Matthew 18:16 (LSB)

Passage

But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed.

Nearby Context

Matthew 18:14 In this way, it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.

Matthew 18:15 “Now if your brother sins, go and show him his fault, between you and him alone; if he listens to you, you have won your brother.

Matthew 18:16 But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed.

Matthew 18:17 And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as the Gentile and the tax collector.

Matthew 18:18 Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "does", "listen", "take", "mouth", "three", "witnesses", "fact", and "confirmed". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "does" and "listen", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "Now if your brother sins go and..." into verse 17's "And if he refuses to listen to...", so "does" and "listen" 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 "does" and "listen" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.