Luke 17-18

English Standard Version

Temptations to Sin

17 And he said to his disciples, ^(A)“Temptations to sin^[a] are ^(B)sure to come, but ^(C)woe to the one through whom they come! ^2 (D)It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin.^{[b] 3} Pay attention to yourselves! ^(E)If your brother sins, ^(F)rebuke him, and if he repents, ^(G)forgive him, ⁴ and if he sins against you ^(H)seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

Increase Our Faith

^5 (I)The apostles said to the Lord, ^(J)“Increase our faith!” ⁶ And the Lord said, ^(K)“If you had faith like ^(L)a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this ^(M)mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

Unworthy Servants

⁷ “Will any one of you who has a servant^[c] plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? ⁸ Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and ^(N)dress properly,^[d] and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? ⁹ Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? ¹⁰ So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are ^(O)unworthy servants;^[e] we have only done what was our duty.’”

Jesus Cleanses Ten Lepers

^11 (P)On the way to Jerusalem ^(Q)he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. ¹² And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers,^{[f] (R)}who stood at a distance ¹³ and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” ¹⁴ When he saw them he said to them, “Go and ^(S)show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. ¹⁵ Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, ^(T)praising God with a loud voice; ¹⁶ and ^(U)he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was ^(V)a Samaritan. ¹⁷ Then Jesus answered, “Were not ^(W)ten cleansed? Where are the nine? ¹⁸ Was no one found to return and ^(X)give praise to God except this ^(Y)foreigner?” ¹⁹ And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; ^(Z)your faith has ^(AA)made you well.”^[g]

The Coming of the Kingdom

²⁰ Being asked by the Pharisees ^(AB)when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God ^(AC)is not coming in ways that can be observed, ²¹ nor ^(AD)will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”^[h]

²² And he said to the disciples, ^(AE)“The days are coming when you will desire ^(AF)to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. ^23 (AG)And they will say to you, ‘Look, there!’ or ‘Look, here!’ Do not go out or follow them. ^24 (AH)For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be ^(AI)in his day.^{[i] 25} But first ^(AJ)he must suffer many things and ^(AK)be rejected by this generation. ^26 (AL)Just as it was in the days of ^(AM)Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. ^27 (AN)They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. ²⁸ Likewise, just as it was in the days of ^(AO)Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, ^29 (AP)but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all— ³⁰ so will it be ^(AQ)on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. ³¹ On that day, ^(AR)let the one who is on ^(AS)the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back. ^32 (AT)Remember Lot's wife. ^33 (AU)Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will ^(AV)keep it. ³⁴ I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left. ^35 (AW)There will be two women ^(AX)grinding together. One will be taken and the other left.”^{[j] 37} And they said to him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, ^(AY)“Where the corpse^[k] is, there the vultures^[l] will gather.”

The Parable of the Persistent Widow

18 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought ^(AZ)always to pray and not ^(BA)lose heart. ² He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who ^(BB)neither feared God nor respected man. ³ And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ ⁴ For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ^(BC)‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, ⁵ yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” ⁶ And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. ⁷ And ^(BD)will not God give justice to ^(BE)his elect, ^(BF)who cry to him day and night? ^(BG)(BH)Will he delay long over them? ⁸ I tell you, he will give justice to them ^(BI)speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, ^(BJ)will he find faith on earth?”

The Pharisee and the Tax Collector

⁹ He also told this parable to some ^(BK)who trusted ^(BL)in themselves that they were righteous, ^(BM)and treated others with contempt: ¹⁰ “Two men ^(BN)went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee, ^(BO)standing by himself, prayed^{[m] (BP)}thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ^12 (BQ)I fast twice a week; ^(BR)I give tithes of all that I get.’ ¹³ But the tax collector, ^(BS)standing far off, ^(BT)would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but ^(BU)beat his breast, saying, ‘God, ^(BV)be merciful to me, a sinner!’ ¹⁴ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For ^(BW)everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Let the Children Come to Me

^15 (BX)Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they ^(BY)rebuked them. ¹⁶ But Jesus called them to him, saying, ^(BZ)“Let the children come to me, and ^(CA)do not hinder them, ^(CB)for to such belongs the kingdom of God. ^17 (CC)Truly, I say to you, whoever does not ^(CD)receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”

The Rich Ruler

^18 (CE)And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to ^(CF)inherit eternal life?” ¹⁹ And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. ²⁰ You know the commandments: ^(CG)‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’” ²¹ And he said, ^(CH)“All these I have kept from my youth.” ²² When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. ^(CI)Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have ^(CJ)treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” ^23 (CK)But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. ²⁴ Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, ^(CL)“How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter ^(CM)the kingdom of God! ²⁵ For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter ^(CN)the kingdom of God.” ²⁶ Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” ²⁷ But he said, ^(CO)“What is impossible with man is possible with God.” ²⁸ And Peter said, “See, ^(CP)we have left our homes and followed you.” ²⁹ And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, ^(CQ)there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers^[n] or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, ³⁰ who will not receive ^(CR)many times more ^(CS)in this time, and in ^(CT)the age to come eternal life.”

Jesus Foretells His Death a Third Time

^31 (CU)And taking the twelve, he said to them, “See, ^(CV)we are going up to Jerusalem, and ^(CW)everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. ³² For he will be ^(CX)delivered over to the Gentiles and will be ^(CY)mocked and shamefully treated and ^(CZ)spit upon. ³³ And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on ^(DA)the third day he will rise.” ^34 (DB)But they understood none of these things. ^(DC)This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.

Jesus Heals a Blind Beggar

^35 (DD)As he drew near to Jericho, ^(DE)a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. ³⁶ And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. ³⁷ They told him, ^(DF)“Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” ³⁸ And he cried out, “Jesus, ^(DG)Son of David, have mercy on me!” ³⁹ And those who were in front ^(DH)rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁰ And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, ^41 (DI)“What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” ⁴² And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; ^(DJ)your faith has ^(DK)made you well.” ⁴³ And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, ^(DL)glorifying God. And ^(DM)all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.