11 · Jesus' Words

Forgive Seventy Times Seven

Matthew 18:21–22

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Peter stands before Jesus and speaks with him while the other disciples sit and listen around them.

Peter asks how often to forgive. Jesus' number makes counting itself part of the question.

Does Jesus set a limit on forgiveness?

Choose a perspective

There is no score – choose the perspective you find closest and discuss why.

Discuss: Can forgiveness coexist with clear boundaries?

After your discussion: compare with our assessment

Our assessment

A captures the contrast between Peter's question and Jesus' answer. Peter seeks a number that can function as a limit. Jesus gives a number so large that the idea of keeping a running count is strongly undermined. C provides an important boundary. The passage concerns forgiveness, but it does not say that forgiveness automatically means immediate restoration of trust, removal of consequences, or remaining in a harmful situation. Jesus' radical call to repeated forgiveness can therefore be taken seriously without adding claims about boundaries and safety that the passage itself does not make.

11 · Matthew 18:21–22

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Text & context

Full translation

21 Then Peter came to him and said, “Lord, how many times will my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I tell you: not up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.”

Translated from the Greek text – SBLGNT

What is happening here?
Peter approaches Jesus with a concrete question about the limit of forgiveness. He does not ask whether one should forgive, but how many times the same obligation can recur. Peter himself proposes seven times. Jesus responds by dramatically expanding the number: not seven, but hebdomēkontakis hepta. The expression can be understood and translated as “seventy times seven” or “seventy-seven times.” Either way, Jesus' answer dramatically exceeds Peter's proposed limit. Immediately afterward Jesus tells the parable of the unforgiving servant. The teaching therefore moves from the question of how many times one should forgive into a larger story about forgiveness received and forgiveness extended.
Notice this

Peter asks for a limit: “How many times?” Jesus does not respond with a smaller number but with a dramatically larger one. Whether the expression means 77 or 490, the very idea of carefully keeping count begins to lose its function. Also notice what the passage does not say. Jesus speaks about forgiveness, but he does not define forgiveness here as identical with restored trust, absence of consequences, or an obligation to remain exposed to continuing harm. We use “seventy times seven” in the main translation because it is a familiar rendering and preserves the card's title. At the same time, we clearly note that hebdomēkontakis hepta can also be rendered “seventy-seven times.” The interpretation of the card therefore does not depend on 490 being the certain number. There may also be a literary echo of Genesis 4:24, where Lamech speaks of seventy-sevenfold vengeance. If Jesus is alluding to that text, language of escalating vengeance would be turned toward escalating forgiveness. This is an interesting possible connection, but Matthew does not explicitly explain it as an allusion.

Language & translation

From the Greek

ποσάκις – posakis

how many times? Peter's question begins with a word explicitly asking about number or frequency. The theme of counting forgiveness is present from the start.

ἁμαρτήσει – hamartēsei

will sin From hamartanō, to sin or do wrong. Peter asks about a brother who sins “against me.”

ἀφήσω – aphēsō

will I forgive From aphiēmi, to release, remit, or forgive. The same verb family appears repeatedly in Jesus' teaching about forgiveness.

ἕως ἑπτάκις – heōs heptakis

up to seven times Peter himself proposes seven as a possible limit.

ἑβδομηκοντάκις ἑπτά – hebdomēkontakis hepta

seventy times seven / seventy-seven times The phrase is well known for its translation difficulty. It can be understood as 70 × 7, or 490, or as seventy-seven. For the card's main interpretation, the important point is that either rendering greatly exceeds Peter's proposed seven and makes a strict counting posture difficult to sustain.

Translation note

Independent English translation from the Greek text, using SBLGNT as the primary Greek edition.

Compare for yourself

Read Matthew 18:21–35 in another Bible translation. Pay particular attention to:

  • posakis
  • hamartanō
  • aphiēmi
  • heōs heptakis
  • hebdomēkontakis hepta
  • whether your translation has 77 or 70 × 7
  • how Jesus' answer leads into the parable of the unforgiving servant

You may also compare Genesis 4:23–24 and consider whether the contrast between vengeance and forgiveness may be intentional.

Continue the conversation

Discuss further
  1. Why do you think Peter himself proposes seven times?
  2. Does Jesus' point really change if the number is 77 rather than 490?
  3. What is the difference between forgiving someone and restoring trust in that person?
  4. Can forgiveness, consequences, and clear boundaries exist at the same time?
Parallel passages
  • Luke 17:3–4
  • Matthew 18:23–35
  • Genesis 4:23–24
Sources
  • The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition (SBLGNT), Michael W. Holmes, ed.
  • Matthew 18:21–22
  • Matthew 18:23–35
  • Luke 17:3–4
  • Genesis 4:23–24
  • Standard Greek lexical resources for posakis, hamartanō, aphiēmi, heptakis, and hebdomēkontakis