Luke 15-18

New American Standard Bible

The Lost Sheep

15 Now all the ^(A)tax collectors and ^[a]sinners were coming near ^[b]Jesus to listen to Him. ² And both the Pharisees and the scribes began to complain, saying, “This man receives sinners and ^(B)eats with them.”

³ And so He told them this parable, saying, ⁴ “^(C)What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the other ninety-nine in the ^[c]open pasture and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? ⁵ And when he has found it, he puts it on his shoulders, rejoicing. ⁶ And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost!’ ⁷ I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.

The Lost Coin

⁸ “Or what woman, if she has ten ^[d]silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? ⁹ And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found the coin which I had lost!’ ¹⁰ In the same way, I tell you, there is joy ^(D)in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

The Prodigal Son

¹¹ And He said, “A man had two sons. ¹² The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me ^(E)the share of the estate that ^[e]is coming to me.’ And so he divided his ^[f](F)wealth between them. ¹³ And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey to a distant country, and there he squandered his estate in ^[g]wild living. ¹⁴ Now when he had ^[h]spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began doing without. ¹⁵ So he went and ^[i]hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶ And he longed to have his fill of the carob pods that the pigs were eating, and no one was giving him anything. ¹⁷ But when he came to ^[j]his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired laborers have more than enough bread, but I am dying here ^[k]from hunger! ¹⁸ I will set out and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and ^[l]in your sight; ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired laborers.”’ ²⁰ So he set out and came to ^[m]his father. But when he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and ^[n](G)embraced him and kissed him. ²¹ And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and ^[o]in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ ²² But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out ^(H)the best robe and put it on him, and ^[p](I)put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet; ²³ and bring the fattened calf, slaughter it, and let’s eat and celebrate; ²⁴ for this son of mine was ^(J)dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.

²⁵ “Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶ And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things could be. ²⁷ And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.’ ²⁸ But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him. ²⁹ But he answered and said to his father, ‘Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never ^[q]neglected a command of yours; and yet you never gave me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends; ³⁰ but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your ^[r](K)wealth with prostitutes, you slaughtered the fattened calf for him.’ ³¹ And he said to him, ‘Son, you ^[s]have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours. ³² But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was ^(L)dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.’”

The Unrighteous Manager

16 Now He was also saying to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and this manager was ^[t]reported to him as ^(M)squandering his possessions. ² And he summoned him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an accounting of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ ³ And the manager said to himself, ‘What am I to do, since my ^[u]master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to ^[v]dig; I am ashamed to beg. ⁴ I know what I will do, so that when I am removed from the management people will welcome me into their homes.’ ⁵ And he summoned each one of his ^[w]master’s debtors, and he began saying to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ ⁶ And he said, ‘A hundred ^[x]jugs of oil.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ ⁷ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ And he said, ‘A hundred ^[y]kors of wheat.’ He *said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ ⁸ And his ^[z]master complimented the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of ^(N)this age are more shrewd in relation to their own ^[aa]kind than the ^(O)sons of light. ⁹ And I say to you, ^(P)make friends for yourselves by means of the ^[ab](Q)wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it ^[ac]is all gone, ^(R)they will receive you into the eternal dwellings.

¹⁰ “^(S)The one who is faithful in a very little thing is also faithful in much; and the one who is unrighteous in a very little thing is also unrighteous in much. ¹¹ Therefore if you have not ^[ad]been faithful in the use of unrighteous ^[ae](T)wealth, who will entrust the true wealth to you? ¹² And if you have not ^[af]been faithful in the use of that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? ^13 (U)No ^[ag]servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and ^[ah](V)wealth.”

¹⁴ Now the Pharisees, who were ^(W)lovers of money, were listening to all these things and ^(X)were ^[ai]ridiculing Him. ¹⁵ And He said to them, “You are the ones who ^(Y)justify yourselves in the sight of people, but ^(Z)God knows your hearts; because that which is highly esteemed among people is detestable in the sight of God.

¹⁶ “^(AA)The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John came; since that time ^(AB)the gospel of the kingdom of God ^[aj]has been preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it. ^17 (AC)But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one ^[ak]stroke of a letter of the Law to fail.

¹⁸ “^(AD)Everyone who ^[al]divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries one who is ^[am]divorced from a husband commits adultery.

