Matthew 18 · Verse 30

Matthew 18:30

And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.
Matthew 18:30, King James Version

Matthew 18:30 in other translations

BSBBut he refused. Instead, he went and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay his debt.
WEBHe would not, but went and cast him into prison until he should pay back that which was due.
ASVAnd he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay that which was due.
YLTand he would not, but having gone away, he cast him into prison, till he might pay that which was owing.
DARBYBut he would not, but went away and cast him into prison, until he should pay what was owing.
BBEAnd he would not: but went and put him into prison till he had made payment of the debt.
WebsterAnd he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.

What does Matthew 18:30 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
30. And he would not; but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt, &c.--Jesus here vividly conveys the intolerable injustice and impudence which even the servants saw in this act on the part of one so recently laid under the heaviest obligation to their common master.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 30 And he would not, etc. - To the unmerciful, God will show no mercy; this is an eternal purpose of the Lord, which never can be changed. God teaches us what to do to a fellow-sinner, by what He does to us. Our fellow-servant's debt to us, and ours to God, are as one hundred denarii to ten thousand talents! When we humble ourselves before him, God freely forgives us all this mighty sum! And shall we exact from our brother recompense for the most trifling faults? Reader, if thou art of this unmerciful, unforgiving cast, read out the chapter. "All the souls that are were forfeit once, And he who might the 'vantage best have took, Found out the remedy. How would you be, If He, who is the top of judgment, should But judge you as you are? O! think on that, And mercy then will breathe within your lips Like man new made Though justice be thy plea, consider this, That, in the course of justice, none of us Should see salvation: we do pray for mercy; And that same prayer doth teach us all to render The deeds of Mercy. - "

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Matthew 18:21-35

Though we live wholly on mercy and forgiveness, we are backward to forgive the offences of our brethren. This parable shows how much provocation God has from his family on earth, and how untoward his servants are. There are three things in the parable: 1. The master's wonderful clemency. The debt of sin is so great, that we are not able to pay it. See here what every sin deserves; this is the wages of sin, to be…

Read the full comment on Matthew 18:21-35 →

Matthew 18:30 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

ὁho<the>G3588
δὲdeButG1161
οὐκouknotG3756
ἤθελεν,ēthelenhe was willing,G2309
ἀλλ᾽all᾽butG235
ἀπελθὼνapelthōnhaving goneG565
ἔβαλενebalenhe castG906
αὐτὸνautonhimG846
εἰςeisintoG1519
φυλακὴνphulakēnprisonG5438
ἕωςhe'ōsuntilG2193
ἀποδῷapodōhe may payG591
τὸtothat whichG3588
ὀφειλόμενον.¶opheilomenonis being owed.G3784

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Matthew 18:30

  • 1 Kings 22:27

    And say, Thus saith the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come in peace.

  • 1 Kings 21:27-29

    And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly. And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son’s days will I bring the evil upon his house.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
but.
1Ki 21:27-29; 22:27

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Matthew 18:29

    And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

  • Matthew 18:30

    And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.

  • Matthew 18:31

    So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.

Read all of Matthew 18

Matthew 18:30 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Mas él no quiso; sino fué, y le echó en la cárcel hasta que pagase la deuda.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et il ne voulut pas; mais il s’en alla et le jeta en prison jusqu’à ce qu’il ait payé la dette.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Er aber wollte nicht, sondern ging hin und warf ihn ins Gefängnis, bis er die Schuld bezahlt habe.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Ille autem noluit: sed abiit, et misit eum in carcerem donec redderet debitum.