Instructions

17 Now He said to His disciples, (A)It is inevitable that [a]stumbling blocks come, but woe to one through whom they come! (B)It is better for him if a millstone is hung around his neck and he [b]is thrown into the sea, than that he may cause one of these little ones to [c]sin. [d]Be on your guard! (C)If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you (D)seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”

(E)The apostles said to (F)the Lord, “Increase our faith!” But (G)the Lord said, “If you [e]had faith [f]the size of (H)a mustard seed, you could say to this (I)mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea’; and it would [g]obey you.

“Now which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him after he comes in from the field, ‘Come immediately and recline at the table to eat’? On the contrary, will he not say to him, ‘(J)Prepare something for me to eat, and properly [h]clothe yourself and serve me while I eat and drink; and [i]afterward you [j]may eat and drink’? He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he? 10 So you too, when you do all the things which were commanded you, say, ‘We are [k]unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.’”

Ten Men with Leprosy Healed

11 While He was (K)on the way to Jerusalem, (L)He was passing [l]between Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as He entered a village, ten men with leprosy who (M)stood at a distance met Him; 13 and they raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, (N)Master, have mercy on us!” 14 When He saw them, He said to them, (O)Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they were going, they were cleansed. 15 Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, (P)glorifying God with a loud voice, 16 and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a (Q)Samaritan. 17 But Jesus responded and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine—where are they? 18 [m]Was no one found who returned to (R)give glory to God, except this foreigner?” 19 And He said to him, “Stand up and go; (S)your faith has [n]made you well.”

Second Coming Foretold

20 Now He was questioned by the Pharisees (T)as to when the kingdom of God was coming, and He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with [o](U)signs that can be observed; 21 nor will (V)they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is [p]in your midst.”

22 And He said to the disciples, (W)The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. 23 (X)And they will say to you, ‘Look there,’ or, ‘Look here!’ Do not leave, and do not run after them. 24 (Y)For just like the lightning, when it flashes out of one part [q]of the sky, shines to the other part [r]of the sky, so will the Son of Man be in His day. 25 (Z)But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. 26 (AA)And just as it happened (AB)in the days of Noah, so will it also be in the days of the Son of Man: 27 people were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, and they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 [s]It was the same as happened in (AC)the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, and they were building; 29 but on the day that Lot left Sodom, it rained fire and [t]brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 It will be [u]just the same on the day that the Son of Man (AD)is revealed. 31 On that day, the one who will be (AE)on the [v]housetop, [w]with his goods in the house, must not go down to take them out; and likewise the one in the field must not turn back. 32 (AF)Remember Lot’s wife. 33 (AG)Whoever strives to [x]save his [y]life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will keep it. 34 I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other will be left. 35 (AH)There will be two women grinding at the same place; one will be taken and the other will be left. 36 [[z](AI)Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other will be left.”] 37 And responding, they *said to Him, “Where, Lord?” And He said to them, (AJ)Where the body is, there also the [aa]vultures will be gathered.”

Footnotes

  1. Luke 17:1 Or temptations to sin
  2. Luke 17:2 Lit has been thrown (intensive)
  3. Luke 17:2 Or stumble
  4. Luke 17:3 Lit Take heed for yourselves
  5. Luke 17:6 Lit have
  6. Luke 17:6 Lit like
  7. Luke 17:6 Lit have obeyed
  8. Luke 17:8 Lit belt up
  9. Luke 17:8 Lit after these things
  10. Luke 17:8 Lit will
  11. Luke 17:10 I.e., possibly unworthy of praise
  12. Luke 17:11 Lit through the middle of
  13. Luke 17:18 Lit Were they not found who
  14. Luke 17:19 Or saved you
  15. Luke 17:20 Lit observation
  16. Luke 17:21 Or among you
  17. Luke 17:24 Lit under heaven; i.e., the lowest heaven, the sky
  18. Luke 17:24 Lit under heaven; i.e., the lowest heaven, the sky
  19. Luke 17:28 Lit In the same way as
  20. Luke 17:29 I.e., burning sulfur
  21. Luke 17:30 Lit according to the same things
  22. Luke 17:31 Housetops were flat living areas
  23. Luke 17:31 Lit and his
  24. Luke 17:33 Or secure
  25. Luke 17:33 Or soul
  26. Luke 17:36 Early mss do not contain this v
  27. Luke 17:37 Or eagles

Woe To The One Who Causes Others To Fall. Rebuke Sin In Your Brother. Forgive

17 And He said to His disciples, “It is impossible that the causes-of-falling should not[a] come. Nevertheless, woe to the one through whom they come. It would be better for him if a mill’s stone were lying-around his neck and he had been[b] thrown-off into the sea, than that he should cause one of these[c] little ones to fall. Take heed to yourselves— If your brother sins, rebuke him. And if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in the day, and returns to you seven times saying ‘I repent’, forgive him”.

