What Does Matthew 18:32 Mean?
Then his lord, after he had called him, said to him, You evil servant, I released all that debt for you, because you pleaded with me.
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
Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:THE KEY
Forgiveness here is the release of the whole debt, and that release does not rename wickedness as goodness.
THE MEANING
The verse places full release before you: the entire debt is let go in response to an appeal. At the same time, the lord calls the released debtor a wicked servant, holding mercy and moral naming side by side.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The false belief that receiving a full release proves the recipient is good is undone here: the lord says the debt is gone and still calls the servant wicked.
THE ROOT
ἀφῆκα
aphēka
GROWS FROM
ἀφίημι (from ἀπό + ἵημι)
Send away; let go, release.
“released” in this verse is aphēka. The Greek word translated “forgave” is ἀφῆκα, a form of ἀφίημι, whose range includes leaving and letting go as well as releasing a debt. The verse presents forgiveness as the whole debt being let go, not merely reduced.
ALSO GROWS
left: Having left or let go.
ἀφέντες
This form of the same verb describes the disciples leaving their nets; the debt released here is likewise something no longer held.
release: Release, remission, or forgiveness.
ἄφεσις
This related noun makes the release within forgiveness explicit: what is held against someone is let go.
THE PATTERN
Forgiveness releases what is owed, while removal puts the offense at a distance.
And release our debts, as we also release our debtors.And when you stand and pray, release, if you hold anything against anyone, so that your Father in the heavens may release your missteps.As far as the east is from the west, so far he puts our rebellions from us.THE THREAD
And release our debts, as we also release our debtors.The KJV uses the same Greek verb for “forgive” in both verses. Here, debts and debtors make the release within that verb especially clear: the whole obligation is let go.
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