Matthew 16:19

Studied by claude-opus-5-5 October 8, 2026

δώσω σοι τὰς κλεῖδας τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν, καὶ ὃ ἐὰν δήσῃς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἔσται δεδεμένον ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς, καὶ ὃ ἐὰν λύσῃς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἔσται λελυμένον ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς.

dōsō soi tas kleidas tēs basileias tōn ouranōn, kai ho ean dēsēs epi tēs gēs estai dedemenon en tois ouranois, kai ho ean lusēs epi tēs gēs estai lelumenon en tois ouranois.

I will give to you [singular] the keys of the kingdom of the heavens, and whatever you bind upon the earth will be [in a state of] having-been-bound in the heavens, and whatever you loose upon the earth will be [in a state of] having-been-loosed in the heavens.

What it meant

Jesus has just said that he will build his own community, his ekklēsia ('assembly'), on Peter, the 'rock'. Now he gives the builder's trusted man the household's keys:

"I will give you, Peter, the keys of the reign of the heavens, the steward's keys of God's royal house. Whatever you declare binding, whatever you forbid or hold someone to, here on earth will stand bound in heaven. Whatever you release, whatever you permit or set free, here on earth will stand released in heaven."

To a Jewish hearer the keys called up the royal steward of Isaiah 22:22. He was 'over the house', carried the key of David's house on his shoulder, and 'opened and no one shut'. He was not the king. He ran the king's house with the king's authority. 'Binding' and 'loosing' were the familiar words for what authoritative teachers and rulers did: decide what God's people were obliged to do or free to do, and hold someone under discipline or release them. The 'you' is singular and the promise is in the future, so this office is promised to Peter personally. Two chapters later (18:18) the same power is spoken over the disciples as a group. The perfect forms 'will stand bound / will stand loosed' present the rulings as settled and valid before God, whose realm Matthew reverently calls 'the heavens'. This is a promise about authority in the community Jesus is founding on earth. It is not about who gets through heaven's gate after death.

Where the English drifted

keys of the kingdom of heaven kleidas tēs basileias tōn ouranōn

What we hear

Peter as the gatekeeper at the pearly gates, deciding who enters heaven after death.

What they heard

The keys of a royal steward. They stand for delegated authority to manage the King's house and its access, in the community where God's reign is now being lived out on earth.

Where the later meaning came from: Medieval art and later popular folklore about 'St Peter at the gate', together with the habit of hearing 'kingdom of heaven' as the afterlife.
kingdom of heaven basileia tōn ouranōn

What we hear

Heaven, the place believers go when they die.

What they heard

God's reign or kingship. 'The heavens' is a reverent Jewish way of saying 'God'. The kingdom is a reign that Jesus announces as breaking into the world now (4:17; 6:10).

Where the later meaning came from: Later Christian piety that centred on the soul's destination after death, and unfamiliarity with the Jewish use of 'heaven' as a substitute for God's name.
bind … loose deō … luō

What we hear

A spiritual-warfare formula: commanding demons ('I bind you, Satan') or 'loosing' blessings.

What they heard

A paired legal expression: to declare forbidden or permitted, to impose or release an obligation, and to place someone under discipline or lift it.

Where the later meaning came from: 20th-century deliverance and charismatic teaching that reads this verse through Matthew 12:29 ('bind the strong man').

What the first hearers heard

Matthew's first readers were most likely mixed Jewish and Gentile communities of Jesus' followers, probably in Syria (Antioch is often suggested), writing in the decades after the Temple's destruction in AD 70. In those years Pharisaic scribes were establishing themselves as the authoritative interpreters of the Law for Judaism. Matthew's community was arguing with them over who rightly interprets Moses.

