The Meaning of Matthew 18:22 Explained

Matthew 18:22

KJV: Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.

YLT: Jesus saith to him, 'I do not say to thee till seven times, but till seventy times seven.

Darby: Jesus says to him, I say not to thee until seven times, but until seventy times seven.

ASV: Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times; but, Until seventy times seven.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Jesus  saith  unto him,  I say  not  unto thee,  Until  seven times:  but,  Until  seventy times  seven. 

What does Matthew 18:22 Mean?

Context Summary

Matthew 18:21-35 - Forgiven Yet Unforgiving
Seventy times seven is illimitable forgiveness. These numbers denote the perfection of perfection; and if God asks so much of us, what is He not prepared to do! Despair of yourself, but never despair of God's forgiving mercy! The cause of soul-ruin is not sin, but the unbelief that thinks sin too great to be forgiven.
The difference between the two amounts of debt named in the parable sets forth the vast difference between our indebtedness to man and to God; and the free pardon of the king teaches us that God desires not only to forgive us, but to wipe out all memory of our sins. We could never pay all, but God will forgive all. Yet, notice that this servant forfeited the king's pardon, so that it ceased to operate. Similarly we may shut ourselves out of the benefits of Christ's death-though it has reconciled the world unto God-by an unforgiving and merciless spirit. [source]

Chapter Summary: Matthew 18

1  Jesus warns his disciples to be humble and harmless,
7  to avoid offenses,
10  and not to despise the little ones;
15  teaches how we are to deal with our brothers when they offend us,
21  and how often to forgive them;
23  which he sets forth by a parable of the king who took account of his servants,
32  and punished him who showed no mercy to his fellow servant

Greek Commentary for Matthew 18:22

Until seventy times seven [εως εβδομηκοντακις επτα]
It is not clear whether this idiom means seventy-seven or as the Revised Version has it (490 times). If επτακις — heptakis were written it would clearly be 490 times. The same ambiguity is seen in Genesis 4:24, the lxx text by omitting και — kai In the Test. of the Twelve Patriarchs, Benj. vii. 4, it is used in the sense of seventy times seven. But it really makes little difference because Jesus clearly means unlimited forgiveness in either case. “The unlimited revenge of primitive man has given place to the unlimited forgiveness of Christians” (McNeile). [source]
Seventy times seven [ἑβδομηκοντάκις ἑπτά]
It was a settled rule of Rabbinism that forgiveness should not be extended more than three times. Even so, the practice was terribly different. The Talmud relates, without blame, the conduct of a rabbi who would not forgive a very small slight of his dignity, though asked by the offender for thirteen successive years, and that on the day of atonement; the reason being that the offended rabbi had learned by a dream that his offending brother would attain the highest dignity; whereupon he feigned himself irreconcilable, to force the other to migrate from Palestine to Babylon, where, unenvied by him, he might occupy the chief place (Edersheim). It must, therefore, have seemed to Peter a stretch of charity to extend forgiveness from three to seven times. Christ is not specifying a number of times greater than the limit of seven. He means that there is to be no limit. “Forgiveness is qualitative, not quantitative. ” [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Matthew 18:22

Luke 17:4 Seven times in a day [επτακις της ημερας]
Seven times within the day. On another occasion Peter‘s question (Matthew 18:21) brought Christ‘s answer “seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:22), which see note. Seven times during the day would be hard enough for the same offender. [source]

What do the individual words in Matthew 18:22 mean?

Says to him - Jesus Not I say to you up to seven times but seventy times seven
Λέγει αὐτῷ Ἰησοῦς Οὐ λέγω σοι ἕως ἑπτάκις ἀλλὰ ἑβδομηκοντάκις ἑπτά

Λέγει  Says 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: λέγω 
Sense: to say, to speak.
αὐτῷ  to  him 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Dative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
  - 
Parse: Article, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
Ἰησοῦς  Jesus 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: Ἰησοῦς  
Sense: Joshua was the famous captain of the Israelites, Moses’ successor.
λέγω  I  say 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 1st Person Singular
Root: λέγω 
Sense: to say, to speak.
σοι  to  you 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Dative 2nd Person Singular
Root: σύ  
Sense: you.
ἕως  up  to 
Parse: Preposition
Root: ἕως  
Sense: till, until.
ἑπτάκις  seven  times 
Parse: Adverb
Root: ἑπτάκις  
Sense: seven times.
ἑβδομηκοντάκις  seventy  times 
Parse: Adverb
Root: ἑβδομηκοντάκις  
Sense: seventy times seven times.
ἑπτά  seven 
Parse: Adjective, Genitive Neuter Plural
Root: ἑπτά  
Sense: seven.