What Does Matthew 18:15 Mean?
And if your brother misses the mark against you, go and bring him into the light between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have won your brother.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.THE KEY
The verse measures the encounter by a brother regained, making relationship the fruit of truth spoken plainly.
THE MEANING
When your brother misses the mark against you, the wrong and the bond both remain in view. If he hears you, the outcome is that you have gained your brother. The verse speaks of truth as a way a relationship can be recovered now.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that correction can only mean punishment or rejection: when the brother hears, the verse names the result as gaining him.
THE ROOT
ἁμαρτήσῃ
hamartēsē
GROWS FROM
ἁμαρτ- (Greek word-family stem of ἁμαρτάνω, hamartanō)
to miss or do wrong
“misses the mark” in this verse is hamartēsē. The Greek verb belongs to the same word family as ἁμαρτία (hamartia), often rendered “sin.” English “trespass” can suggest a boundary violation; the shared Greek stem also lets this wrong be heard as a missing or failure.
ALSO GROWS
hamartia: missing; wrongdoing
ἁμαρτία
This related noun shows the same word family behind the idea of a wrong or failure.
hamartōlos: one who does wrong; sinner
ἁμαρτωλός
The related word applies the same family to a person, while this verse keeps the brother in view as someone who can be gained.
ἐκέρδησας
ekerdesas
GROWS FROM
κερδ- (Greek word-family stem of κερδαίνω, kerdainō)
gain, profit, acquire
“won” in this verse is ekerdesas. The verb is gain language: the verse does not describe the outcome merely as settling a dispute, but as gaining a person. The relationship itself is placed in the field of value.
ALSO GROWS
kerdos: gain; profit
κέρδος
This related noun makes the language of gain explicit and sharpens the verse’s description of a brother as something gained.
kerdainō: to gain; profit; win
κερδαίνω
This is the verb’s lexical form, showing that “gained” belongs to a word family centered on acquisition.
THE PATTERN
A wrong is brought into direct speech with the aim of recovering a person and the relationship.
You shall not hate your brother in your heart; you shall surely set your neighbor straight, and not carry falling short upon him.Brothers, even if a person is caught in a stumble, you who are of the breath, mend such a one in the breath of gentleness, watching yourself, lest you also be tested.My brethren, if anyone among you wanders away from the truth, and someone turns him back. Let him know that the one who turns back one of those who miss the mark from the wandering of his way will deliver a living soul from death, and will cover a multitude of shortcomings.THE THREAD
For what does it profit a human, if he gains the whole world and is damaged in his living soul? Or what will a human give in exchange for his living soul?Matthew uses the same gain-verb for gaining the whole world that appears here for gaining a brother. The echo sharpens the question of what counts as gain: here, the object gained is a person and a restored relationship.
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