For these readers, this verse did several things:

It grounded their community's authority in Jesus himself. Their way of keeping God's will (on the Sabbath, purity, food, divorce, and admitting Gentiles) did not rest on the synagogue's teachers. It rested on the authority Jesus gave to Peter and, through 18:18, to the disciples together.
It made Peter the founding steward. Peter was known across the early movement as a leading figure, and he was associated with Antioch (Galatians 2:11). Here he is presented as the trusted manager of the Messiah's household, the 'scribe trained for the kingdom' (13:52) whose rulings carry God's backing.
It answered the charge of 'shutting the kingdom'. Unlike the scribes who shut people out (23:13), Peter's keys open the way into God's reign. Readers would also remember that Jesus' standard for 'loosing' was mercy and the weightier matters of the Law (9:13; 12:7; 23:23).
It assured them that discipline and teaching in the assembly were not merely human arrangements. When the community bound or loosed in line with Jesus' teaching, the decision stood before God.

Every word

δώσω
dōsō · G1325

I will give

A future promise. Jesus does not hand the keys over at Caesarea Philippi. He promises them for later, after the coming 'building' of his community (v. 18).
σοι
soi · G4771

to you (singular)

Singular, addressed to Peter alone. This sets it apart from Matthew 18:18, where the same binding and loosing is given to the disciples with plural verbs.
τὰς
tas · G3588

the

Definite article: 'the keys', the particular, recognised set that belongs to this house.
κλεῖδας
kleidas · G2807

keys

Keys were the mark of the steward who ran a household or palace. They meant the authority to open and shut, to grant or refuse access, and to manage the master's affairs. The image echoes Isaiah 22:22.
τῆς
tēs · G3588

of the

Links the keys to the kingdom they belong to.
βασιλείας
basileias · G0932

kingdom, reign

God's royal rule breaking into the world, which Jesus announces. It is not first of all a territory or the afterlife. The keys give authority within the realm where God's reign is acknowledged.
τῶν
tōn · G3588

of the

Article with 'heavens'.
οὐρανῶν
ouranōn · G3772

heavens

Plural, following the Hebrew shamayim. 'Kingdom of the heavens' is Matthew's usual phrase for what Mark and Luke call 'kingdom of God'. 'Heavens' is a reverent way of referring to God.
καὶ
kai · G2532

and

Joins the key image to its explanation. Binding and loosing is what holding the keys involves.
ὃ
ho · G3739

what, whatever

Neuter ('whatever', not 'whoever'). The most natural reading is matters, rulings and things, although Greek can use the neuter for people in a general sense.
ἐὰν
ean · G1437

if, -ever

With the relative pronoun it makes the expression open-ended: 'whatever you happen to bind'. It covers any case that comes up.
δήσῃς
dēsēs · G1210

you bind

Literally 'tie up'. In Jewish legal usage of the time, 'bind' meant to declare something forbidden or binding. It could also mean to hold someone under a ban (see studies). The verb is singular, so Peter is the one acting.
ἐπὶ
epi · G1909

upon, on

Locates the act on earth: in the life of the community, here and now.
τῆς
tēs · G3588

the

Article with 'earth'.
γῆς
gēs · G1093

earth

Paired with 'heavens' in the familiar Jewish contrast between earth and heaven, the human realm and God's realm (compare 6:10, 'on earth as in heaven').
ἔσται
estai · G1510

will be

Future 'will be'. Together with the perfect participle that follows, it forms a compound expression (see studies on whether it means 'will be bound' or 'will have been bound').
δεδεμένον
dedemenon · G1210

bound, having been bound

Perfect passive participle: a settled, standing state of 'boundness'. The passive leaves God unnamed as the one whose realm holds the decision.
ἐν
en · G1722

in

'In' the heavens, God's realm, where the ruling has its standing.
τοῖς
tois · G3588

the

Article with 'heavens'.
οὐρανοῖς
ouranois · G3772

heavens

God's domain. Saying something is bound 'in the heavens' means it is valid before God.
καὶ
kai · G2532

and

Introduces the matching opposite clause. Binding and loosing are a pair, like forbidding and permitting.
ὃ
ho · G3739

whatever

Neuter again: 'whatever' matter.
ἐὰν
ean · G1437

if, -ever

Keeps the clause open-ended: 'whatever you happen to loose'.
λύσῃς
lusēs · G3089

you loose, untie

Literally 'untie, release'. In legal usage it meant to declare permitted or not binding, or to release someone from an obligation or ban.
ἐπὶ
epi · G1909

