Matthew 18:15 (DRB)

Passage

But if thy brother shall offend against thee, go, and rebuke him between thee and him alone. If he shall hear thee, thou shalt gain thy brother.

Nearby Context

Matthew 18:13 And if it so be that he find it: Amen I say to you, he rejoiceth more for that, than for the ninety-nine that went not astray.

Matthew 18:14 Even so it is not the will of your Father, who is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.

Matthew 18:15 But if thy brother shall offend against thee, go, and rebuke him between thee and him alone. If he shall hear thee, thou shalt gain thy brother.

Matthew 18:16 And if he will not hear thee, take with thee one or two more: that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may stand.

Matthew 18:17 And if he will not hear them: tell the church. And if he will not hear the church, let him be to thee as the heathen and publican.

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 14's "Even so it is not the will..." into verse 16's "And if he will not hear thee...", so "brother" 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 "brother" and "shall" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.