Matthew 18:15-17

Restoring Christian Relationships

18:15 “If ¹  your brother ²  sins, ³  go and show him his fault ⁴  when the two of you are alone. If he listens to you, you have regained your brother. 18:16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others with you, so that at the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter may be established. ⁵  18:17 If ⁶  he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. If ⁷  he refuses to listen to the church, treat him like ⁸  a Gentile ⁹  or a tax collector. ¹⁰ 

Acts 18:14-15

18:14 But just as Paul was about to speak, ¹¹  Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of some crime or serious piece of villainy, ¹²  I would have been justified in accepting the complaint ¹³  of you Jews, ¹⁴  18:15 but since it concerns points of disagreement ¹⁵  about words and names and your own law, settle ¹⁶  it yourselves. I will not be ¹⁷  a judge of these things!”

Acts 19:38

19:38 If then Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a complaint ¹⁸  against someone, the courts are open ¹⁹  and there are proconsuls; let them bring charges against one another there. ²⁰ 

¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated. All the “if” clauses in this paragraph are third class conditions in Greek.

² tn The Greek term “brother” can mean “fellow believer” or “fellow Christian” (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 2.a) whether male or female. It can also refer to siblings, though here it is used in a broader sense to connote familial relationships within the family of God. Therefore, because of the familial connotations, “brother” has been retained in the translation here in preference to the more generic “fellow believer” (“fellow Christian” would be anachronistic in this context).

³ tc ‡ The earliest and best witnesses lack “against you” after “if your brother sins.” It is quite possible that the shorter reading in these witnesses (א B, as well as 0281 ˹ 579 pc sa) occurred when scribes either intentionally changed the text (to make it more universal in application) or unintentionally changed the text (owing to the similar sound of the end of the verb ἁμαρτήσῃ [Jamarthsh] and the prepositional phrase εἰς σέ [eis se]). However, if the mss were normally copied by sight rather than by sound, especially in the early centuries of Christianity, such an unintentional change is not as likely for these mss. And since scribes normally added material rather than deleted it for intentional changes, on balance, the shorter reading appears to be original. NA²⁷ includes the words in brackets, indicating doubts as to their authenticity.

⁴ tn Grk “go reprove him.”

⁵ sn A quotation from Deut 19:15.

⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

⁸ tn Grk “let him be to you as.”

⁹ tn Or “a pagan.”

¹⁰ sn To treat him like a Gentile or a tax collector means not to associate with such a person. See the note on tax collectors in 5:46.

¹¹ tn Grk “about to open his mouth” (an idiom).

¹² tn BDAG 902 s.v. ῥᾳδιούργημα states, “From the sense ‘prank, knavery, roguish trick, slick deed’ it is but a short step to that of a serious misdeed, crime, villainy…a serious piece of villainy Ac 18:14 (w. ἀδίκημα).”

¹³ tn According to BDAG 78 s.v. ἀνέχω 3 this is a legal technical term: “Legal t.t. κατὰ λόγον ἂν ἀνεσχόμην ὑμῶν I would have been justified in accepting your complaint Ac 18:14.”

¹⁴ tn Grk “accepting your complaint, O Jews.”

¹⁵ tn Or “dispute.”

¹⁶ tn Grk “see to it” (an idiom).

¹⁷ tn Or “I am not willing to be.” Gallio would not adjudicate their religious dispute.

¹⁸ tn BDAG 600 s.v. λόγος 1.a.ε has “ἔχειν πρός τινα λόγον have a complaint against someone…19:38.”

¹⁹ tn L&N 56.1 has ‘if Demetrius and his workers have an accusation against someone, the courts are open’ Ac 19:38.”

²⁰ tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text but is implied. The official’s request is that the legal system be respected.