But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
to entrap · verb — aorist active subjunctive, 3rd person singular
one
ἕναhena
G1520
one · adjective — accusative singular masculine
of
μικρῶνmikrōn
G3398
small (in size · adjective — genitive plural masculine
these
τούτωνtoútōn
G5130
of (from or concerning) these (persons or things)
little ones
μικρόςmikrós
G3398
small (in size
which believe
πιστευόντωνpisteuontōn
G4100
to have faith (in · verb — present active participle, genitive plural masculine
in
εἰςeis
G1519
to or into (indicating the point reached or entered) · preposition
me
ἐμέemé
G1691
me
it were better
συμφέρειsumpherei
G4851
to bear together (contribute) · verb — present active indicative, 3rd person singular
for him
αὐτῷautō
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — dative singular masculine
that
ἵναina
G2443
compare G3588 (ὁ)) · conjunction
a millstone
μύλοςmulos
G3458
a "mill" · noun — nominative singular masculine
were hanged
κρεμασθῇkremasthēa
G2910
to hang · verb — aorist passive subjunctive, 3rd person singular
about
ἐπίepí
G1909
properly
his
αὐτοῦ,autou
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive singular masculine
neck
τράχηλονtrachēlon
G5137
the throat (neck) · noun — accusative singular masculine
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
he were drowned
καταποντισθῇkatapontisthēa
G2670
to plunge down · verb — aorist passive subjunctive, 3rd person singular
in
ἐνen
G1722
"in · preposition
the depth
πελάγειpelagei
G3989
deep or open sea · noun — dative singular neuter
of the sea
θαλάσσης.¶thalassēs
G2281
the sea (genitive case or specially) · noun — genitive singular feminine
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
Mark 9:42 And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, an…
Luke 17:1-2 Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come!
Matthew 18:10 Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Fath…
2 Thessalonians 1:6-9 Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you;
Matthew 18:14 Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.
Romans 15:1-3 We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
Psalms 105:15 Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.
Romans 14:13-15 Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his broth…
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…
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 a…
Matthew 18:6-10
Matthew 18:6-10
Mark 9:42-48
Luke 17:1-2
6. But whosoever shall offend one of those little ones who believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were sunk to the bottom of the sea. 7. Woe to the world on account of offenses! for offenses must come; but woe to the man by whom the offense cometh! 8. But if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee; [501] for it is better for thee to enter lame or maimed into life, than that, having two hands or two feet, thou shouldst be cast into the everlasting fire. 9. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee; [502] for it is better that…
The Church Fathers
(Quaest. Ev. i. 24) Otherwise; Whoso offendeth one of these little ones, that is so humble as He would have his disciples to be, by not obeying, or by opposing, (as the Apostle says of Alexander,) it were better for him, that a millstone should be hanged about his neck, and he be drowned in the depths of the sea, (2 Tim. 4:15.) that is, it were better for him that desire of the things of the world, to which the blind and foolish are tied down, should sink him by its load to destruction.
Mystically; The work of the mill is a toil of blindness, for the beasts having their eyes closed are driven round in a circle, and under the type of an ass we often find the Gentiles figured, who are held in the ignorance of blind labour; while the Jews have the path of knowledge set before them in the Law, who if they offend Christ's Apostles it were better for them, that having their necks made fast to a mill-stone, they should be drowned in the sea, that is, kept under labour and in the depths of ignorance, as the Gentiles; for it were better for them that they should have never known Christ, than not to have received the Lord of the Prophets.
(Mor. vi. 37.) Otherwise; What is denoted by the sea, but the world, and what by the mill-stone, but earthly action? which, when it binds the neck in the yoke of vain desires, sends it to a dull round of toil. There arc some who leave earthly action, and bond themselves to aims of contemplation beyond the reach of intellect, laying aside humility, and so not only throw themselves into error, but also cast many weak ones out of the bosom of truth. Whoso then offends one of the least of mine, it were better for him that a mill-stone be tied about his neck, and he be cast into the sea; that is, it were better for a perverted heart to be entirely occupied with worldly business, than to be at leisure for contemplative studies to the hurt of many.
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
Drown — (Ex. 15:4; Amos 8:8; Heb. 11:29). Drowning was a mode of capital punishment in use among the Syrians, and was known to the Jews in the time of our Lord. To this he alludes in Matt. 18:6.
Mill — For grinding corn, mentioned as used in the time of Abraham (Gen. 18:6). That used by the Hebrews consisted of two circular stones, each 2 feet in diameter and half a foot thick, the lower of which…
Babes · A symbol of the children of the kingdom of heaven — A symbol of the children of the kingdom of heaven
Backsliding · Punishment of tempting others to the sin of — Punishment of tempting others to the sin of
Mills · Stones used in: Heavy — Stones used in: Heavy
Millstone · Probably used in executions by drowning — Probably used in executions by drowning
Offence · Punishment for occasioning — Punishment for occasioning
Punishments · Capital kinds of: Casting into the sea — Capital kinds of: Casting into the sea
Temptation · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
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).
To cause one . . . to fall into sin is to lead believing children (or possibly believing adults who become “like children”; see 18:3) to reject Christ and abandon the faith. • The designation little ones emphasizes their humility (5:3-12; 18:4; 19:13-15). • Though the thought of being drowned with a large millstone around the neck is frightful, Jesus warned that causing another to fall away will bring far greater misery (18:7; 26:24; Rev 18:21; see Matt 22:13).
