Tool Beta
Is It Actually in the Bible?
Phrases people quote as Scripture. The real verse, or the honest answer that there is not one.
"But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me": sounds like Jesus is warning against hurting a child's feelings
In 1611 English, "offend" meant to cause someone to sin or stumble in their faith, not to hurt their feelings.
Matthew 18:6, in every translation this tool compares.
In Matthew 18:6, "whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me" translates the Greek skandalizo, the root of our word "scandalize," literally meaning to trip someone into a trap. Jesus isn't warning against insulting a child; he's warning against leading a believer into sin, doubt, or spiritual ruin.
The word appears this way throughout the Gospels (Matthew 5:29-30, 11:6, 13:41), always carrying the sense of "cause to stumble" rather than "upset." The modern, narrower meaning (wounded feelings) is a much later development that had already begun by the 19th century but wasn't the KJV translators' meaning in 1611.
