Luke 17
Modern English Version
Some Sayings of Jesus(A)
17 Then He said to the disciples, “It is impossible except that offenses will come. But woe to him through whom they come! 2 It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he was thrown into the sea, than to offend one of these little ones. 3 Take heed to yourselves.
“If your brother sins against you, rebuke him. And if he repents, forgive him. 4 If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”
5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”
6 The Lord said, “If you had faith as a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.
7 “Which of you, having a servant plowing or herding sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come now and sit down for dinner’? 8 Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare my supper, and dress yourself and serve me until I eat and drink. And afterward you will eat and drink’? 9 Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? I think not. 10 So you also, when you have done everything commanded you, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done our duty.’ ”
The Cleansing of Ten Lepers
11 As Jesus went to Jerusalem, He passed between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As He entered a village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood at a distance. 13 They lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
14 When He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.
15 One of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned with a loud voice glorifying God, 16 and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.
17 Jesus said, “Were not the ten cleansed? Where are the nine? 18 Were there not any found to return and give glory to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then He said to him, “Rise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.”
The Coming of the Kingdom(B)
20 When He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation. 21 Nor will they say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ For remember, the kingdom of God is within you.”
22 Then He said to the disciples, “The days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. 23 They will say to you, ‘Look here,’ or ‘Look there!’ Do not follow after them. 24 For as the lightning flashes and lights up the heavens from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in His day. 25 But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.
26 “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 They were eating, drinking, marrying, and were given in marriage until the day when Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.
28 “Likewise as it was in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built. 29 But on the day that Lot departed from Sodom, fire and brimstone rained from heaven and destroyed them all.
30 “So will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. 31 On that day let him who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away. And likewise let him who is in the field not return to the things behind. 32 Remember Lot’s wife. 33 Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. 34 I tell you, on that night two men will be in one bed; the one will be taken and the other will be left. 35 Two women will be grinding grain together; the one will be taken and the other will be left. 36 Two men will be in the field; the one will be taken and the other will be left.”
37 They asked, “Where, Lord?”
He replied, “Where the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together.”
Luke 17
Easy-to-Read Version
Sin and Forgiveness(A)
17 Jesus said to his followers, “Things will surely happen that will make people sin. But it will be very bad for anyone who makes this happen. 2 It will be very bad for anyone who makes one of these little children sin. It would be better for them to have a millstone tied around their neck and be drowned in the sea. 3 So be careful!
“If your brother or sister in God’s family does something wrong, warn them. If they are sorry for what they did, forgive them. 4 Even if they do something wrong to you seven times in one day, but they say they are sorry each time, you should forgive them.”
How Big Is Your Faith?
5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Give us more faith!”
6 The Lord said, “If your faith is as big as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Dig yourself up and plant yourself in the ocean!’ And the tree will obey you.
Be Good Servants
7 “Suppose one of you has a servant who has been working in the field, plowing or caring for the sheep. When he comes in from work, what would you say to him? Would you say, ‘Come in, sit down and eat’? 8 Of course not! You would say to your servant, ‘Prepare something for me to eat. Then get ready and serve me. When I finish eating and drinking, then you can eat.’ 9 The servant should not get any special thanks for doing his job. He is only doing what his master told him to do. 10 It is the same with you. When you finish doing all that you are told to do, you should say, ‘We are not worthy of any special thanks. We have only done the work we should do.’”
Be Thankful
11 Jesus was traveling to Jerusalem. He went from Galilee to Samaria. 12 He came into a small town, and ten men met him there. They did not come close to him, because they all had leprosy. 13 But the men shouted, “Jesus! Master! Please help us!”
14 When Jesus saw the men, he said, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.”[a]
While the ten men were going to the priests, they were healed. 15 When one of them saw that he was healed, he went back to Jesus. He praised God loudly. 16 He bowed down at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. (He was a Samaritan.) 17 Jesus said, “Ten men were healed; where are the other nine? 18 This man is not even one of our people. Is he the only one who came back to give praise to God?” 19 Then Jesus said to the man, “Stand up! You can go. You were healed because you believed.”
The Coming of God’s Kingdom(B)
20 Some of the Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will God’s kingdom come?”
Jesus answered, “God’s kingdom is coming, but not in a way that you can see it. 21 People will not say, ‘Look, God’s kingdom is here!’ or ‘There it is!’ No, God’s kingdom is here with you.[b]”
22 Then Jesus said to his followers, “The time will come when you will want very much to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not be able to. 23 People will say to you, ‘Look, there it is!’ or ‘Look, here it is!’ Stay where you are; don’t go away and search. 24 “When the Son of Man comes again, you will know it. On that day he will shine like lightning flashes across the sky. 25 But first, the Son of Man must suffer many things. The people of today will refuse to accept him.
26 “When the Son of Man comes again, it will be the same as it was when Noah lived. 27 People were eating, drinking, and getting married even on the day when Noah entered the boat. Then the flood came and killed them all.
28 “It will be the same as during the time of Lot, when God destroyed Sodom. Those people were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, and building houses for themselves. 29 They were doing these things even on the day when Lot left town. Then fire and sulfur rained down from the sky and killed them all. 30 This is exactly how it will be when the Son of Man comes again.
31 “On that day if a man is on his roof, he will not have time to go inside and get his things. If a man is in the field, he cannot go back home. 32 Remember what happened to Lot’s wife[c]!
33 “Whoever tries to keep the life they have will lose it. But whoever gives up their life will save it. 34 That night there may be two people sleeping in one room. One will be taken and the other will be left. 35 There may be two women working together. One will be taken and the other will be left.” 36 [d]
37 The followers asked Jesus, “Where will this be, Lord?”
Jesus answered, “It’s like looking for a dead body—you will find it where the vultures are gathering above.”
Footnotes
- Luke 17:14 show yourselves to the priests The Law of Moses said a priest must decide when a person with leprosy was well.
- Luke 17:21 here with you Or “inside you.”
- Luke 17:32 Lot’s wife The story about Lot’s wife is found in Gen. 19:15-17, 26.
- Luke 17:36 A few Greek copies add verse 36: “Two men will be in the same field. One man will be taken, but the other man will be left behind.”
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International