Bible Strands
Matthew 6:14
For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jesus addresses his disciples immediately after teaching the model prayer in Matthew 6:13.
The words — The Greek ἀφῆτε (aphēte) means "you shall forgive" or "release," and παραπτώματα (paraptōmata) literally denotes "trespasses" or "slips."
The thread — This pattern of human forgiveness preceding divine forgiveness appears in Matthew 6:15, Ephesians 4:32, Mark 11:25, and Colossians 3:13.
Why it lands — The text states that receiving the Father's forgiveness is explicitly conditioned on the reader's active forgiveness of others.
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
For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
Cross-references
- Ephesians 4:32 Be kind and tenderhearted to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you.
- Mark 11:25 And when you stand to pray, if you hold anything against another, forgive it, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your trespasses as well.”
- Colossians 3:13 Bear with one another and forgive any complaint you may have against someone else. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
- Matthew 7:2 For with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
- James 2:13 For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
- Matthew 18:21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
- Matthew 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
- Proverbs 21:13 Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too shall cry out and receive no answer.
- 1 John 3:10 By this the children of God are distinguished from the children of the devil: Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is anyone who does not love his brother.