upon, on

As before: the action takes place on earth.
τῆς
tēs · G3588

the

Article with 'earth'.
γῆς
gēs · G1093

earth

The human realm where Peter will rule.
ἔσται
estai · G1510

will be

Forms the same compound expression as in the first half.
λελυμένον
lelumenon · G3089

loosed, having been loosed

Perfect passive participle: a settled state of being released or permitted.
ἐν
en · G1722

in

'In' God's realm.
τοῖς
tois · G3588

the

Article with 'heavens'.
οὐρανοῖς
ouranois · G3772

heavens

Ends the verse with God's realm. What is done on earth stands before God.

Key words, in depth

κλείς (κλεῖδας) kleis (kleidas) G2807

Range of meaning: A literal key or bolt. In figurative use it means authority over access: the right to open and close, to admit or refuse entry. In Israel's royal court the keys belonged to the steward who was 'over the house' (Hebrew asher al-habbayit). He was the king's chief minister and ran the palace and the kingdom's business in the king's name.
Against the English: English 'keys' can suggest simple entry, as in the popular picture of Peter unlocking the pearly gates. In biblical usage keys are a badge of delegated office: managing a household and its access on behalf of the owner.
How it drifted: Medieval and later popular imagery turned Peter into the doorkeeper of the afterlife at heaven's gate. That moved the keys from the community on earth to entry after death.
Used elsewhere in the period: Isaiah 22:22 (Hebrew): God takes the office from Shebna and gives it to Eliakim: 'I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; what he opens no one will shut, and what he shuts no one will open.' The Greek Septuagint translation of Isaiah paraphrases this verse and drops the key. Revelation 3:7 quotes the Hebrew form and applies it to Christ. A Hebrew tomb inscription from Silwan in Jerusalem names an official '…yahu who is over the house', possibly Shebna himself. Matthew 23:13 accuses the scribes of 'shutting the kingdom of heaven' in people's faces, and Luke 11:52 says the lawyers 'took away the key of knowledge'. So in Jesus' world, keys to the kingdom were already linked with authority to teach and interpret. 2 Baruch 10:18 (late 1st century) pictures the priests throwing the Temple keys up to heaven after its fall. 3 Baruch 11:2 (Greek, date uncertain, possibly reworked by Christians) has the archangel Michael 'holding the keys of the kingdom of heaven'.
What it does in this verse: Peter is cast as the steward of the house that Jesus has just said he will build (v. 16:18). Jesus is the builder and owner. Peter holds the keys under him. The keys are explained at once by binding and loosing, which points to administrative and teaching authority in the community. It does not point to control of who reaches the afterlife. Peter's keys also stand in pointed contrast to the scribes who 'shut' the kingdom (23:13).

βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν basileia tōn ouranōn G0932 + G3772

Range of meaning: Basileia means kingship, reign or royal rule, and only by extension the realm that is ruled. 'Of the heavens' follows Jewish practice of using 'heaven' as a reverent substitute for God's name (compare the prodigal son's 'I have sinned against heaven', Luke 15:18). Matthew uses the phrase about 32 times where Mark and Luke say 'kingdom of God'.
Against the English: English 'kingdom of heaven' is widely heard as 'heaven', the place believers go when they die. Matthew means God's reign, which Jesus announces as arriving now (4:17) and to be completed at the end of the age. It is a reign that comes to earth ('your kingdom come… on earth as in heaven', 6:10).
How it drifted: Over centuries Christian piety centred on the individual soul's destination after death, and 'heaven' came to mean that destination. The Jewish reverent use of 'heaven' for God is unfamiliar to most English readers.
Used elsewhere in the period: Daniel 2:44 and 7:14, 27 speak of God's coming kingdom that will never be destroyed. Later rabbinic literature talks of 'taking on the yoke of the kingdom of heaven' (malkhut shamayim), meaning accepting God's rule by reciting the Shema and keeping the commandments. The Dead Sea Scrolls (for example the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice) celebrate God's royal rule.
What it does in this verse: The keys are keys to the sphere where God's reign is lived out: membership, teaching and conduct in the community Jesus is building. In this verse the phrase does not refer to admission to the afterlife.

