Matthew 18:32 (YLT)

Passage

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

Nearby Context

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?

Matthew 18:34 `And having been wroth, his lord delivered him to the inquisitors, till he might pay all that was owing to him;

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "called", "having", "lord", "saith", "evil", "servant", "debt", and "forgive". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "called" and "having", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 31's "And his fellow-servants having seen the things..." into verse 33's "did it not behove also thee to...", so "called" 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 "called" and "having" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.