The Rich Man and Lazarus

¹⁹ “Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, enjoying himself in splendor every day. ²⁰ And a poor man named Lazarus ^(AE)was laid at his gate, covered with sores, ²¹ and longing to be fed from the scraps which fell from the rich man’s table; not only that, the dogs also were coming and licking his sores. ²² Now it happened that the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to ^[an](AF)Abraham’s arms; and the rich man also died and was buried. ²³ And in ^(AG)Hades he raised his eyes, being in torment, and *saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his ^[ao]arms. ²⁴ And he cried out and said, ‘^(AH)Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus, so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in ^(AI)this flame.’ ²⁵ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that ^(AJ)during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. ²⁶ And ^[ap]besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set, so that those who want to go over from here to you will not be able, nor will any people cross over from there to us.’ ²⁷ And he said, ‘Then I request of you, father, that you send him to my father’s house— ²⁸ for I have five brothers—in order that he may ^(AK)warn them, so that they will not come to this place of torment as well.’ ²⁹ But Abraham *said, ‘They have ^[aq](AL)Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ ³⁰ But he said, ‘No, ^(AM)father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ ³¹ But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”

Instructions

17 Now He said to His disciples, “^(AN)It is inevitable that ^[ar]stumbling blocks come, but woe to one through whom they come! ^2 (AO)It is better for him if a millstone is hung around his neck and he ^[as]is thrown into the sea, than that he may cause one of these little ones to ^[at]sin. ^3 [au]Be on your guard! ^(AP)If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. ⁴ And if he sins against you ^(AQ)seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”

^5 (AR)The apostles said to ^(AS)the Lord, “Increase our faith!” ⁶ But ^(AT)the Lord said, “If you ^[av]had faith ^[aw]the size of ^(AU)a mustard seed, you could say to this ^(AV)mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea’; and it would ^[ax]obey you.

⁷ “Now which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him after he comes in from the field, ‘Come immediately and recline at the table to eat’? ⁸ On the contrary, will he not say to him, ‘^(AW)Prepare something for me to eat, and properly ^[ay]clothe yourself and serve me while I eat and drink; and ^[az]afterward you ^[ba]may eat and drink’? ⁹ He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he? ¹⁰ So you too, when you do all the things which were commanded you, say, ‘We are ^[bb]unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.’”

Ten Men with Leprosy Healed

¹¹ While He was ^(AX)on the way to Jerusalem, ^(AY)He was passing ^[bc]between Samaria and Galilee. ¹² And as He entered a village, ten men with leprosy who ^(AZ)stood at a distance met Him; ¹³ and they raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, ^(BA)Master, have mercy on us!” ¹⁴ When He saw them, He said to them, “^(BB)Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they were going, they were cleansed. ¹⁵ Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, ^(BC)glorifying God with a loud voice, ¹⁶ and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a ^(BD)Samaritan. ¹⁷ But Jesus responded and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine—where are they? ^18 [bd]Was no one found who returned to ^(BE)give glory to God, except this foreigner?” ¹⁹ And He said to him, “Stand up and go; ^(BF)your faith has ^[be]made you well.”

Second Coming Foretold

²⁰ Now He was questioned by the Pharisees ^(BG)as to when the kingdom of God was coming, and He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with ^[bf](BH)signs that can be observed; ²¹ nor will ^(BI)they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is ^[bg]in your midst.”

²² And He said to the disciples, “^(BJ)The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. ^23 (BK)And they will say to you, ‘Look there,’ or, ‘Look here!’ Do not leave, and do not run after them. ^24 (BL)For just like the lightning, when it flashes out of one part ^[bh]of the sky, shines to the other part ^[bi]of the sky, so will the Son of Man be in His day. ^25 (BM)But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. ^26 (BN)And just as it happened ^(BO)in the days of Noah, so will it also be in the days of the Son of Man: ²⁷ people were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, and they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. ^28 [bj]It was the same as happened in ^(BP)the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, and they were building; ²⁹ but on the day that Lot left Sodom, it rained fire and ^[bk]brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. ³⁰ It will be ^[bl]just the same on the day that the Son of Man ^(BQ)is revealed. ³¹ On that day, the one who will be ^(BR)on the ^[bm]housetop, ^[bn]with his goods in the house, must not go down to take them out; and likewise the one in the field must not turn back. ^32 (BS)Remember Lot’s wife. ^33 (BT)Whoever strives to ^[bo]save his ^[bp]life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will keep it. ³⁴ I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other will be left. ^35 (BU)There will be two women grinding at the same place; one will be taken and the other will be left. ³⁶ [^[bq](BV)Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other will be left.”] ³⁷ And responding, they *said to Him, “Where, Lord?” And He said to them, “^(BW)Where the body is, there also the ^[br]vultures will be gathered.”

Parables on Prayer

18 Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ^(BX)ought to pray and not ^(BY)become discouraged, ² saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not ^(BZ)respect any person. ³ Now there was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me justice against my ^[bs]opponent.’ ⁴ For a while he was unwilling; but later he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor ^(CA)respect any person, ⁵ yet ^(CB)because this widow is bothering me, I will give her justice; otherwise ^[bt]by continually coming she will ^(CC)wear me out.’” ⁶ And ^(CD)the Lord said, “Listen to what the unrighteous judge *said; ⁷ now, will God not ^(CE)bring about justice for His ^(CF)elect who cry out to Him day ^[bu]and night, and will He ^(CG)delay long for them? ⁸ I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, ^(CH)will He find ^[bv]faith on the earth?”

The Pharisee and the Tax Collector

⁹ Now He also told this parable to some people who ^(CI)trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and ^(CJ)viewed others with contempt: ¹⁰ “Two men ^(CK)went up into the ^[bw]temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee ^(CL)stood and began praying this in regard to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, crooked, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ¹² I ^(CM)fast twice a week; I ^(CN)pay tithes of all that I get.’ ¹³ But the tax collector, ^(CO)standing some distance away, ^(CP)was even unwilling to raise his eyes toward heaven, but ^(CQ)was beating his chest, saying, ‘God, be ^[bx]merciful to me, the sinner!’ ¹⁴ I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other one; ^(CR)for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

^15 (CS)Now they were bringing even their babies to Him so that He would touch them; but when the disciples saw it, they began rebuking them. ¹⁶ But Jesus called for ^[by]the little ones, saying, “Allow the children to come to Me, and do not ^[bz]forbid them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁷ Truly I say to you, ^(CT)whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.”

The Rich Young Ruler

^18 (CU)A ruler questioned Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” ¹⁹ But Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me ^[ca]good? No one is ^[cb]good except God alone. ²⁰ You know the commandments, ‘^(CV)Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not give false testimony, Honor your father and mother.’” ²¹ And he said, “All these things I have kept since my youth.” ²² Now when Jesus heard this, He said to him, “One thing you still lack; ^(CW)sell all that you possess and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have ^(CX)treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” ²³ But when he had heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely wealthy. ²⁴ And Jesus looked at him and said, “^(CY)How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵ For ^(CZ)it is easier for a camel to ^[cc]go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God!” ²⁶ Those who heard Him said, “And so who can be saved?” ²⁷ But He said, “^(DA)The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.”

²⁸ Peter said, “Behold, ^(DB)we have left ^[cd]our own homes and followed You.” ²⁹ And He said to them, “Truly I say to you, ^(DC)there is no one who has left house, or wife, or brothers, or parents, or children for the sake of the kingdom of God, ³⁰ who will not receive many times as much at this time, and in ^(DD)the age to come, eternal life.”

^31 (DE)Now He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, ^(DF)we are going up to Jerusalem, and ^(DG)all the things that have been written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. ^32 (DH)For He will be ^[ce]handed over to the Gentiles, and will be ridiculed, and abused, and spit upon, ³³ and after they have flogged Him, they will kill Him; and on the third day He will rise.” ^34 [cf](DI)The disciples understood none of these things, and the meaning of this statement was hidden from them, and they did not comprehend the things that were said.

Bartimaeus Receives Sight

^35 (DJ)Now as ^[cg](DK)Jesus was approaching Jericho, a man who was blind was sitting by the road, begging. ³⁶ But when he heard a crowd going by, he began inquiring what this was. ³⁷ They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. ³⁸ And he called out, saying, “Jesus, ^(DL)Son of David, have mercy on me!” ³⁹ Those who led the way were sternly telling him to be quiet; but he kept crying out all the more, “^(DM)Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁰ And Jesus stopped and commanded that he be brought to Him; and when he came near, He asked him, ⁴¹ “What do you want Me to do for you?” And he said, “Lord, I want to regain my sight!” ⁴² And Jesus said to him, “Regain your sight; ^(DN)your faith has ^[ch]made you well.” ⁴³ And immediately he regained his sight and began following Him, ^(DO)glorifying God; and when ^(DP)all the people saw it, they gave praise to God.