Matthew 18:26

Then the slave threw himself to the ground ¹  before him, saying, ²  ‘Be patient with me, and I will repay you everything.’

Mt 18:29; Lu 7:43; Ro 10:3

¹ tn Grk “falling therefore the slave bowed down to the ground.” The redundancy of this expression signals the desperation of the slave in begging for mercy.

² tc The majority of mss (א L W 058 0281 Ë^1,13 33 Ï it sy^p,h co) begin the slave’s plea with “Lord” (κύριε, kurie), though a few important witnesses lack this vocative (B D Θ 700 pc lat sy^s,c Or Chr). Understanding the parable to refer to the Lord, scribes would be naturally prone to add the vocative here, especially as the slave’s plea is a plea for mercy. Thus, the shorter reading is more likely to be authentic.