Luke 18:9-19:48

New American Bible (Revised Edition)

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. ⁹ He then addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else.^{(A) 10} “Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity—greedy, dishonest, adulterous—or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’^{(B) 13} But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’^{(C) 14} I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”^(D)

Saying on Children and the Kingdom. ^15 [a]People were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them,^[b] and when the disciples saw this, they rebuked them.^{(E) 16} Jesus, however, called the children to himself and said, “Let the children come to me and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁷ Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.”^(F)

The Rich Official. ^18 (G)An official asked him this question, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”^{(H) 19} Jesus answered him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. ²⁰ You know the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery; you shall not kill; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother.’”^{(I) 21} And he replied, “All of these I have observed from my youth.” ^22 [c](J)When Jesus heard this he said to him, “There is still one thing left for you: sell all that you have and distribute it to the poor, and you will have a treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” ²³ But when he heard this he became quite sad, for he was very rich.

On Riches and Renunciation. ²⁴ Jesus looked at him [now sad] and said, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵ For it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” ²⁶ Those who heard this said, “Then who can be saved?” ²⁷ And he said, “What is impossible for human beings is possible for God.”^{(K) 28} Then Peter said, “We have given up our possessions and followed you.” ^29 (L)He said to them, “Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God ³⁰ who will not receive [back] an overabundant return in this present age and eternal life in the age to come.”

The Third Prediction of the Passion.^{(M) 31 [d]}Then he took the Twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem and everything written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled.^{[e] 32 (N)}He will be handed over to the Gentiles and he will be mocked and insulted and spat upon; ³³ and after they have scourged him they will kill him, but on the third day he will rise.” ³⁴ But they understood nothing of this; the word remained hidden from them and they failed to comprehend what he said.^(O)

The Healing of the Blind Beggar.^{(P) 35} Now as he approached Jericho a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging, ³⁶ and hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what was happening. ³⁷ They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” ^38 (Q)He shouted, “Jesus, Son of David,^[f] have pity on me!” ³⁹ The people walking in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent, but he kept calling out all the more, “Son of David, have pity on me!” ⁴⁰ Then Jesus stopped and ordered that he be brought to him; and when he came near, Jesus asked him, ⁴¹ “What do you want me to do for you?” He replied, “Lord, please let me see.”^{(R) 42} Jesus told him, “Have sight; your faith has saved you.”^{(S) 43} He immediately received his sight and followed him, giving glory to God. When they saw this, all the people gave praise to God.

Chapter 19

Zacchaeus the Tax Collector.^{[g] 1} He came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. ² Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, ³ was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature. ⁴ So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. ⁵ When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.” ⁶ And he came down quickly and received him with joy. ⁷ When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.”^{(T) 8} But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over.”^{(U) 9 [h]}And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation^(V) has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham. ^10 [i](W)For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.”

The Parable of the Ten Gold Coins.^{[j] 11 (X)}While they were listening to him speak, he proceeded to tell a parable because he was near Jerusalem and they thought that the kingdom of God would appear there immediately. ¹² So he said, “A nobleman went off to a distant country to obtain the kingship for himself and then to return.^{(Y) 13} He called ten of his servants and gave them ten gold coins^[k] and told them, ‘Engage in trade with these until I return.’ ¹⁴ His fellow citizens, however, despised him and sent a delegation after him to announce, ‘We do not want this man to be our king.’ ¹⁵ But when he returned after obtaining the kingship, he had the servants called, to whom he had given the money, to learn what they had gained by trading. ¹⁶ The first came forward and said, ‘Sir, your gold coin has earned ten additional ones.’ ¹⁷ He replied, ‘Well done, good servant! You have been faithful in this very small matter; take charge of ten cities.’^{(Z) 18} Then the second came and reported, ‘Your gold coin, sir, has earned five more.’ ¹⁹ And to this servant too he said, ‘You, take charge of five cities.’ ²⁰ Then the other servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your gold coin; I kept it stored away in a handkerchief, ²¹ for I was afraid of you, because you are a demanding person; you take up what you did not lay down and you harvest what you did not plant.’ ²² He said to him, ‘With your own words I shall condemn you, you wicked servant. You knew I was a demanding person, taking up what I did not lay down and harvesting what I did not plant; ²³ why did you not put my money in a bank? Then on my return I would have collected it with interest.’ ²⁴ And to those standing by he said, ‘Take the gold coin from him and give it to the servant who has ten.’ ²⁵ But they said to him, ‘Sir, he has ten gold coins.’ ²⁶ ‘I tell you, to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.^{(AA) 27} Now as for those enemies of mine who did not want me as their king, bring them here and slay them before me.’”

VI. The Teaching Ministry in Jerusalem^[l]

The Entry into Jerusalem.^{(AB) 28} After he had said this, he proceeded on his journey up to Jerusalem. ²⁹ As he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples.^{(AC) 30} He said, “Go into the village opposite you, and as you enter it you will find a colt tethered on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here.^{(AD) 31} And if anyone should ask you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you will answer, ‘The Master has need of it.’” ³² So those who had been sent went off and found everything just as he had told them.^{(AE) 33} And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying this colt?” ³⁴ They answered, “The Master has need of it.” ^35 (AF)So they brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks over the colt, and helped Jesus to mount. ³⁶ As he rode along, the people were spreading their cloaks on the road; ³⁷ and now as he was approaching the slope of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of his disciples began to praise God aloud with joy for all the mighty deeds they had seen. ³⁸ They proclaimed:

³⁹ Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.”^{[n] 40} He said in reply, “I tell you, if they keep silent, the stones will cry out!”

The Lament for Jerusalem.^{[o] 41 (AH)}As he drew near, he saw the city and wept over it,^{(AI) 42} saying, “If this day you only knew what makes for peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.^{(AJ) 43 [p]}For the days are coming upon you when your enemies will raise a palisade against you; they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides.^{(AK) 44} They will smash you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another within you because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”^(AL)

The Cleansing of the Temple. ^45 (AM)Then Jesus entered the temple area^[q] and proceeded to drive out those who were selling things,^{(AN) 46} saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.’”^{(AO) 47} And every day he was teaching in the temple area.^(AP) The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people, meanwhile, were seeking to put him to death,^{(AQ) 48} but they could find no way to accomplish their purpose because all the people were hanging on his words.