moved with compassion

The Greek that is translated with “moved with compassion (or: pity)” in English is translated as “to see someone with sorrow” in Piro, “to suffer with someone” in Huastec, or “one’s mind to be as it were out of one” in Balinese (source: Bratcher / Nida).

The English translation by Michael Pakaluk (2019) uses “was keenly affected” in Mark 1:41.

See also compassion.

The Unforgiving Servant

Following is a 1973 painting of the JESUS MAFA project, a response to New Testament readings from the Lectionary by a Christian community in Cameroon, Africa. Each of the readings was selected and adapted to dramatic interpretation by the community members. Photographs of their interpretations were made, and these were then transcribed to paintings:

From Art in the Christian Tradition , a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. Image retrieved March 23, 2026. Original source: librairie-emmanuel.fr.

complete verse (Matthew 18:27)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 18:27:

  • Uma: “From there, the love/pity of the king welled-up, feeling sorry/pity for that slave. He released him and he said to him: ‘Your (sing.) debt you (sing.) no longer have to pay.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “So-then the sultan pitied his servant, therefore he commanded that his debt need not to be paid and told him to go home.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And the king pitied him and forgave him and did not make him pay the debt, and he sent him home.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “That being so, the king took-pity-on him and canceled (lit. set-aside) his debt. Then he released him.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “That king truly did have mercy on him. Without anything further, he just wrote-off-as-paid all that debt of his and sent him home.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “The boss pitied the worker and forgave him of the amount he owed. He let him free.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Scriptures Plain & Simple (Matthew 18:21-35)

Barclay Newman, a translator on the teams for both the Good News Bible and the Contemporary English Version, translated passages of the New Testament into English and published them in 2014, “in a publication brief enough to be non-threatening, yet long enough to be taken seriously, and interesting enough to appeal to believers and un-believers alike.” The following is the translation of Matthew 18:21-35:

“Forgiveness times seven is surely enough
       to offer anyone who offends me,” said Peter.

“Try seven times that amount!” answered Jesus,
“and listen to this story about the Ultimate Kingdom.”

       The CEO of a big corporation called in his employees
              to account for their use of the company funds.
       One of them came up fifty million dollars short,
              and he was broke.

       “His wife and children are just as guilty,” said the CEO.
       “Lock all of them up and throw away the key,
               until he pays back every cent he owes.”

       But the man begged for mercy
       and swore he’d repay every cent.
              So the soft-hearted CEO forgave his debt.

       On the way out of the office, the man happened to meet
              an office boy who owed him a measly fifty bucks.
       With his hands around the throat of he boy, he shouted,
              “Pay me every cent you owe!”

       The boy begged for mercy and swore to repay every cent.
       But there was no mercy, and the boy was thrown into jail
              until he could repay the full amount.

       Some other employees found out what had happened,
       and they reported the matter to the CEO,
              who called the man in and said, “You’re evil!
       When you begged for mercy, I forgave every penny.
              Isn’t that what you should have done for this boy?
       I’ll have your hide for this!
       You, your wife, and your family of four
              will perish impoverished in prison.”

“Listen up!” exclaimed Jesus.
“If you don’t forgive others with all your heart,
       my Father above will treat you like this.”

Translation commentary on Matthew 18:27

Out of pity (Good News Translation “felt sorry”) translates a Greek verb which focuses upon the intestines as the place where the emotions of sorrow and pity are experienced. Out of means “because of” in this context. “Because he felt sorry for him” will express this phrase, for example. The verse can also be restructured slightly, as in “The king took pity on the official, and so set him free and canceled the debt.”

The lord of that servant is translated “The king” by Good News Translation in order to maintain continuity throughout the story; otherwise there is the possibility that the reader may wrongly distinguish between “the king” and “the lord of that servant.” See also verses 31 and 34 and the discussion there.

Released him may refer to the man’s release from prison; Barclay has “let him go free,” and Phillips “set him free.”

Forgave has the specific sense of “canceled” (An American Translation, New Jerusalem Bible). Using language that their readers will understand, translators have sometimes said something like “told him he would not have to pay what he owed.”

Debt translates a Greek noun which is used only here in the New Testament. It technically means a “loan,” but most translations prefer to use the broader term of “debt.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Matthew 18:27



18:27a

His master: The word master refers to the king in 18:23b.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

the master of that servant (English Standard Version)
-or-
The king (Good News Translation)

had compassion on him: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as had compassion comes from a noun that refers to a person’s intestines. As with many other cultures in the world, Greek culture considered a person’s intestines as the place of strong emotion. In this context, the emotion is pity or compassion. The master felt sorry for the servant. Consider how this sort of emotion is expressed in your language and translate in that way.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

took/had pity on him
-or-
felt sorry for him (Good News Translation)
-or-
had mercy on him

18:27b

forgave his debt: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as forgave also occurs in 18:21b in relation to sins. Here it refers to forgiving/canceling a debt. This means that the master no longer required the servant to pay back the money that he owed him. You should use whichever verb is natural in your language for this action.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

cancelled the debt (Revised English Bible)
-or-
told him he did not have to pay it back (New Century Version)

debt: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as debt could also be translated as “loan.” It indicates that the debt which the servant had to repay was money that he borrowed from the king.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

debt (New International Version)
-or-
loan
-or-
money (Contemporary English Version)

released him: This phrase probably indicates that the servant was held in some way. As mentioned in 18:24b, some servants had brought this servant in before the king. They were perhaps still holding him. So the master commanded them to release him.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

let him go (New International Version)

-or-

set him free (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

General Comment on 18:27b

In some languages, it will be more natural to use direct speech here. For example:

and said to him, ‘You do not have to pay back your debt. You may go now.’

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