δέω (δήσῃς, δεδεμένον) deō (dēsēs, dedemenon) G1210

Range of meaning: Literally to tie, fasten or imprison (Matt 14:3; 21:2). In figurative use it means to bind by law or obligation (Rom 7:2; 1 Cor 7:27, 39). In Jewish legal speech it reflects the Hebrew asar and Aramaic ʾasar, 'bind', used in the technical sense of declare forbidden or impose as binding, and sometimes put under a ban. Other senses in the period: binding someone with a vow (the Hebrew issar, 'bond', in Numbers 30), and binding demonic powers (Tobit 8:3; 1 Enoch 10:4; Matt 12:29).
Against the English: English 'bind' sounds either physical (tying up) or, in some modern circles, like a spiritual-warfare command against demons. To a first-century Jewish ear, 'binding and loosing' as a pair would most naturally sound like what authoritative teachers did: rule on what is forbidden or permitted, and decide whether someone was held under discipline.
How it drifted: In the 20th century, deliverance and charismatic movements read 'bind' mainly through Matthew 12:29 ('bind the strong man'). The result was the formula 'I bind you, Satan.' That sense is attested for the verb elsewhere, but the forbid/permit pairing fits this verse better.
Used elsewhere in the period: Throughout the Mishnah, 'the House of Shammai forbid [literally bind, osrin] and the House of Hillel permit [mattirin]' is standard legal language. Josephus, Jewish War 1.111 says the Pharisees under Queen Alexandra could 'banish and recall, loose and bind (luein te kai desmein)' as they wished, which shows the pair could cover governing decisions as well. Later rabbinic sources use 'bind' for imposing the synagogue ban (niddui). The Syriac Peshitta translation of this verse uses ʾsar and šrāʾ, the same Aramaic forbid/permit pair.
What it does in this verse: Peter is given authority to make rulings that bind the community: to say what the followers of Jesus must and must not do. Matthew 18:15–18 also uses this language for disciplining a member who will not repent, so admitting and excluding people is probably in view too. The neuter 'whatever' fits rulings on matters better than pronouncements about individual people, though it does not exclude them.

λύω (λύσῃς, λελυμένον) luō (lusēs, lelumenon) G3089

Range of meaning: To untie, release or set free (Matt 21:2; John 11:44). To dissolve or destroy (John 2:19; Eph 2:14). To annul or relax a law (Matt 5:19, 'whoever loosens one of the least of these commandments'; John 5:18; 7:23; 10:35). In legal use it parallels the Hebrew hittir and Aramaic šrāʾ: declare permitted, release from an obligation or ban.
Against the English: 'Loose' is an old-fashioned English word, and most readers have no clear idea what it means. 'Release' or 'permit' captures it better. The NLT's 'permit' makes the legal sense explicit but drops the release-from-discipline sense.
How it drifted: Mostly a problem of an archaic word rather than active distortion. Some readers hear it as 'loosing' blessings or spirits, an extension of the deliverance reading of 'bind'.
Used elsewhere in the period: Matthew 5:19 uses luō for 'relaxing' a commandment, the same legal register in the same Gospel. Josephus, Jewish War 1.111 (above) has the pair luein … desmein. Rabbinic literature uses the forbid/permit pair (asar/hittir) constantly.
What it does in this verse: This is the other half of Peter's legal authority: to declare what is permitted, release people from obligations, and lift discipline. Matthew's Jesus elsewhere shows this kind of authority on the Sabbath (12:1–14) and on purity (15:1–20).

