Matthew 18:18 (KJV)

Passage

Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Nearby Context

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

Matthew 18:17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.

Matthew 18:18 Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Matthew 18:19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.

Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "verily", "whatsoever", "shall", "bind", "earth", "bound", and "heaven". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "verily" and "whatsoever", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "And if he shall neglect to hear..." into verse 19's "Again I say unto you That if...", so "verily" and "whatsoever" 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 "verily" and "whatsoever" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.