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.