23 "This is why the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with those servants who owed him money. 24 As he began to settle accounts, one servant was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.18:24. An astronomical amount. 27 The master took pity on the servant, released him, and canceled the debt. 28 But when that same servant went out he found one of his fellow-servants who owed him just a hundred denarii.18:28. A denarius was a small coin. The contrast is between the huge amount forgiven the first servant and the very small amount owed to him by the second servant. He grabbed him by the neck and choked him, saying, ‘Pay me back what you owe me!’
32 Then the master called the man back in and told him, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you all your debt because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have been merciful to your fellow-servant as well, just as I was merciful to you?’