The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

⁹ He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: ¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’^(A)

¹⁴ You have said, “It is vain to serve God. What do we profit by keeping his command or by going about as mourners before the Lord of hosts?^(A)

²⁹ “This shall be a statute to you forever: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall humble yourselves^[a] and shall do no work, neither the native-born nor the alien who resides among you.^(A)

¹¹ And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, ¹² saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’^(A)

⁶ When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.^{(A) 7} Then he had a proclamation made in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: No human or animal, no herd or flock, shall taste anything. They shall not feed, nor shall they drink water.^{(B) 8} Humans and animals shall be covered with sackcloth, and they shall cry mightily to God. All shall turn from their evil ways and from the violence that is in their hands.^(C)

⁷ After thinking it over, I contended with the nobles and the officials; I said to them, “You are all taking interest from your own people.” And I called a great assembly to deal with them^(A)

²⁹ But he answered his father, ‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command, yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends.