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.”

Parables on Prayer

18 Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they (AK)ought to pray and not (AL)become discouraged, saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not (AM)respect any person. Now there was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me justice against my [ab]opponent.’ For a while he was unwilling; but later he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor (AN)respect any person, yet (AO)because this widow is bothering me, I will give her justice; otherwise [ac]by continually coming she will (AP)wear me out.’” And (AQ)the Lord said, “Listen to what the unrighteous judge *said; now, will God not (AR)bring about justice for His (AS)elect who cry out to Him day [ad]and night, and will He (AT)delay long for them? I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, (AU)will He find [ae]faith on the earth?”

The Pharisee and the Tax Collector

Now He also told this parable to some people who (AV)trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and (AW)viewed others with contempt: 10 “Two men (AX)went up into the [af]temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee (AY)stood and began praying this in regard to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, crooked, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I (AZ)fast twice a week; I (BA)pay tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, (BB)standing some distance away, (BC)was even unwilling to raise his eyes toward heaven, but (BD)was beating his chest, saying, ‘God, be [ag]merciful to me, the sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other one; (BE)for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

15 (BF)Now they were bringing even their babies to Him so that He would touch them; but when the disciples saw it, they began rebuking them. 16 But Jesus called for [ah]the little ones, saying, “Allow the children to come to Me, and do not [ai]forbid them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 17 Truly I say to you, (BG)whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.”

The Rich Young Ruler

18 (BH)A ruler questioned Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 19 But Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me [aj]good? No one is [ak]good except God alone. 20 You know the commandments, ‘(BI)Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not give false testimony, Honor your father and mother.’” 21 And he said, “All these things I have kept since my youth.” 22 Now when Jesus heard this, He said to him, “One thing you still lack; (BJ)sell all that you possess and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have (BK)treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 23 But when he had heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely wealthy. 24 And Jesus looked at him and said, (BL)How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God! 25 For (BM)it is easier for a camel to [al]go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God!” 26 Those who heard Him said, “And so who can be saved?” 27 But He said, (BN)The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.”

28 Peter said, “Behold, (BO)we have left [am]our own homes and followed You.” 29 And He said to them, “Truly I say to you, (BP)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 as much at this time, and in (BQ)the age to come, eternal life.”

31 (BR)Now He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, (BS)we are going up to Jerusalem, and (BT)all the things that have been written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. 32 (BU)For He will be [an]handed over to the Gentiles, and will be ridiculed, and abused, and spit upon, 33 and after they have flogged Him, they will kill Him; and on the third day He will rise.” 34 [ao](BV)The disciples understood none of these things, and the meaning of this statement was hidden from them, and they did not comprehend the things that were said.

Bartimaeus Receives Sight

35 (BW)Now as [ap](BX)Jesus was approaching Jericho, a man who was blind was sitting by the road, begging. 36 But when he heard a crowd going by, he began inquiring what this was. 37 They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. 38 And he called out, saying, “Jesus, (BY)Son of David, have mercy on me!” 39 Those who led the way were sternly telling him to be quiet; but he kept crying out all the more, “(BZ)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 asked 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, “Regain your sight; (CA)your faith has [aq]made you well.” 43 And immediately he regained his sight and began following Him, (CB)glorifying God; and when (CC)all the people saw it, they gave praise to God.

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
  28. Luke 18:3 Or enemy
  29. Luke 18:5 Or in the end she may come and give me a black eye
  30. Luke 18:7 Or and night? He is also patient toward them
  31. Luke 18:8 Lit the faith
  32. Luke 18:10 I.e., the temple grounds
  33. Luke 18:13 Or propitious
  34. Luke 18:16 Lit them
  35. Luke 18:16 Or prevent
  36. Luke 18:19 I.e., morally, inherently good
  37. Luke 18:19 I.e., morally, inherently good
  38. Luke 18:25 Lit enter
  39. Luke 18:28 Lit our own things
  40. Luke 18:32 Or betrayed to
  41. Luke 18:34 Lit And they themselves
  42. Luke 18:35 Lit He
  43. Luke 18:42 Lit saved you

Sin, Faith, Duty

17 Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble(A) are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come.(B) It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones(C) to stumble.(D) So watch yourselves.

