Luke 19
Modern English Version
Jesus and Zacchaeus
19 Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 2 A man was there named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. 3 He tried to see who Jesus was, but was not able from the crowd, because he was little in stature. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was to pass that way.
5 When Jesus came to the vicinity, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for today I must remain at your house.” 6 So he hurried and came down, and received Him joyfully.
7 When they saw it, they all murmured, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”
8 But Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my possessions to the poor. And if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I will repay him four times as much.”
9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
The Parable of the Ten Pounds(A)
11 As they heard these things, He continued and told them a parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would immediately appear. 12 Therefore He said, “A nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom and to return. 13 So he called his ten servants and entrusted to them ten pounds[a] and said to them, ‘Trade until I come.’
14 “But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’
15 “When he returned, having received the kingdom, he summoned these servants, to whom he had entrusted the money, that he might know what everyone gained by trading.
16 “The first came, saying, ‘Master, your pound has made ten pounds more.’
17 “He said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in very little, take authority over ten cities.’
18 “The second came, saying, ‘Master, your pound has made five pounds more.’
19 “He said in like manner to him, ‘You, take authority over five cities.’
20 “Then another came, saying, ‘Master, look, here is your pound, which I have kept put away in a napkin. 21 For I feared you, because you are an exacting man. You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’
22 “He said to him, ‘Out of your own mouth will I judge you, you wicked servant. You knew that I was an exacting man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow. 23 Why then did you not deposit my money in the bank, so that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’
24 “Then he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the pound from him and give it to him who has ten pounds.’
25 “They said to him, ‘Master, he has ten pounds.’
26 “ ‘I tell you that to everyone who has will be given. But from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away from him. 27 But as for those enemies of mine, who would not let me reign over them, bring them here and slay them before me.’ ”
The Triumphant Entry in Jerusalem(B)
28 When He had said this, He went before them, ascending up to Jerusalem. 29 When He came near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples, 30 saying, “Go over into the village opposite you, where, as you enter, you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say to him, ‘Because the Lord has need of it.’ ”
32 Those who were sent went and found it just as He had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
34 They said, “The Lord has need of it.”
35 They brought it to Jesus. And they threw their garments on the colt, and they set Jesus on it. 36 As He went, they spread their clothes in the street.
37 When He was coming near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with loud voices for all the mighty works that they had seen, 38 saying:
‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!’[b]
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
39 Some of the Pharisees from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.”
40 He answered them, “I tell you, if these should be silent, the stones would immediately cry out.”
41 When He came near, He beheld the city and wept over it, 42 saying, “If you, even you, had known even today what things would bring you peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 For the days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you and surround you, and press you in on every side. 44 They will dash you, and your children within you, to the ground. They will not leave one stone upon another within you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”
The Cleansing of the Temple(C)
45 Then He entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and bought in it, 46 saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house will be a house of prayer,’[c] but you have made it ‘a den of thieves.’[d]”
47 He taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people tried to kill Him. 48 Yet they could not find a way to do it, for all the people were very attentive to hear Him.
Footnotes
- Luke 19:13 Gk. mina, worth about 3 months’ wages.
- Luke 19:38 Ps 118:26.
- Luke 19:46 Isa 56:7.
- Luke 19:46 Jer 7:11.
Luke 19
Easy-to-Read Version
Zacchaeus
19 Jesus was going through the city of Jericho. 2 In Jericho there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a wealthy, very important tax collector. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was. There were many others who wanted to see Jesus too. Zacchaeus was too short to see above the people. 4 So he ran to a place where he knew Jesus would come. Then he climbed a sycamore tree so he could see him.
5 When Jesus came to where Zacchaeus was, he looked up and saw him in the tree. Jesus said, “Zacchaeus, hurry! Come down! I must stay at your house today.”
6 Zacchaeus hurried and came down. He was happy to have Jesus in his house. 7 Everyone saw this. They began to complain, “Look at the kind of man Jesus is staying with. Zacchaeus is a sinner!”
8 Zacchaeus said to the Lord, “I want to do good. I will give half of my money to the poor. If I have cheated anyone, I will pay them back four times more.”
9 Jesus said, “Today is the day for this family to be saved from sin. Yes, even this tax collector is one of God’s chosen people.[a] 10 The Son of Man came to find lost people and save them.”
