“If he trespass against thee seven times in a day ... thou shalt forgive him.”
- Date
- 1611
- Attribution
- Source identified
- Voice / speaker
- Reported speaker · Jesus
- English wording
- King James Version translation committees · from Biblical Hebrew / Aramaic / Koine Greek
What does this quote mean?
Repeated offence makes forgiveness harder, which is exactly the point of the passage: the moral demand is not limited to the first easy opportunity to forgive.
Where does it come from?
Luke 17:4 in the King James Version; the middle repetition is shortened with an ellipsis while preserving the verse’s instruction.
Who voices the line?
Reported speaker · Jesus. Luke 17:4 in the King James Version preserves this wording as reported speech. The biblical passage remains the textual source while Jesus is stored as the local reported speaker.
The source author and the local speaker can be different, especially in fiction, drama, dialogue and poetry.
How should this attribution be read?
This wording is connected with the named source shown above. Translations and editions can vary, so consult the source note when exact wording matters.