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Jesus and Zacchaeus

19 As Jesus[a] entered Jericho and was passing through it, a man named Zacchaeus appeared. He was a leading tax collector, and a rich one at that! He was trying to see who Jesus was, but he couldn’t do so due to the crowd, since he was a short man. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see Jesus,[b] who was going to pass that way.

When Jesus came to the tree,[c] he looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down! I must stay at your house today.” Zacchaeus[d] came down quickly and was glad to welcome him into his home.[e]

But all the people who saw this began to complain: “Jesus[f] is going to be the guest of a notorious[g] sinner!”

Later, Zacchaeus stood up and announced to the Lord, “Look! I’m giving half of my possessions to the destitute, and if I have accused anyone falsely, I’m repaying four times as much as I owe.”[h]

Then Jesus told him, “Today salvation has come to this home, because this man[i] is also a descendant of Abraham, 10 and the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.”

The Parable about the Coins

11 As they were listening to this, Jesus[j] went on to tell a parable because he was near Jerusalem and because the people[k] thought that the kingdom of God would appear immediately. 12 So he said, “A prince went to a distant country to be appointed king and then to return. 13 He called ten of his servants and gave them ten coins.[l] He told them, ‘Invest this money until I come back.’ 14 But the citizens of his country hated him and sent a delegation to follow him and to announce, ‘We don’t want this man to rule over us!’

15 “After he was appointed king, the prince[m] came back. He ordered the servants to whom he had given the money to be called so he could find out what they had earned by investing. 16 The first servant[n] came and said, ‘Sir, your coin has earned ten more coins.’ 17 The king[o] told him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been trustworthy in a very small thing, take charge of ten cities.’

18 “The second servant[p] came and said, ‘Your coin, sir, has earned five coins.’ 19 The king[q] told him, ‘You take charge of five cities.’

20 “Then the other servant[r] came and said, ‘Sir, look! Here’s your coin. I’ve kept it in a cloth for safekeeping 21 because I was afraid of you. You are a hard man. You withdraw what you didn’t deposit and harvest what you didn’t plant.’ 22 The king[s] told him, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you evil servant! You knew, did you, that I was a hard man, and that I withdraw what I didn’t deposit and harvest what I didn’t plant? 23 Then why didn’t you put my money in the bank? When I returned, I could have collected it with interest.’

24 “So the king[t] told those standing nearby, ‘Take the coin away from him and give it to the man who has the ten coins.’ 25 They answered him, ‘Sir, he already[u] has ten coins!’ 26 ‘I tell you, to everyone who has something, more will be given, but from the person who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away. 27 But as for these enemies of mine who didn’t want me to be their king—bring them here and slaughter them in my presence!’”

The King Enters Jerusalem(A)

28 After Jesus[v] had said this, he traveled on and went up to Jerusalem. 29 As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples on ahead. 30 “Go into the village ahead of you,” he said. “As you enter, you will find a colt tied up that no one has ever ridden.[w] Untie it and bring it along. 31 If anyone asks you why you are untying it, say this: ‘The Lord needs it.’”

32 So those who were sent went off and found it as Jesus[x] had told them. 33 While they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”

34 The disciples[y] answered, “The Lord needs it.” 35 Then they brought the colt to Jesus and put their coats on it, and Jesus sat upon it.

36 As he was riding along, people[z] kept spreading their coats on the road. 37 He was now approaching the descent from the Mount of Olives. The whole crowd of disciples began to rejoice and to praise God with a loud voice because of all the miracles they had seen. 38 They said,

“How blessed is the king
    who comes in the name of the Lord![aa]
Peace in heaven,
    and glory in the highest heaven!”

39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd told Jesus,[ab] “Teacher, tell your disciples to be quiet.”

40 He replied, “I tell you, if they were quiet, the stones would cry out!”

41 When he came closer and saw the city, he began to grieve over it: 42 “If you[ac] had only known today what could have brought you peace! But now it is hidden from your sight, 43 because the days will come[ad] when your enemies will build walls around you, surround you, and close you in on every side. 44 They will level you to the ground—you and those who live[ae] within your city limits.[af] They will not leave one stone on another within your walls,[ag] because you didn’t recognize the time when you were visited.”[ah]

Confrontation in the Temple over Money(B)

45 Then Jesus[ai] went into the Temple and began to throw out those who were selling things. 46 He told them, “It is written, ‘My house is to be called a house of prayer,’[aj] but you have turned it into a hideout[ak] for bandits!”

