Correct a brother who sins
In this section, Jesus told his disciples what to do when a fellow believer sins against one of them. Jesus gave them some steps to follow to deal with the problem in a gentle and loving manner. The main goal of these steps is to restore the relationship between two believers.
Here are some other possible headings for this section:
When a Person Sins Against You (New Century Version)
-or-
What to do if a fellow believer sins against you
Paragraph 18:15–17
18:15a
If your brother: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as brother refers to any fellow believer.
Here are some other ways to translate the phrase your brother:
your Christian brother
-or-
your fellow believer (New Century Version)
If the people in your area might think that this phrase would not include females, you could translate it as:
your Christian brother or sister
your: The pronouns “your” and “you” are singular throughout 18:15–17.
sins against you: There is a textual issue here:
(1) Many Greek manuscripts have the phrase sins against you. For example:
sins against you (Good News Translation)
(Berean Standard Bible, English Standard Version, New International Version, Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New Living Translation (2004), New Century Version, King James Version, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
(2) Some important, early Greek manuscripts have only the word sins. They do not have the added phrase against you here. For example:
sins (NET Bible)
(NET Bible, New American Standard Bible, God’s Word, Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible)
It is recommended that you follow option (1). Some important, early Greek manuscripts do not include these words. But the phrase “just between you and him alone” in 18:15b is one reason to include them.
You may want to include a footnote to explain that some translations omit the phrase against you. For example:
Some important, early Greek manuscripts do not have the words “against you.” Many translations do not include them either.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
wrongs you (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
-or-
does something wrong/bad to you
-or-
does evil against you
18:15b
go: This verb is a command. It includes the idea of “to him.” For example:
go to him (Good News Translation)
In other words, you should go and find the person who sinned against you.
confront him: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as confront him also means “show, condemn, rebuke, or reprove him.” It means “describe to him what he has done wrong and tell him you disagree with what he has done.”
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
tell him what he has done wrong
-or-
show him his fault (NET Bible)
privately: This phrase indicates that you should confront your brother in private.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
in private (New Century Version)
-or-
But do it privately, just between yourselves. (Good News Translation)
-or-
when the two of you are alone (NET Bible)
18:15c
If he listens to you: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as listens is the general word that means “hear.” In this context, it indicates that the brother agrees with you and responds appropriately. He confesses his sin and asks for forgiveness.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
If he hears you ⌊and repents⌋
-or-
If he listens to you ⌊and is sorry/regretful⌋
-or-
If the other person listens and confesses it (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
If he accepts your words
-or-
If he agrees with you
you have won your brother over: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as won…over means “gotten back” or “won” your brother. It implies that the relationship is restored and the two people have reconciled.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
you have won your brother back (Good News Translation)
-or-
you have restored that brother to you
-or-
you have helped that person to be your brother or sister again (New Century Version)
-or-
you and your brother are reconciled again
© 2023 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.