Matthew 18:6 (DBY)

Passage

But whosoever shall offend one of these little ones who believe in me, it were profitable for him that a great millstone had been hanged upon his neck and he be sunk in the depths of the sea.

Nearby Context

Matthew 18:4 Whoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, *he* is the greatest in the kingdom of the heavens;

Matthew 18:5 and whosoever shall receive one such little child in my name, receives me.

Matthew 18:6 But whosoever shall offend one of these little ones who believe in me, it were profitable for him that a great millstone had been hanged upon his neck and he be sunk in the depths of the sea.

Matthew 18:7 Woe to the world because of offences! For it must needs be that offences come; yet woe to that man by whom the offence comes!

Matthew 18:8 And if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut it off and cast [it] from thee; it is good for thee to enter into life lame or maimed, [rather] than having two hands or two feet to be cast into eternal fire.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "whosoever", "shall", "offend", "little", "ones", "believe", "profitable", and "great". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "whosoever" and "shall", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 5's "and whosoever shall receive one such little..." into verse 7's "Woe to the world because of offences...", so "whosoever" and "shall" 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 "whosoever" and "shall" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.