47 Then he began teaching in the Temple every day. The high priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people kept looking for a way to kill him, 48 but they couldn’t find a way to do it, because all the people were eager to hear him.

Footnotes

  1. Luke 19:1 Lit. he
  2. Luke 19:4 Lit. him
  3. Luke 19:5 Lit. to the place
  4. Luke 19:6 Lit. He
  5. Luke 19:6 The Gk. lacks into his home
  6. Luke 19:7 Lit. He
  7. Luke 19:7 The Gk. lacks notorious
  8. Luke 19:8 The Gk. lacks as much as I owe; cf. Exod 22:1, 2 Sam 12:6
  9. Luke 19:9 Lit. because he
  10. Luke 19:11 Lit. he
  11. Luke 19:11 Lit. they
  12. Luke 19:13 Lit. minas. A mina was equivalent to about eight months of wages for a laborer.
  13. Luke 19:15 Lit. he
  14. Luke 19:16 The Gk. lacks servant
  15. Luke 19:17 Lit. He
  16. Luke 19:18 The Gk. lacks servant
  17. Luke 19:19 Lit. He
  18. Luke 19:20 The Gk. lacks servant
  19. Luke 19:22 Lit. He
  20. Luke 19:24 Lit. he
  21. Luke 19:25 The Gk. lacks already
  22. Luke 19:28 Lit. he
  23. Luke 19:30 Lit. ever sat on
  24. Luke 19:32 Lit. he
  25. Luke 19:34 Lit. They
  26. Luke 19:36 Lit. they
  27. Luke 19:38 Cf. Ps 118:26; MT source citation reads Lord
  28. Luke 19:39 Lit. him
  29. Luke 19:42 I.e. the city of Jerusalem personified; and so throughout the paragraph
  30. Luke 19:43 Lit. come on you
  31. Luke 19:44 Lit. and your children
  32. Luke 19:44 The Gk. lacks city limits
  33. Luke 19:44 Lit. within you
  34. Luke 19:44 Lit. the time of your visitation
  35. Luke 19:45 Lit. he
  36. Luke 19:46 Cf. Isa 56:7
  37. Luke 19:46 Lit. cave

Zacchaeus the Tax Collector

19 Jesus entered Jericho(A) and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig(B) tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.(C)

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”(D)

But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord,(E) “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything,(F) I will pay back four times the amount.”(G)

Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.(H) 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”(I)

The Parable of the Ten Minas(J)

11 While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God(K) was going to appear at once.(L) 12 He said: “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. 13 So he called ten of his servants(M) and gave them ten minas.[a] ‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back.’

14 “But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’

15 “He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.

16 “The first one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’

17 “‘Well done, my good servant!’(N) his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’(O)

18 “The second came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned five more.’

19 “His master answered, ‘You take charge of five cities.’

20 “Then another servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. 21 I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.’(P)

22 “His master replied, ‘I will judge you by your own words,(Q) you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow?(R) 23 Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?’

24 “Then he said to those standing by, ‘Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’

25 “‘Sir,’ they said, ‘he already has ten!’

26 “He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away.(S) 27 But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me.’”

Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King(T)(U)

28 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.(V) 29 As he approached Bethphage and Bethany(W) at the hill called the Mount of Olives,(X) he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 30 “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”

32 Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them.(Y) 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”

34 They replied, “The Lord needs it.”

35 They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36 As he went along, people spread their cloaks(Z) on the road.

37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives,(AA) the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:

38 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”[b](AB)

“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”(AC)

39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”(AD)

40 “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”(AE)

41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it(AF) 42 and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side.(AG) 44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls.(AH) They will not leave one stone on another,(AI) because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming(AJ) to you.”

Jesus at the Temple(AK)

45 When Jesus entered the temple courts, he began to drive out those who were selling. 46 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be a house of prayer’[c];(AL) but you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’[d](AM)

47 Every day he was teaching at the temple.(AN) But the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders among the people were trying to kill him.(AO) 48 Yet they could not find any way to do it, because all the people hung on his words.

Footnotes

  1. Luke 19:13 A mina was about three months’ wages.
  2. Luke 19:38 Psalm 118:26
  3. Luke 19:46 Isaiah 56:7
  4. Luke 19:46 Jer. 7:11