“If your brother or sister[a] sins against you, rebuke them;(E) and if they repent, forgive them.(F) Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”(G)

The apostles(H) said to the Lord,(I) “Increase our faith!”

He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed,(J) you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.(K)

“Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me(L) while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? 10 So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”(M)

Jesus Heals Ten Men With Leprosy

11 Now on his way to Jerusalem,(N) Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee.(O) 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy[b](P) met him. They stood at a distance(Q) 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master,(R) have pity on us!”

14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.”(S) And as they went, they were cleansed.

15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God(T) in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.(U)

17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”(V)

The Coming of the Kingdom of God(W)

20 Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come,(X) Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, 21 nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’(Y) because the kingdom of God is in your midst.”[c]

22 Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man,(Z) but you will not see it.(AA) 23 People will tell you, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Do not go running off after them.(AB) 24 For the Son of Man in his day[d] will be like the lightning,(AC) which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. 25 But first he must suffer many things(AD) and be rejected(AE) by this generation.(AF)

26 “Just as it was in the days of Noah,(AG) so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.

28 “It was the same in the days of Lot.(AH) People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. 29 But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.

30 “It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed.(AI) 31 On that day no one who is on the housetop, with possessions inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything.(AJ) 32 Remember Lot’s wife!(AK) 33 Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it.(AL) 34 I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. 35 Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.”(AM) [36] [e]

37 “Where, Lord?” they asked.

He replied, “Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.”(AN)

The Parable of the Persistent Widow

18 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.(AO) He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice(AP) against my adversary.’

“For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”(AQ)

And the Lord(AR) said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out(AS) to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man(AT) comes,(AU) will he find faith on the earth?”

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

To some who were confident of their own righteousness(AV) and looked down on everyone else,(AW) Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray,(AX) one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself(AY) and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast(AZ) twice a week and give a tenth(BA) of all I get.’

13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast(BB) and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’(BC)

14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”(BD)

The Little Children and Jesus(BE)

15 People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 17 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child(BF) will never enter it.”

The Rich and the Kingdom of God(BG)

18 A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”(BH)

19 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. 20 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’[f](BI)

21 “All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said.

22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor,(BJ) and you will have treasure in heaven.(BK) Then come, follow me.”

23 When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy. 24 Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!(BL) 25 Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

26 Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?”

27 Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”(BM)

28 Peter said to him, “We have left all we had to follow you!”(BN)

29 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus said to them, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God 30 will fail to receive many times as much in this age, and in the age to come(BO) eternal life.”(BP)

Jesus Predicts His Death a Third Time(BQ)

31 Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem,(BR) and everything that is written by the prophets(BS) about the Son of Man(BT) will be fulfilled. 32 He will be delivered over to the Gentiles.(BU) They will mock him, insult him and spit on him; 33 they will flog him(BV) and kill him.(BW) On the third day(BX) he will rise again.”(BY)

34 The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.(BZ)

A Blind Beggar Receives His Sight(CA)

35 As Jesus approached Jericho,(CB) a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36 When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. 37 They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”(CC)

38 He called out, “Jesus, Son of David,(CD) have mercy(CE) on me!”

39 Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”(CF)

40 Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?”

“Lord, I want to see,” he replied.

42 Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.”(CG) 43 Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.(CH)

Footnotes

  1. Luke 17:3 The Greek word for brother or sister (adelphos) refers here to a fellow disciple, whether man or woman.
  2. Luke 17:12 The Greek word traditionally translated leprosy was used for various diseases affecting the skin.
  3. Luke 17:21 Or is within you
  4. Luke 17:24 Some manuscripts do not have in his day.
  5. Luke 17:36 Some manuscripts include here words similar to Matt. 24:40.
  6. Luke 18:20 Exodus 20:12-16; Deut. 5:16-20