Matthew 16:19

I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Jesus speaks to Peter immediately after the confession in v.16 and the "rock" declaration in v.18, before the silence command in v.20. The moment is a commission, not a reward.

The words — κλεῖδας (kleidas, "keys") is the loaded term: in Isaiah 22:22 it marks a steward with full authority to open and shut the household, not merely a servant with a door.

The thread — The bind/loose formula reappears in Matthew 18:18, extended to the community; the key imagery appears in Isaiah 22:22 (Eliakim over the house of David) and Revelation 1:18 (Christ holding the keys of Death and Hades).

Why it lands — The verse states that earthly declarations are ratified or reversed in heaven, meaning the one who binds or looses bears the weight of that decision. It asks the reader to treat any exercised authority as accountable, not as a personal privilege.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Cross-references

Matthew 18:18 Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
Isaiah 22:22 I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.
Revelation 1:18 the Living One. I was dead, and behold, now I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of Death and of Hades.
John 20:23 If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.”
Revelation 3:7 To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of the One who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What He opens no one can shut, and what He shuts no one can open.
2 Corinthians 2:10 If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And if I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven it in the presence of Christ for your sake,
Revelation 11:6 These witnesses have power to shut the sky so that no rain will fall during the days of their prophecy, and power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they wish.
1 Corinthians 5:4 When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, along with the power of the Lord Jesus,
1 Thessalonians 4:8 Anyone, then, who rejects this command does not reject man but God, the very One who gives you His Holy Spirit.
Revelation 9:1 Then the fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to earth, and it was given the key to the pit of the Abyss.