Matthew 18:31 (YLT)

Passage

`And his fellow-servants having seen the things that were done, were grieved exceedingly, and having come, shewed fully to their lord all the things that were done;

Nearby Context

Matthew 18:29 His fellow-servant then, having fallen down at his feet, was calling on him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all;

Matthew 18:30 and he would not, but having gone away, he cast him into prison, till he might pay that which was owing.

Matthew 18:31 `And his fellow-servants having seen the things that were done, were grieved exceedingly, and having come, shewed fully to their lord all the things that were done;

Matthew 18:32 then having called him, his lord saith to him, Evil servant! all that debt I did forgive thee, seeing thou didst call upon me,

Matthew 18:33 did it not behove also thee to have dealt kindly with thy fellow-servant, as I also dealt kindly with thee?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "fellow-servants", "having", "seen", "things", "done", "grieved", and "exceedingly". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "fellow-servants" and "having", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 30's "and he would not but having gone..." into verse 32's "then having called him his lord saith...", so "fellow-servants" and "having" 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 "fellow-servants" and "having" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.