ἔσται δεδεμένον / ἔσται λελυμένον estai dedemenon / estai lelumenon G1510 + G1210 / G3089

Range of meaning: A compound verb: future 'will be' plus a perfect passive participle. Formally it is a future perfect passive, 'will be in a state of having been bound'. In Koine Greek this construction often stresses a resulting state: 'will stand bound'.
Against the English: Most versions (KJV, BSB, NIV, ESV text) say 'will be bound'. NASB, WEB and the ESV footnote say 'will have been bound'. The second rendering suggests that heaven has already decided and Peter's ruling recognises it. The first can sound as if heaven automatically approves whatever Peter decides.
How it drifted: No drift as such, but a real dispute among translators and grammarians, sharpened by debates over church authority (see debates).
Used elsewhere in the period: J. R. Mantey (Journal of Biblical Literature, 1939) argued for 'shall have been bound', and H. J. Cadbury replied in the same journal. The identical construction appears in Matthew 18:18. John 20:23 uses perfect tense forms for forgiving and retaining sins ('they have been forgiven').
What it does in this verse: In either rendering, Peter's rulings on earth line up with God's will in heaven. The perfect participles stress that the result is settled and lasting, not provisional. Whether heaven ratifies earth or earth carries out heaven cannot be settled from the grammar alone. Many grammarians judge that the construction stresses the resulting state more than the order of events. Elsewhere Matthew makes earthly authority answerable to God's will (6:10; 7:21; 23:2–4).

The world behind it

Caesarea Philippi. The scene (16:13) takes place near the springs of Banias, at the foot of Mount Hermon. There was a grotto there sacred to the god Pan, and the place was linked in local imagination with the underworld. Against that backdrop come the 'gates of Hades' (v. 18) and now the 'keys': the language of gates, keys, building and house all belongs together.

The royal steward. Israel's kings had a chief minister 'over the house' (asher al-habbayit; 1 Kings 4:6; 18:3; Isaiah 22:15). In Isaiah 22:15–25 God removes Shebna from this post and installs Eliakim. Eliakim receives Shebna's robe and sash, becomes a 'father' to Jerusalem, and has 'the key of the house of David' laid on his shoulder. Ancient keys were large wooden or metal objects, and carrying them was a visible sign of office. A hearer who knew the Scriptures would hear Jesus as king (Peter has just called him 'the Christ, the Son of the living God', v. 16) appointing his steward.

Binding and loosing in Jewish law. In the period, teachers of the Law constantly ruled on what was 'bound' (forbidden) and 'loosed' (permitted). The Mishnah's 'Shammai forbids, Hillel permits' is the classic form. The phrase could also cover governing power more broadly: Josephus says the Pharisees under Queen Alexandra could 'loose and bind' whom they wished. It could also cover the synagogue ban, which excluded an offender from the community until he repented. Matthew's Gospel is full of disputes over who has the right to interpret the Law. The scribes 'sit on Moses' seat' (23:2) but 'shut the kingdom of heaven' against people (23:13). Jesus here sets up an alternative authority in his own community.

How the translations handle it

BSB I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
KJV And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
WEB I will give to you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven; and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven.”
YLT and I will give to thee the keys of the reign of the heavens, and whatever thou mayest bind upon the earth shall be having been bound in the heavens, and whatever thou mayest loose upon the earth shall be having been loosed in the heavens.'

KJV“whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven … loose … loosed”

Gets right: 'Thou' preserves the singular 'you', which shows clearly that this is spoken to Peter alone (unlike 18:18). 'Kingdom of heaven' matches Matthew's wording.
Loses: 'Shall be bound' passes over the perfect participle (a settled state). 'Loose' is now archaic. Following later manuscripts, it opens with 'And', which is harmless.

BSB“Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven … loose … loosed”

Gets right: Clear and readable. Keeps the literal 'bind/loose' imagery and does not force one interpretation on it.
Loses: Modern 'you' hides that the address is singular. 'Will be bound' can sound as if heaven simply approves Peter's decisions, and it smooths over the perfect form.

YLT“shall be having been bound in the heavens”

Gets right: Shows the future-perfect construction and the plural 'heavens' openly. 'Reign of the heavens' rightly brings out 'reign' over 'realm'.
Loses: Awkward English. Readers may think it means more than the Greek does.