The Apostles Ask For More Faith. The Smallest Amount Is Enough

The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase faith for us”. And the Lord said, “If you have faith like a seed[d] of a mustard-plant, you would say to this mulberry-tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea’, and it would have obeyed you. And who from-among you is there who, having a slave plowing or shepherding, will say to him having come in from the field, ‘Immediately having come-to the table, fall back [to eat]!’? But will he not say to him, ‘Prepare something I may have-for-dinner. And having girded-yourself, be serving me until I eat and drink. And after these things, you will eat and drink’? He does not have gratitude[e] for the slave because he did the things having been commanded, does he? 10 So also you, when you do all the things having been commanded to you, be saying that ‘We are unprofitable[f] slaves. We have done what we were obligated to do’”.

Jesus Heals Ten Lepers. One Returns To Give Thanks

11 And it came about during the proceeding to Jerusalem that He was going through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. 12 And while He was entering into a certain village, ten leprous men met Him, who stood at-a-distance. 13 And they lifted their voice, saying, “Jesus, Master, have-mercy-on us!” 14 And having seen them, He said to them, “Having gone, show yourselves to the priests”. And it came about during their going that they were cleansed. 15 And one of them, having seen that he was healed, returned glorifying God with a loud voice. 16 And he fell on his face at His feet while giving-thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan. 17 And having responded, Jesus said, “Were not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? 18 Were none found having returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” 19 And He said to him, “Having arisen, go. Your faith has restored you”.

Jesus Is Asked When The Kingdom Is Coming. The Kingdom Is Within You

20 And having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God is coming, He responded to them and said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with observation[g], 21 nor will they say, ‘Behold— here it is, or, ‘There it is’. For behold— the kingdom of God is within[h] you”.

The Coming of The Son Will Be Like Lightning

22 And He said to the disciples, “Days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. 23 And they will say to you, ‘Behold— there He is’, or, ‘Behold— here He is’. Do not go, nor pursue them. 24 For just like the lightning flashing out of the one part under heaven shines[i] to the other part under heaven, so will the Son of Man be in His day. 25 But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.

The Coming of The Son Will Be Like The Days of Noah And Lot

26 “And as it happened in the days of Noah [in Gen 6-7], so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man— 27 they were eating, drinking, marrying, being given-in-marriage, until which day[j] Noah entered into the ark and the flood came and destroyed everyone. 28 Likewise, just as it happened in the days of Lot [in Gen 19]— they were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building. 29 But on the day Lot departed from Sodom, it rained fire and sulphur from heaven and destroyed everyone. 30 It will be[k] the same way on the day the Son of Man is revealed. 31 On that day, let he who will be on the housetop and his things in the house not go down to take them. And let the one in a field likewise not turn-back to the things behind. 32 Remember Lot’s wife. 33 Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it. But whoever loses it will keep it alive. 34 I say to you, on this night there will be two people[l] on one bed— the one will be taken[m], and the other will be left. 35 There will be two women grinding at the same place— the one will be taken, and the other will be left. 36 [n] 37 And having responded, they say to Him, “Where, Lord?” And the One said to them, “Where[o] the body is, there also[p] the vultures will be gathered-together”.

Footnotes

  1. Luke 17:1 This is stated positively in Mt 18:7.
  2. Luke 17:2 Better to be once and for all dead at the bottom of the sea than to do this and face the eternal consequences.
  3. Luke 17:2 That is, such insignificant ones as Lazarus and the sinners and tax collectors in the audience (15:1) disdained by the Pharisees, assuming 15:1 to 17:10 was spoken on a single occasion; otherwise, those confronted by the causes of falling mentioned in v 1.
  4. Luke 17:6 That is, the tiniest amount of faith is enough because God does the work, not you.
  5. Luke 17:9 Or, thankfulness.
  6. Luke 17:10 No matter how far our faith in action extends, we are unable to bring our Master any gain exceeding His investment in us.
  7. Luke 17:20 Or, close-watching. That is, with physically observable changes to this world. Later Jesus will say ‘My kingdom is not of this world’.
  8. Luke 17:21 Or, inside. This may have an individual sense (in your hearts) or a national sense (among you, in your midst).
  9. Luke 17:24 That is, it will be visible to everyone.
  10. Luke 17:27 That is, life was going on as normal, and God suddenly and unexpectedly intervened into human history.
  11. Luke 17:30 Or, happen.
  12. Luke 17:34 Jesus is referring to a nighttime scene here, and a daytime scene next. Or, men, if Jesus is also referring to men here and women next.
  13. Luke 17:34 taken... left. See Mt 24:41.
  14. Luke 17:36 Some manuscripts add ‘Two men will be in a field— one will be taken and the other will be left’.
  15. Luke 17:37 See Mt 24:28.
  16. Luke 17:37 Or, indeed.