Matthew Chapter 18 verse 3 Holy Bible
and said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye turn, and become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven.
read chapter 18 in ASV
And said, Truly, I say to you, If you do not have a change of heart and become like little children, you will not go into the kingdom of heaven.
read chapter 18 in BBE
and said, Verily I say to you, Unless ye are converted and become as little children, ye will not at all enter into the kingdom of the heavens.
read chapter 18 in DARBY
And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
read chapter 18 in KJV
read chapter 18 in WBT
and said, "Most assuredly I tell you, unless you turn, and become as little children, you will in no way enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.
read chapter 18 in WEB
and said, `Verily I say to you, if ye may not be turned and become as the children, ye may not enter into the reign of the heavens;
read chapter 18 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 3. - Except ye be converted στραφῆτε); i.e. turned from proud, ambitious thoughts of worldly dignity. There is no question here about what is popularly known as conversion - the change from habitual sin to holiness. The conversion here spoken of is confined to a change in the present state of mind - to a new direction given to the thoughts and wishes. The apostles had shown rivalry, jealousy, ambition: they must turn away from such failings, and learn a different lesson. Become as little children. Christ points to little children as the model to which the members of his kingdom must assimilate themselves. The special attributes of children which he would recommend are humility, unworldliness, simplicity, teachableness, - the direct contraries of self-seeking, worldliness, distrust, conceit. Ye shall not enter. In the sermon on the mount Christ had said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:3). To all who are not such the gate opens not. That virtue which was unknown to pagan antiquity, the opposite character to which was upholden as the acme of excellence, Christ here asserts to be the only passport to his ideal Church on earth or its eternal development in heaven. Not the self-esteeming, proud man (μεγαλόψυχος) of Aristotle's worship ('Eth. Nic.,' 4:3), but the humble (ταπεινὸς), the lowly, the self-depreciating, is the man who can realize his position in the spiritual world, and shall be admitted to its blessings and benefits. St. Paul has summarized the ideal character of the members of the kingdom in 1 Corinthians 13, especially vers. 4, 5, and 7.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(3) Except ye be converted.--The English word expresses the force of the Greek, but the "conversion" spoken of was not used in the definite, half-technical sense of later religious experiences. What was needed was that they should "turn" from their self-seeking ambition, and regain, in this respect, the relative blamelessness of children.Ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.--The force of the words as spoken to the Twelve can hardly be exaggerated. They were disputing about precedence in the kingdom, and in that very dispute they were showing that they were not truly in it. It was essentially spiritual, and its first condition was abnegation of self. Even the chief of the Apostles was self-excluded when he gloried in his primacy. The words at least help us to understand the more mysterious language of John 3:3; John 3:5, as to the "new birth" of water and the Spirit, which one, at least, of the disputants must, in all likelihood, have heard.
