputing about. Luke Luke 9:47 says that Jesus perceived the thought of their heart an act implying omniscience, for none can search the heart but God, Jeremiah 17:10. The disciples, conscious that the subject of their dispute was known, requested Jesus to decide it, Matthew 18:1. They were at first silent through shame (Mark), but, perceiving that the subject of their dispute was known, they came, as Matthew states, and referred the master to him for his opinion.
Matthew 18:2, Matthew 18:3
Except ye be converted - The word âconvertedâ means changed or turned.
The verb means to change or turn from one habit of life or set of opinions to another, James 5:19; Luke 22:32. See also Matthew 7:6; Matthew 16:23; Luke 7:9, etc., where the same word is used in the original. It sometimes refers to that great change called the new birth or regeneration Psalms 51:13; Isaiah 60:5; Acts 3:19, but not always. It is a general word, meaning any change. The word âregenerationâ denotes a particular change the beginning to live a spiritual life. The phrase, âExcept ye be converted,â does not imply, of necessity, that they were not Christians before, or had not been born again. It means that their opinions and feelings about the kingdom of the Messiah must be changed. They had supposed that he was to be a temporal prince. They expected he would reign as other kings did. They supposed he would have his great officers of state, as other monarchs had, and they were ambitiously inquiring who should hold the highest offices. Jesus told them that they were wrong in their views and expectations. No such things would take place. From these notions they must be turned, changed or converted, or they could have no part in his kingdom. These ideas did not fit at all the nature of his kingdom.
And become as little children - Children are, to a great extent, destitute of ambition, pride, and haughtiness They are characteristically humble and teachable. By requiring his disciples to be like them, he did not intend to express any opinion about the native moral character of children, but simply that in these respects they must become like them. They must lay aside their ambitious views and their pride, and be willing to occupy their proper station - a very lowly one. Mark says Mark 9:35 that Jesus, before he placed the little child in the midst of them, told them that âif any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all and servant of all.â That is, he shall be the most distinguished Christian who is the most humble, and who is willing to be esteemed least and last of all. To esteem ourselves as God esteems us is humility, and it cannot be degrading to think of ourselves as we are; but pride, or an attempt to be thought of more importance than we are, is foolish, wicked, and degrading.
Matthew 18:4
The greatest ... - That is, shall be the most eminent Christian shall have most of the true spirit of religion.
Matthew 18:5
And whoso shall receive one such little child - That is, whoso shall receive and love one with a spirit like this child one who is humble, meek, and unambitious - that is, a real Christian.
In my name - As a follower of me, or because he is attached to me.
Whoso receives one possessed of my spirit, or who loves him because he has that spirit, loves me also. The word âreceiveâ means to approve, love, or treat with kindness; to aid in the time of need. See Matthew 25:35-40.
Mark Mark 9:38 and Luke Luke 9:49 add a conversation that took place on this occasion, which has been omitted by Matthew. John told him that they had seen one casting out devils in his name, and they forbade him, because he followed not with them. Jesus replied that he should not have been forbidden, for there was no one who could work a miracle in his name that could lightly speak evil of him. That is, though he did not attend them though he had not joined himself to their society, yet he could not really be opposed to him. Indeed, they should have remembered that the power to work a miracle must always come from the same source, that is, God; and that he who had the ability given him to work a miracle, and who did it in the name of Christ, must be a real friend to him. It is probable, from this, that the power of working miracles in the name of Christ was given to many who did not attend on his ministry.
Matthew 18:6
Whoso shall offend - That is, cause to fall, or to sin; or who should place anything in their way to hinder their piety or happiness. See notes at Matthew 5:29.
These little ones - That is, Christians manifesting the spirit of little children, 1Jo 2:1, 1 John 2:12, 1 John 2:18, 1 John 2:28.
It were better for him that a millstone ... - Mills, anciently, were either turned by hand (see the notes at Matthew 24:41), or by beasts, chiefly by mules. These last were of the larger kind, and the original words denote that it was this kind that was intended. This was one mode of capital punishment practiced by the Greeks, Syrians, Romans, and by some other nations. The meaning is, it would be better for him to have died before he had committed the sin. To injure, or to cause to sin, the feeblest Christian, will be regarded by Christ as a most serious offence, and will be punished accordingly.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Matthew 18:6. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones — But, on the contrary, whosoever shall cause one of the least of those who believe in me to be stumbled-to go into the spirit of the world, or give way to sin - such a one shall meet with the most exemplary punishment.
Let those who act the part of the devil, in tempting others to sin, hear this declaration of our Lord, and tremble.
A millstone — Î¼Ï Î»Î¿Ï Î¿Î½Î¹ÎºÎ¿Ï, an ass's millstone, because in ancient times, before the invention of wind and water mills, the stones were turned sometimes by slaves, but commonly by asses or mules. The most ancient kind of mills among the inhabitants of the northern nations, was the quern, or hand-mill. In some places in Ireland, Scotland, and the Zetland Isles, these still exist.
Drowned in the depth of the sea. — It is supposed that in Syria, as well as in Greece, this mode of punishing criminals was practised; especially in cases of parricide; and when a person was devoted to destruction for the public safety, as in cases of plague, famine, &c. That this was the custom in Greece, we learn from the Scholiast on the Equites of Aristophanes, ÎÏαν Î³Î±Ï ÎºÎ±ÏεÏονÏÎ¿Ï Î½ ÏιναÏ, βαÏÎ¿Ï Î±Ïο ÏÏν ÏÏαÏηλÏν εκÏεμÏν. When a person was drowned, they hung a weight, (Ï ÏεÏβολον λιθον, Suidas,) a vast stone about his neck. See the ancient Scholia upon the Equites, lin. 1360, and Suidas, in Ï ÏεÏβολον λιθον. We find also that it was a positive institute of the ancient Hindoo law. "If a woman," says the precept, "causes any person to take poison, sets fire to any person's house, or murders a man, then the magistrate, having bound a stone to her neck, shall drown her." Halhead's Code of Gentoo Laws, 4to. edition, page 306.
