Luke 18
Legacy Standard Bible
Parables on Prayer
18 Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they (A)ought to pray and not to (B)lose heart, 2 saying, “In a certain city there was a certain judge who did not fear God and did not (C)respect man. 3 Now there was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me justice from my opponent.’ 4 And for a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor (D)respect man, 5 yet (E)because this widow is bothering me, I will give her justice, lest by continually coming she [a](F)wears me out.’” 6 And (G)the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge *said. 7 Now, will God not (H)bring about justice for His (I)elect who cry to Him day and night, [b]and will He (J)delay long over them? 8 I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, (K)will He find that faith on the earth?”
9 And He also told this parable to some people who (L)trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and (M)viewed others with contempt: 10 “Two men (N)went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee (O)stood and was praying these things to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I (P)fast twice a week; I (Q)pay tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, (R)standing some distance away, (S)was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but (T)was [c]beating his chest, saying, ‘God, be [d]merciful to me, the sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other, (U)for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
15 (V)And they were bringing even their babies to Him so that He would touch them, but when the disciples saw it, they were rebuking them. 16 But Jesus called for them, saying, “Permit the children to come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 17 Truly I say to you, (W)whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”
The Rich Young Ruler
18 (X)And a ruler questioned Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to 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, ‘(Y)Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’” 21 And he said, “All these things I have kept from my youth.” 22 And when Jesus heard this, He said to him, “One thing you still lack: (Z)sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have (AA)treasure in heaven. And come, follow Me.” 23 But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. 24 And Jesus looked at him and said, “(AB)How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God! 25 For (AC)it is easier for a camel to [e]go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 And those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” 27 But He said, “(AD)The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.”
28 And Peter said, “Behold, (AE)we have left all that is our own and followed You.” 29 And He said to them, “Truly I say to you, (AF)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 more at this time and in (AG)the age to come, eternal life.”
31 (AH)But when He took the twelve aside, He said to them, “Behold, (AI)we are going up to Jerusalem, and (AJ)all things which are written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be [f]completed. 32 (AK)For He will be [g]delivered over to the Gentiles, and will be mocked and mistreated and spit upon, 33 and after they have flogged Him, they will kill Him, and the third day He will rise again.” 34 But (AL)the disciples understood none of these things, and this statement was hidden from them, and they did not comprehend the things that were said.
Bartimaeus Regains His Sight
35 (AM)Now it happened that as [h](AN)Jesus was approaching Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road begging. 36 Now hearing a crowd going by, he began to inquire what this was. 37 They reported to him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” 38 And he called out, saying, “Jesus, (AO)Son of David, have mercy on me!” 39 And those who went ahead were rebuking him so that he would be quiet, but he kept crying out all the more, “(AP)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 questioned 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, “[i]Receive your sight; (AQ)your faith has [j]saved you.” 43 Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him, (AR)glorifying God. And when (AS)all the people saw it, they gave praise to God.
Footnotes
- Luke 18:5 Lit hit me under the eye
- Luke 18:7 Or and yet He is very patient toward them
- Luke 18:13 A traditional sign of mourning or contrition
- Luke 18:13 Or propitious
- Luke 18:25 Lit enter
- Luke 18:31 Or finished, cf. 12:50
- Luke 18:32 Or betrayed
- Luke 18:35 Lit He
- Luke 18:42 Lit Regain
- Luke 18:42 Or made you well
Luke 18
Living Bible
18 One day Jesus told his disciples a story to illustrate their need for constant prayer and to show them that they must keep praying until the answer comes.
2 “There was a city judge,” he said, “a very godless man who had great contempt for everyone. 3 A widow of that city came to him frequently to appeal for justice against a man who had harmed her. 4-5 The judge ignored her for a while, but eventually she got on his nerves.
“‘I fear neither God nor man,’ he said to himself, ‘but this woman bothers me. I’m going to see that she gets justice, for she is wearing me out with her constant coming!’”
6 Then the Lord said, “If even an evil judge can be worn down like that, 7 don’t you think that God will surely give justice to his people who plead with him day and night? 8 Yes! He will answer them quickly! But the question is: When I, the Messiah,[a] return, how many will I find who have faith and are praying?”
9 Then he told this story to some who boasted of their virtue and scorned everyone else:
10 “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a proud, self-righteous Pharisee, and the other a cheating tax collector. 11 The proud Pharisee ‘prayed’ this prayer: ‘Thank God, I am not a sinner like everyone else, especially like that tax collector over there! For I never cheat, I don’t commit adultery, 12 I go without food twice a week, and I give to God a tenth of everything I earn.’
13 “But the corrupt tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed, but beat upon his chest in sorrow, exclaiming, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner.’ 14 I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home forgiven! For the proud shall be humbled, but the humble shall be honored.”
15 One day some mothers brought their babies to him to touch and bless. But the disciples told them to go away.
16-17 Then Jesus called the children over to him and said to the disciples, “Let the little children come to me! Never send them away! For the Kingdom of God belongs to men who have hearts as trusting as these little children’s. And anyone who doesn’t have their kind of faith will never get within the Kingdom’s gates.”
18 Once a Jewish religious leader asked him this question: “Good sir, what shall I do to get to heaven?”
19 “Do you realize what you are saying when you call me ‘good’?” Jesus asked him. “Only God is truly good, and no one else.
20 “But as to your question, you know what the Ten Commandments say—don’t commit adultery, don’t murder, don’t steal, don’t lie, honor your parents, and so on.” 21 The man replied, “I’ve obeyed every one of these laws since I was a small child.”
22 “There is still one thing you lack,” Jesus said. “Sell all you have and give the money to the poor—it will become treasure for you in heaven—and come, follow me.”
23 But when the man heard this he went sadly away, for he was very rich.
24 Jesus watched him go and then said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.”
26 Those who heard him say this exclaimed, “If it is that hard, how can anyone be saved?”
27 He replied, “God can do what men can’t!”
28 And Peter said, “We have left our homes and followed you.”
29 “Yes,” Jesus replied, “and everyone who has done as you have, leaving home, wife, brothers, parents, or children for the sake of the Kingdom of God, 30 will be repaid many times over now, as well as receiving eternal life in the world to come.”
31 Gathering the Twelve around him he told them, “As you know, we are going to Jerusalem. And when we get there, all the predictions of the ancient prophets concerning me will come true. 32 I will be handed over to the Gentiles to be mocked and treated shamefully and spat upon, 33 and lashed and killed. And the third day I will rise again.”
34 But they didn’t understand a thing he said. He seemed to be talking in riddles.
35 As they approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting beside the road, begging from travelers. 36 When he heard the noise of a crowd going past, he asked what was happening. 37 He was told that Jesus from Nazareth was going by, 38 so he began shouting, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
39 The crowds ahead of Jesus tried to hush the man, but he only yelled the louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
40 When Jesus arrived at the spot, he stopped. “Bring the blind man over here,” he said. 41 Then Jesus asked the man, “What do you want?”
“Lord,” he pleaded, “I want to see!”
42 And Jesus said, “All right, begin seeing! Your faith has healed you.”
43 And instantly the man could see and followed Jesus, praising God. And all who saw it happen praised God too.
Footnotes
- Luke 18:8 the Messiah, literally, “the Son of Man.” and are praying, implied.
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