Matthew 18:15 (DBY)

Passage

But if thy brother sin against thee, go, reprove him between thee and him alone. If he hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.

Nearby Context

Matthew 18:13 And if it should come to pass that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoices more because of it than because of the ninety and nine not gone astray.

Matthew 18:14 So it is not the will of your Father who is in [the] heavens that one of these little ones should perish.

Matthew 18:15 But if thy brother sin against thee, go, reprove him between thee and him alone. If he hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.

Matthew 18:16 But if he do not hear [thee], take with thee one or two besides, that every matter may stand upon the word of two witnesses or of three.

Matthew 18:17 But if he will not listen to them, tell it to the assembly; and if also he will not listen to the assembly, let him be to thee as one of the nations and a tax-gatherer.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "brother", "against", "thee", "reprove", "between", "alone", and "hear". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "brother" and "against", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 14's "So it is not the will of..." into verse 16's "But if he do not hear thee...", so "brother" and "against" belong inside that flow. In Matthew context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "brother" and "against" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.