NASB“shall have been bound in heaven”

Gets right: Brings out the perfect participle, so Peter's ruling reflects a settled decision in heaven.
Loses: May overstate the time sequence (heaven first, then earth). Many grammarians think the construction stresses the resulting state more than the order of events.

ESV“shall be bound in heaven (note: 'shall have been bound')”

Gets right: Keeps 'bind/loose' literally and puts the future-perfect option in a footnote.
Loses: The main text has the same ambiguity as KJV/BSB. Readers who skip the notes miss the question about the perfect form.

NIV“will be bound in heaven (footnote: 'will have been')”

Gets right: Natural English, literal key terms, and a footnote acknowledging the alternative.
Loses: Like ESV, the main text leans toward heaven ratifying Peter's decisions.

NLT“Whatever you forbid … permit”

Gets right: Translates the Jewish legal sense directly. This is the one major version that makes 'bind/loose' plain to a modern reader.
Loses: Narrows the meaning. It drops binding and releasing a person (discipline, the ban, obligations), which Matthew 18:18 shows is also in view, and it loses the vivid bind/untie image that goes with the keys.

WEB“will have been bound in heaven … whatever you release … will have been released”

Gets right: 'Release' is clearer than archaic 'loose', and it brings out the perfect participle.
Loses: Shares NASB's possible over-reading of the time sequence.

Text and manuscripts

Opening 'And'. The Byzantine manuscript tradition (behind the KJV) reads kai dōsō, 'And I will give'. Earlier witnesses, followed by modern critical editions (Nestle-Aland), have dōsō without it. The meaning does not change.
Form of 'keys'. Alongside kleidas, Koine Greek also had the accusative plural kleis (used in Revelation 1:18), and some manuscripts reportedly have it here. Either way it means 'keys'.
Isaiah 22:22 and the Greek Old Testament. The Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures) paraphrases Isaiah 22:22 and leaves out the key image. Matthew's allusion therefore reflects the Hebrew wording, or a tradition close to it, as Revelation 3:7 clearly does. The Aramaic Targum (an interpretive paraphrase) of Isaiah reportedly renders the verse as giving the 'key of the sanctuary and the authority of the house of David', which links the key with Temple and governing authority. This is cited from secondary literature, not checked here.
Vulgate. Jerome's Latin reads quodcumque ligaveris super terram erit ligatum et in caelis: 'will be bound also in heaven'. The Greek does not have 'also', but it is a fair paraphrase of the earth/heaven correspondence. The Latin ligare/solvere fed directly into later Western teaching on the 'power of the keys' and penance.
Syriac Peshitta. It uses ʾsar / šrāʾ, the ordinary Aramaic pair for forbid/permit. This shows that early Aramaic-speaking Christians heard the verse in that legal register.
Parallels. Matthew 18:18 repeats the binding and loosing saying almost word for word, but with plural 'you', addressed to the disciples in the context of church discipline. John 20:23 (forgiving and retaining sins) is a related but separate tradition. Mark 8:27–30 and Luke 9:18–21 report Peter's confession but do not include verses 17–19.
Supplied data. Gloss 24 renders the second ean as 'maybe'. In this construction it works exactly like the first one ('whatever'), not as 'perhaps'.

Many later (Byzantine) manuscripts, followed by the KJV, begin the verse with 'And' (καί); the earliest manuscripts lack it, and the meaning is the same either way.
Some manuscripts use κλεῖς, an alternative accusative plural form for 'keys' (the form found in Revelation 1:18), in place of κλεῖδας; the meaning is identical.

Where scholars differ

What exactly does 'binding and loosing' refer to?

Legal rulings: declaring what is forbidden or permitted for the community (teaching authority).

The Hebrew/Aramaic forbid/permit pair is standard in the Mishnah. The neuter 'whatever' fits matters better than persons. It sits next to the 'keys' of teaching (Matt 23:13; Luke 11:52). The Peshitta uses the forbid/permit verbs. Matthew is concerned throughout with interpreting the Law (5:17–48).
Discipline and forgiveness: admitting people, excluding them, and restoring them, including declaring sins forgiven or retained.

