Matthew Chapter 18 verse 7 Holy Bible
Woe unto the world because of occasions of stumbling! for it must needs be that the occasions come; but woe to that man through whom the occasion cometh!
read chapter 18 in ASV
A curse is on the earth because of trouble! for it is necessary for trouble to come; but unhappy is that man through whom the trouble comes.
read chapter 18 in BBE
Woe to the world because of offences! For it must needs be that offences come; yet woe to that man by whom the offence comes!
read chapter 18 in DARBY
Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!
read chapter 18 in KJV
read chapter 18 in WBT
"Woe to the world because of occasions of stumbling! For it must be that the occasions come, but woe to that person through whom the occasion comes!
read chapter 18 in WEB
`Wo to the world from the stumbling-blocks! for there is a necessity for the stumbling-blocks to come, but wo to that man through whom the stumbling-block doth come!
read chapter 18 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 7. - This and the preceding verse occur in St. Luke (Luke 17:1, 2) in an inverted order. Woe unto the world! The Lord thinks of the deadly evil brought into the world by offences given, such as bad example, unholy lives of Christians, persecutions, scoffs, thoughtlessness - things which lead so many astray. For it must needs be. While men are what they are, such consequences must be expected. This is not an absolute, but a relative, necessity. Man's heart is evil, his tendencies are evil, temptation is strong. Satan is active; all these forces combine to bring about a fatal result. Thus St. Paul says (1 Corinthians 11:19), "There must be heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you." So these offences of which Christ speaks are overruled and permitted for wise purposes, that by them the righteous may be proved and purified, and the chaff separated from the wheat. But woe to that man! Because of this evil principle which is rife in the world, no man is exonerated from the guilt of giving offence. He has free will; he can choose good; he can use the means of grace; he can strengthen his natural weakness, control his perverseness, overcome corruption, by the help of God always ready to be given to them who seek. The first "woe" is a cry of pity for a world in danger; the second "woe" is a denunciation of the sinner as being responsible for the evil which he introduces. We are all in some sort our brothers' keepers, and are bound to help forward their salvation, and to do nothing which may tend to endanger their souls' health.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(7) Woe unto the world.--The interjection is one of sorrow as well as denunciation, and here the former meaning is predominant, as the latter is in the next clause of the verse. The true meaning of "offence," as meaning not the mere transgression of a law, but such a transgression as causes the fall of others, must be carefully borne in mind throughout. The words, "It must needs be that offences come, but woe unto that man . . . ," unite in strange contrast the two truths which all the history of human guilt brings before us. Crimes seem to recur with something like the inevitable regularity of a law, and yet in each single instance the will of the offender has been free to choose, and he is therefore rightly held responsible both by divine and human laws.
