Matthew 6:14–15

Matthew 6:14–15 are the fourteenth and fifteenth verses of the sixth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament and is part of the Sermon on the Mount. These verses come just after the Lord's Prayer and explain one of the statements in that prayer.

In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:

For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly

Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their

trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

The World English Bible translates the passage as:

“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly

Father will also forgive you. But if you don’t forgive men their

trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

For a collection of other versions see BibRef Matthew 6:14-BibRef Matthew 6:15

This verse parallels Matthew 6:12, but while that one speaks of debts this one speaks of trespasses. It states that for a person to earn God's forgiveness they must also be willing to forgive others. Those who do not forgive will not be forgiven by God. It is also similar in subject matter to the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant found in Matthew 18. This verse is often considered to have been appended to the prayer by the author of Matthew. A commentary on Jesus words, rather than a part of them. It uses a different form from the prayer of the word trespasses, and is likely based on Mark 11:25.

References

• Schweizer, Eduard. The Good News According to Matthew. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1975