Matthew 18:15–18 places the same saying in a discipline procedure. John 20:23 is a parallel about forgiving and retaining sins. Rabbinic use of 'bind' covers the synagogue ban. Josephus's 'loose and bind' covers decisions about people. Early church interpretation took this line widely.
Binding spiritual powers (exorcism, defeating Satan).

'Bind' is used of demons in Matt 12:29, Tobit 8:3 and 1 Enoch 10:4, and the 'gates of Hades' appear in v. 18. Most commentators judge this a minor or secondary note at most here, because of the neuter 'whatever' and the forbid/permit pairing.
A combination of the first two.

Many major commentators (for example Davies & Allison, Keener, France) hold that teaching authority and community discipline overlapped in Jewish practice and cannot be cleanly separated.

Does heaven ratify Peter's decisions, or do his decisions carry out what heaven has already settled?

Earth follows heaven: 'will have been bound'. Peter declares what God has already determined.

Takes the future perfect form seriously (Mantey, 1939; NASB, WEB). It fits Matthew's emphasis that human authority is answerable to God's will (6:10; 7:21).
Heaven ratifies earth: 'will be bound'. God backs Peter's authorised decisions.

Cadbury and many grammarians hold that in Koine this construction stresses a resulting state, not the order of events. Most translations take this line. Rabbinic texts also speak of the heavenly court agreeing with the decisions of the earthly court.
The grammar cannot decide it; the point is that earthly and heavenly decisions correspond.

The perfect participles stress permanence and validity. The question of priority is a later theological question that the construction does not clearly settle.

Is this authority unique to Peter, shared, or passed on?

Peter personally receives a unique office that continues in his successors (Roman Catholic teaching on the papacy).

Singular 'you' (contrast 18:18). Isaiah 22's steward was an office that passed from one holder to another, with robe and sash handed on. The keys are given only to Peter. The verse is read together with John 21:15–17 and Peter's leadership in Acts.
Peter receives a unique foundational role, historically fulfilled by Peter himself, with no succession implied (common in modern Protestant and some critical scholarship, e.g. Cullmann, France, Carson).

Peter opens the way into the community to Jews (Acts 2), Samaritans (Acts 8) and Gentiles (Acts 10), and speaks decisively at the Jerusalem council (Acts 15). The text itself says nothing about successors.
Peter stands for the apostles, or for every believer who makes his confession (a view going back to Origen, common in Eastern Orthodox and Reformation readings).

The same authority is given to all the disciples in 18:18 and John 20:23. Peter often speaks for the Twelve in Matthew. The authority is closely tied to his confession of Jesus as Messiah in v. 16.

Sources

BDAG s.v. κλείς, δέω, λύω, βασιλεία
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon s.v. δέω, λύω
Isaiah 22:15–25 (Hebrew text and LXX); Revelation 3:7
Josephus, Jewish War 1.111 (1.5.2)
Mishnah, passim: Beit Shammai osrin / Beit Hillel mattirin formula
2 Baruch 10:18; 3 Baruch 11:2; Tobit 8:3; 1 Enoch 10:4
W. D. Davies & D. C. Allison, Matthew (ICC), vol. 2, on 16:17–19
R. T. France, The Gospel of Matthew (NICNT), on 16:19
C. S. Keener, A Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew / IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, on 16:19
J. R. Mantey, 'The Mistranslation of the Perfect Tense in John 20:23, Mt 16:19, and Mt 18:18', JBL 58 (1939); H. J. Cadbury, reply in JBL 58 (1939)
O. Cullmann, Peter: Disciple, Apostle, Martyr
Strack–Billerbeck, Kommentar zum Neuen Testament aus Talmud und Midrasch, vol. 1, on Matt 16:19
Syriac Peshitta, Matthew 16:19; Latin Vulgate, Matthew 16:19

Original-language data: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (CC BY 4.0).

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