Use What God Gives You(A)
11 As the crowd listened to what he was saying, Jesus went on to tell a story. He was now near Jerusalem and knew that the people thought it was almost time for God’s kingdom to come. 12 So he said, “A very important man was preparing to go to a country far away to be made a king. Then he planned to return home and rule his people. 13 So he called ten of his servants together. He gave a bag of money[b] to each servant. He said, ‘Do business with this money until I come back.’ 14 But the people in the kingdom hated the man. They sent a group to follow him to the other country. There they said, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’
15 “But the man was made king. When he came home, he said, ‘Call those servants who have my money. I want to know how much more money they earned with it.’ 16 The first servant came and said, ‘Sir, I earned ten bags of money with the one bag you gave me.’ 17 The king said to him, ‘That’s great! You are a good servant. I see that I can trust you with small things. So now I will let you rule over ten of my cities.’
18 “The second servant said, ‘Sir, with your one bag of money I earned five bags.’ 19 The king said to this servant, ‘You can rule over five cities.’
20 “Then another servant came in and said to the king, ‘Sir, here is your bag of money. I wrapped it in a piece of cloth and hid it. 21 I was afraid of you because you are a hard man. You even take money that you didn’t earn and gather food that you didn’t grow.’
22 “Then the king said to him, ‘What a bad servant you are! I will use your own words to condemn you. You said that I am a hard man. You said that I even take money that I didn’t earn and gather food that I didn’t grow. 23 If that is true, you should have put my money in the bank. Then, when I came back, my money would have earned some interest.’ 24 Then the king said to the men who were watching, ‘Take the bag of money away from this servant and give it to the servant who earned ten bags of money.’
25 “The men said to the king, ‘But sir, that servant already has ten bags of money.’
26 “The king said, ‘People who use what they have will get more. But those who do not use what they have will have everything taken away from them. 27 Now where are my enemies? Where are the people who did not want me to be king? Bring my enemies here and kill them. I will watch them die.’”
Jesus Enters Jerusalem Like a King(B)
28 After Jesus said these things, he continued traveling toward Jerusalem. 29 He came near Bethphage and Bethany, towns near the hill called the Mount of Olives. He sent out two of his followers. 30 He said, “Go into the town you can see there. When you enter the town, you will find a young donkey tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it, and bring it here to me. 31 If anyone asks you why you are taking the donkey, you should say, ‘The Master needs it.’”
32 The two followers went into town. They found the donkey exactly like Jesus told them. 33 They untied it, but its owners came out. They said to the followers, “Why are you untying our donkey?”
34 The followers answered, “The Master needs it.” 35 So the followers brought the donkey to Jesus. They put their coats on its back. Then they put Jesus on the donkey. 36 He rode along the road toward Jerusalem. The followers spread their coats on the road before him.
37 Jesus was coming close to Jerusalem. He was already near the bottom of the Mount of Olives. The whole group of followers was happy. They were very excited and praised God. They thanked God for all the powerful things they had seen. 38 They said,
“‘Welcome! God bless the king who comes in the name of the Lord.’ (C)
Peace in heaven and glory to God!”
39 Some of the Pharisees said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell your followers not to say these things.”
40 But Jesus answered, “I tell you, if my followers didn’t say them, these stones would shout them.”
Jesus Cries for Jerusalem
41 Jesus came near Jerusalem. Looking at the city, he began to cry for it 42 and said, “I wish you knew today what would bring you peace. But it is hidden from you now. 43 A time is coming when your enemies will build a wall around you and hold you in on all sides. 44 They will destroy you and all your people. Not one stone of your buildings will stay on top of another. All this will happen because you did not know the time when God came to save you.”
Jesus Goes to the Temple(D)
45 Jesus went into the Temple area. He began to throw out the people who were selling things there. 46 He said, “The Scriptures say, ‘My Temple will be a house of prayer.’[c] But you have changed it into a ‘hiding place for thieves.’[d]”
47 Jesus taught the people in the Temple area every day. The leading priests, the teachers of the law, and some of the leaders of the people wanted to kill him. 48 But they did not know how they could do it, because everyone was listening to him. The people were very interested in what Jesus said.
Footnotes
- Luke 19:9 one of God’s chosen people Literally, “a son of Abraham.”
- Luke 19:13 bag of money One bag of money was a Greek mina, enough to pay a person for working three months. Also in verses 16, 18, 20, 24, 25.
- Luke 19:46
Quote from Isa. 56:7. - Luke 19:46
Quote from Jer. 7:11.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International