Matthew 18:15

Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
Moreover	δὲ de	G1161	but · conjunction
if	Ἐὰν Ean	G1437	a conditional particle · conditional particle
thy	σοῦ soû	G4675	of thee
brother	ἀδελφός adelphos	G80	a brother (literally or figuratively) near or remote (m… · noun — nominative singular masculine
shall trespass	ἁμαρτήσῃ hamartēsē	G264	properly · verb — aorist active subjunctive, 3rd person singular
against	εἰς eis	G1519	to or into (indicating the point reached or entered) · preposition
thee	σέ sé	G4571	thee
go	ὕπαγε hupage	G5217	to lead (oneself) under · verb — present active imperative, 2nd person singular
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
tell	ἔλεγξον elegxon	G1651	to confute · verb — aorist active imperative, 2nd person singular
him	αὐτὸν auton	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — accusative singular masculine
his fault	ἐλέγχω elénchō	G1651	to confute
between	μεταξὺ metaxu	G3342	betwixt (of place or person) · preposition
thee	σοῦ soû	G4675	of thee
and	καί kaí	G2532	and
him	αὐτοῦ autou	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive singular masculine
alone	μόνου. monou	G3441	remaining · adjective — genitive singular masculine
if	ἐάν ean	G1437	a conditional particle · conditional particle
he shall hear	ἀκούσῃ, akousē	G191	to hear (in various senses) · verb — aorist active subjunctive, 3rd person singular
thee	σοῦ soû	G4675	of thee
thou hast gained	ἐκέρδησας ekerdēsas	G2770	to gain (literally or figuratively) · verb — aorist active indicative, 2nd person singular
thy	σοῦ soû	G4675	of thee
brother	ἀδελφόν adelphon	G80	a brother (literally or figuratively) near or remote (m… · noun — accusative singular masculine

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Leviticus 19:17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.
Galatians 6:1 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest…
Luke 17:3-4 Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.
2 Thessalonians 3:15 Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.
Colossians 3:13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
James 5:19-20 Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;
Proverbs 25:9-10 Debate thy cause with thy neighbour himself; and discover not a secret to another:
Romans 12:21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Matthew 18:1–end

As there never was a greater pattern of humility, so there never was a greater preacher of it, than Christ; he took all occasions to command it, to commend it, to his disciples and followers. I. The occasion of this discourse concerning humility was an unbecoming contest among the disciples for precedency; they came to him, saying, among themselves (for they were ashamed to ask him, Mar 9:34), Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? They mean not, who by character (then the question had been good, that they might know what graces and duties to excel in), but who by name. They had heard much, and preached much, of the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of the Messiah, his church in this wor…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Matthew 18:15

Moreover, if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother, &c.--Probably our Lord had reference still to the late dispute, Who should be the greatest? After the rebuke--so gentle and captivating, yet so dignified and divine--under which they would doubtless be smarting, perhaps each would be saying, It was not I that began it, it was not I that threw out unworthy and irritating insinuations against my brethren. Be it so, says our Lord; but as such things will often arise, I will direct you how to proceed. First, Neither harbor a grudge against your offending brother, nor break forth upon him…

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John Gill on Matthew 18:15

Moreover, if thy brother shall trespass against thee,.... This is said to show, that as on the one hand, if any of those that believe in Christ, should commit a trespass against his fellow Christian, his sin is not to be connived at, for fear of offending him; for what Christ has before said, is not to be taken in such sense, as to prevent private reproof, or public censures, when there is occasion for them; so on the other hand, he is not to be despised and ill used, and treated in the same injurious manner; but gentle reproofs are to be made use of, for his good. This is spoken not to the apostles as such, but as believers in Christ; and concerns everyone that stands in the relation of a b…

The Church Fathers

He does not command us to forgive indiscriminately, but him only that will hearken and be obedient, and do penitence; that neither should forgiveness be unattainable, nor sufferance be too far relaxed.
— Rabanus Maurus ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

And reprove one another, not in anger, but in peace, as ye have it in the Gospel; but to every one that acts amiss against another, let no one speak, nor let him hear aught from you until he repent. But your prayers and alms and all your deeds so do, as ye have it in the Gospel of our Lord.
— Didache, The Didache, Chapter 15

If then your brother have sinned against you, or hurt you in any matter, you have power, indeed must needs forgive him, for we are charged to forgive our debtors their debts. But if a man sin against God, it is no longer in our decision. But we do all tho contrary of this; where God is wronged we are merciful, where the affront is to ourselves we prosecute the quarrel. Thy brother is to be reproved in private, lest if once he has lost a sense of shame, he should continue in sin.
— Jerome ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Confession — (1) An open profession of faith (Luke 12:8). (2.) An acknowledment of sins to God (Lev. 16:21; Ezra 9:5-15; Dan. 9:3-12), and to a neighbour whom we have wronged (James 5:16; Matt. 18:15).
Excommunication — (expulsion from communion).
Commandments · DISCOURSE — DISCOURSE
Court · ECCLESIASTI — ECCLESIASTI
Fraternity · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Love To Man · Should be exhibited, in: Rebuking — Should be exhibited, in: Rebuking
Reproof · 9:7,8;10:17;12:1;13:18;15:5,10,12,31,32;17:10;19:25;21:11;25:12;26:5;27:5,6;28:23; — 9:7,8;10:17;12:1;13:18;15:5,10,12,31,32;17:10;19:25;21:11;25:12;26:5;27:5,6;28:23;
Secret · Of others not to be divulged — Of others not to be divulged
Strife · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Trespass · Of a brother — Of a brother

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Matthew 18:15

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Matthew 18:1–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Matthew 18:15

John Gill on Matthew 18:15

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Matthew 18:15

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Matthew 18:1–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Matthew 18:15

John Gill on Matthew 18:15

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Matthew 18:15-20

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Matthew 18:15-35