Matthew Chapter 18 verse 2 Holy Bible
And he called to him a little child, and set him in the midst of them,
read chapter 18 in ASV
And he took a little child, and put him in the middle of them,
read chapter 18 in BBE
And Jesus having called a little child to [him], set it in their midst,
read chapter 18 in DARBY
And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
read chapter 18 in KJV
read chapter 18 in WBT
Jesus called a little child to himself, and set him in the midst of them,
read chapter 18 in WEB
And Jesus having called near a child, did set him in the midst of them,
read chapter 18 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 2. - A little child. Our Lord teaches, not only by spoken parables, but by symbolical actions also. This was not a mere infant, as Christ is said to have called him unto him. A tradition, mentioned by Nicephorus ('Hist. Eccl.,' 2:35), asserts that this child was the famous martyr Ignatius. Set him in the midst of them. Taking him in his arms, as St. Mark tells. What a picture of Christ's tenderness and human love! From the boy's trustfulness and submission he draws a needed lesson for the ambitious apostles.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(2) Jesus called a little child unto him.--As the conversation was "in the house" (Mark 9:33), and that house probably was Peter's, the child may have been one of his. As in other like incidents (Matthew 19:13; Matthew 21:15-16), we may recognise in our Lord's act a recognition of the special beauty of childhood, a tender love for the gracious trust and freedom from rivalry which it shows when, as yet, the taint of egotism is undeveloped. St. Mark adds that He folded His arms round the child as in loving fondness, and, before He did so, uttered the warning words, "If any one will (wishes to) be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all." A late tradition of the Eastern Church identified the child with Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, taking the name which he gave himself as passive, ???????? (Theo-phoros), "one who had been carried or borne by God." Ignatius himself, however, uses it in its active sense, "one who carries God within him."
