Bible Strands
Matthew 18:32
Then the master summoned him and said, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave all your debt because you begged me.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The master addresses the unforgiving servant immediately after fellow servants report the servant’s refusal to show mercy, occurring at the parable’s climax before the follow-up challenge in Matthew 18:33.
The words — προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesamenos) means “having called to,” denoting a deliberate summons, while κύριος (kurios) identifies the speaker as the authoritative owner of the debt.
The thread — The text records the master’s explicit declaration of prior forgiveness, a narrative hinge that parallels the judgment motif in Luke 19:22 and Matthew 25:26 where “wicked servant” marks the gap between received grace and withheld mercy.
Why it lands — The passage plainly commands recipients of unmerited debt cancellation to extend identical relief to others, framing ethical obligation as a direct consequence of acknowledged grace rather than a voluntary sentiment.
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
Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:
Cross-references
- Luke 19:22 His master replied, ‘You wicked servant, I will judge you by your own words. So you knew that I am a harsh man, withdrawing what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow?
- Romans 3:19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.
- Matthew 25:26 ‘You wicked, lazy servant!’ replied his master. ‘You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed.