Luke 17
English Standard Version Anglicised
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 round 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] ploughing 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 afterwards 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 with signs to 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 sulphur 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.”
Footnotes
- Luke 17:1 Greek Stumbling blocks
- Luke 17:2 Greek stumble
- Luke 17:7 Greek bondservant; also verse 9
- Luke 17:8 Greek gird yourself
- Luke 17:10 Greek bondservants
- Luke 17:12 Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13
- Luke 17:19 Or has saved you
- Luke 17:21 Or within you, or within your grasp
- Luke 17:24 Some manuscripts omit in his day
- Luke 17:35 Some manuscripts add verse 36: Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left
- Luke 17:37 Greek body
- Luke 17:37 Or eagles
Luke 17
New Living Translation
Teachings about Forgiveness and Faith
17 One day Jesus said to his disciples, “There will always be temptations to sin, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting! 2 It would be better to be thrown into the sea with a millstone hung around your neck than to cause one of these little ones to fall into sin. 3 So watch yourselves!
“If another believer[a] sins, rebuke that person; then if there is repentance, forgive. 4 Even if that person wrongs you seven times a day and each time turns again and asks forgiveness, you must forgive.”
5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Show us how to increase our faith.”
6 The Lord answered, “If you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘May you be uprooted and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you!
7 “When a servant comes in from plowing or taking care of sheep, does his master say, ‘Come in and eat with me’? 8 No, he says, ‘Prepare my meal, put on your apron, and serve me while I eat. Then you can eat later.’ 9 And does the master thank the servant for doing what he was told to do? Of course not. 10 In the same way, when you obey me you should say, ‘We are unworthy servants who have simply done our duty.’”
Ten Healed of Leprosy
11 As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border between Galilee and Samaria. 12 As he entered a village there, ten men with leprosy stood at a distance, 13 crying out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
14 He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.”[b] And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy.
15 One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!” 16 He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan.
17 Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” 19 And Jesus said to the man, “Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you.[c]”
The Coming of the Kingdom
20 One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will the Kingdom of God come?”
Jesus replied, “The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs.[d] 21 You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is already among you.[e]”
22 Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see the day when the Son of Man returns,[f] but you won’t see it. 23 People will tell you, ‘Look, there is the Son of Man,’ or ‘Here he is,’ but don’t go out and follow them. 24 For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other, so it will be on the day[g] when the Son of Man comes. 25 But first the Son of Man must suffer terribly[h] and be rejected by this generation.
26 “When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. 27 In those days, the people enjoyed banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat and the flood came and destroyed them all.
28 “And the world will be as it was in the days of Lot. People went about their daily business—eating and drinking, buying and selling, farming and building— 29 until the morning Lot left Sodom. Then fire and burning sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 Yes, it will be ‘business as usual’ right up to the day when the Son of Man is revealed. 31 On that day a person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house to pack. A person out in the field must not return home. 32 Remember what happened to Lot’s wife! 33 If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it. 34 That night two people will be asleep in one bed; one will be taken, the other left. 35 Two women will be grinding flour together at the mill; one will be taken, the other left.[i]”
37 “Where will this happen, Lord?”[j] the disciples asked.
Jesus replied, “Just as the gathering of vultures shows there is a carcass nearby, so these signs indicate that the end is near.”[k]
Footnotes
- 17:3 Greek If your brother.
- 17:14 See Lev 14:2-32.
- 17:19 Or Your faith has saved you.
- 17:20 Or by your speculations.
- 17:21 Or is within you, or is in your grasp.
- 17:22 Or long for even one day with the Son of Man. “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.
- 17:24 Some manuscripts do not include on the day.
- 17:25 Or suffer many things.
- 17:35 Some manuscripts add verse 36, Two men will be working in the field; one will be taken, the other left. Compare Matt 24:40.
- 17:37a Greek “Where, Lord?”
- 17:37b Greek “Wherever the carcass is, the vultures gather.”
Luke 17
The Message
A Kernel of Faith
17 1-2 He said to his disciples, “Hard trials and temptations are bound to come, but too bad for whoever brings them on! Better to wear a concrete vest and take a swim with the fishes than give even one of these dear little ones a hard time!
3-4 “Be alert. If you see your friend going wrong, correct him. If he responds, forgive him. Even if it’s personal against you and repeated seven times through the day, and seven times he says, ‘I’m sorry, I won’t do it again,’ forgive him.”
5 The apostles came up and said to the Master, “Give us more faith.”
6 But the Master said, “You don’t need more faith. There is no ‘more’ or ‘less’ in faith. If you have a bare kernel of faith, say the size of a poppy seed, you could say to this sycamore tree, ‘Go jump in the lake,’ and it would do it.
7-10 “Suppose one of you has a servant who comes in from plowing the field or tending the sheep. Would you take his coat, set the table, and say, ‘Sit down and eat’? Wouldn’t you be more likely to say, ‘Prepare dinner; change your clothes and wait table for me until I’ve finished my coffee; then go to the kitchen and have your supper’? Does the servant get special thanks for doing what’s expected of him? It’s the same with you. When you’ve done everything expected of you, be matter-of-fact and say, ‘The work is done. What we were told to do, we did.’”
11-13 It happened that as he made his way toward Jerusalem, he crossed over the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten men, all lepers, met him. They kept their distance but raised their voices, calling out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
14-16 Taking a good look at them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.”
They went, and while still on their way, became clean. One of them, when he realized that he was healed, turned around and came back, shouting his gratitude, glorifying God. He kneeled at Jesus’ feet, so grateful. He couldn’t thank him enough—and he was a Samaritan.
17-19 Jesus said, “Were not ten healed? Where are the nine? Can none be found to come back and give glory to God except this outsider?” Then he said to him, “Get up. On your way. Your faith has healed and saved you.”
When the Son of Man Arrives
20-21 Jesus, grilled by the Pharisees on when the kingdom of God would come, answered, “The kingdom of God doesn’t come by counting the days on the calendar. Nor when someone says, ‘Look here!’ or, ‘There it is!’ And why? Because God’s kingdom is already among you.”
22-24 He went on to say to his disciples, “The days are coming when you are going to be desperately homesick for just a glimpse of one of the days of the Son of Man, and you won’t see a thing. And they’ll say to you, ‘Look over there!’ or, ‘Look here!’ Don’t fall for any of that nonsense. The arrival of the Son of Man is not something you go out to see. He simply comes.
24-25 “You know how the whole sky lights up from a single flash of lightning? That’s how it will be on the Day of the Son of Man. But first it’s necessary that he suffer many things and be turned down by the people of today.
26-27 “The time of the Son of Man will be just like the time of Noah—everyone carrying on as usual, having a good time right up to the day Noah boarded the ship. They suspected nothing until the flood hit and swept everything away.
28-30 “It was the same in the time of Lot—the people carrying on, having a good time, business as usual right up to the day Lot walked out of Sodom and a firestorm swept down and burned everything to a crisp. That’s how it will be—sudden, total—when the Son of Man is revealed.
31-33 “When the Day arrives and you’re out working in the yard, don’t run into the house to get anything. And if you’re out in the field, don’t go back and get your coat. Remember what happened to Lot’s wife! If you grasp and cling to life on your terms, you’ll lose it, but if you let that life go, you’ll get life on God’s terms.
34-35 “On that Day, two men will be in the same boat fishing—one taken, the other left. Two women will be working in the same kitchen—one taken, the other left.”
37 Trying to take all this in, the disciples said, “Master, where?”
He told them, “Watch for the circling of the vultures. They’ll spot the corpse first. The action will begin around my dead body.”
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson