Luke 18
Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Parable of the Persistent Widow
18 He then told them a parable on the need for them to pray(A) always and not become discouraged:(B) 2 “There was a judge in a certain town who didn’t fear God(C) or respect man. 3 And a widow(D) in that town kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’
4 “For a while he was unwilling, but later he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or respect man, 5 yet because this widow keeps(E) pestering me,[a] I will give her justice, so she doesn’t wear me out[b] by her persistent coming.’”
6 Then the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 Will not God grant justice(F) to His elect(G) who cry out to Him day and night?(H) Will He delay(I) to help them?[c] 8 I tell you that He will swiftly grant them justice. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes,(J) will He find that faith[d] on earth?”
The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
9 He(K) also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves(L) that they were righteous(M) and looked down(N) on everyone else: 10 “Two men went up to the temple complex to pray,(O) one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee took his stand[e](P) and was praying like this: ‘God, I thank You that I’m not like other people[f] —greedy,(Q) unrighteous,(R) adulterers,(S) or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast(T) twice a week; I give a tenth[g](U) of everything I get.’
13 “But the tax collector, standing far off,(V) would not even raise his eyes to heaven(W) but kept striking his chest[h](X) and saying, ‘God, turn Your wrath from me[i](Y)—a sinner!’(Z) 14 I tell you, this one went down to his house justified(AA) rather than the other; because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”(AB)
Blessing the Children
15 Some(AC) people were even bringing infants to Him so He might touch them, but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. 16 Jesus, however, invited them: “Let the little children come to Me,(AD) and don’t stop them, because the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 17 I assure you:(AE) Whoever does not welcome(AF) the kingdom of God like a little child(AG) will never enter it.”
The Rich Young Ruler
18 A(AH) ruler(AI) asked Him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”(AJ)
19 “Why do you call Me good?” Jesus asked him. “No one is good but One—God. 20 You know the commandments:
Do not commit adultery;
do not murder;
do not steal;
do not bear false witness;
honor your father and mother.”(AK)[j]
21 “I have kept all these from my youth,” he said.
22 When Jesus heard this, He told him, “You still lack one thing: Sell all that you have and distribute it to the poor,(AL) and you will have treasure in heaven.(AM) Then come, follow Me.”(AN)
23 After he heard this, he became extremely sad,(AO) because he was very rich.
Possessions and the Kingdom
24 Seeing that he became sad,[k] Jesus said, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! 25 For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
26 Those who heard this asked, “Then who can be saved?”(AP)
27 He replied, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.”(AQ)
28 Then Peter said, “Look, we have left what we had and followed(AR) You.”
29 So He said to them, “I assure you: There is no one who has left a house, wife or brothers, parents or children because of the kingdom of God, 30 who will not receive many times more at this time,(AS) and eternal life in the age to come.”
The Third Prediction of His Death
31 Then(AT) He took the Twelve aside and told them, “Listen! We are going up to Jerusalem.(AU) Everything that is written(AV) through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished.(AW) 32 For He will be handed over to the Gentiles,(AX) and He will be mocked,(AY) insulted, spit(AZ) on; 33 and after they flog Him, they will kill Him, and He will rise on the third day.”(BA)
34 They understood none of these things.(BB) This saying[l](BC) was hidden(BD) from them, and they did not grasp what was said.
A Blind Man Receives His Sight
35 As(BE) He drew near Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road begging. 36 Hearing a crowd passing by, he inquired what this meant. 37 “Jesus the Nazarene(BF) is passing by,” they told him.
38 So he called out,(BG) “Jesus, Son of David,(BH) have mercy(BI) on me!” 39 Then those in front told him to keep quiet,[m] but he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
40 Jesus stopped and commanded that he be brought to Him. When he drew near, He asked him, 41 “What do you want Me to do for you?”
“Lord,” he said, “I want to see!”
42 “Receive your sight!”(BJ) Jesus told him. “Your faith has healed you.”[n](BK) 43 Instantly he could see, and he began to follow Him, glorifying God.(BL) All the people,(BM) when they saw it, gave praise to God.
Footnotes
- Luke 18:5 Lit widow causes me trouble
- Luke 18:5 Or doesn’t give me a black eye, or doesn’t ruin my reputation
- Luke 18:7 Or Will He put up with them?
- Luke 18:8 Or faith, or that kind of faith, or any faith, or the faith, or faithfulness; the faith that persists in prayer for God’s vindication
- Luke 18:11 Or Pharisee stood by himself
- Luke 18:11 Or like the rest of men
- Luke 18:12 Or give tithes
- Luke 18:13 = mourning
- Luke 18:13 Lit God, be propitious to me; = May Your wrath be turned aside by the sacrifice
- Luke 18:20 Ex 20:12-16; Dt 5:16-20
- Luke 18:24 Other mss omit he became sad
- Luke 18:34 The meaning of the saying
- Luke 18:39 Or those in front rebuked him
- Luke 18:42 Or has saved you
Luke 18
English Standard Version
The Parable of the Persistent Widow
18 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought (A)always to pray and not (B)lose heart. 2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who (C)neither feared God nor respected man. 3 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 4 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, (D)‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” 6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. 7 And (E)will not God give justice to (F)his elect, (G)who cry to him day and night? (H)(I)Will he delay long over them? 8 I tell you, he will give justice to them (J)speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, (K)will he find faith on earth?”
The Pharisee and the Tax Collector
9 He also told this parable to some (L)who trusted (M)in themselves that they were righteous, (N)and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men (O)went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, (P)standing by himself, prayed[a] (Q)thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 (R)I fast twice a week; (S)I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, (T)standing far off, (U)would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but (V)beat his breast, saying, ‘God, (W)be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For (X)everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Let the Children Come to Me
15 (Y)Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they (Z)rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called them to him, saying, (AA)“Let the children come to me, and (AB)do not hinder them, (AC)for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 17 (AD)Truly, I say to you, whoever does not (AE)receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”
The Rich Ruler
18 (AF)And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to (AG)inherit eternal life?” 19 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 20 You know the commandments: (AH)‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’” 21 And he said, (AI)“All these I have kept from my youth.” 22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. (AJ)Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have (AK)treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 23 (AL)But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. 24 Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, (AM)“How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter (AN)the kingdom of God! 25 For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter (AO)the kingdom of God.” 26 Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” 27 But he said, (AP)“What is impossible with man is possible with God.” 28 And Peter said, “See, (AQ)we have left our homes and followed you.” 29 And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, (AR)there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers[b] or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30 who will not receive (AS)many times more (AT)in this time, and in (AU)the age to come eternal life.”
Jesus Foretells His Death a Third Time
31 (AV)And taking the twelve, he said to them, “See, (AW)we are going up to Jerusalem, and (AX)everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. 32 For he will be (AY)delivered over to the Gentiles and will be (AZ)mocked and shamefully treated and (BA)spit upon. 33 And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on (BB)the third day he will rise.” 34 (BC)But they understood none of these things. (BD)This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.
Jesus Heals a Blind Beggar
35 (BE)As he drew near to Jericho, (BF)a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36 And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. 37 They told him, (BG)“Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” 38 And he cried out, “Jesus, (BH)Son of David, have mercy on me!” 39 And those who were in front (BI)rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 40 And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, 41 (BJ)“What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” 42 And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; (BK)your faith has (BL)made you well.” 43 And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, (BM)glorifying God. And (BN)all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.
Footnotes
- Luke 18:11 Or standing, prayed to himself
- Luke 18:29 Or wife or brothers and sisters
Luke 18
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 18
The Parable of the Persistent Widow. 1 [a]Then he told them a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary.(A) He said, 2 “There was a judge in a certain town who neither feared God nor respected any human being. 3 And a widow in that town used to come to him and say, ‘Render a just decision for me against my adversary.’ 4 For a long time the judge was unwilling, but eventually he thought, ‘While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being, 5 [b](B)because this widow keeps bothering me I shall deliver a just decision for her lest she finally come and strike me.’” 6 The Lord said, “Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says. 7 Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he be slow to answer them? 8 I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. 9 He then addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else.(C) 10 “Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity—greedy, dishonest, adulterous—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’(D) 13 But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’(E) 14 I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”(F)
Saying on Children and the Kingdom. 15 [c]People were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them,[d] and when the disciples saw this, they rebuked them.(G) 16 Jesus, however, called the children to himself and said, “Let the children come to me and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 17 Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.”(H)
The Rich Official. 18 (I)An official asked him this question, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”(J) 19 Jesus answered him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 20 You know the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery; you shall not kill; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother.’”(K) 21 And he replied, “All of these I have observed from my youth.” 22 [e](L)When Jesus heard this he said to him, “There is still one thing left for you: sell all that you have and distribute it to the poor, and you will have a treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 23 But when he heard this he became quite sad, for he was very rich.
On Riches and Renunciation. 24 Jesus looked at him [now sad] and said, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! 25 For it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 Those who heard this said, “Then who can be saved?” 27 And he said, “What is impossible for human beings is possible for God.”(M) 28 Then Peter said, “We have given up our possessions and followed you.” 29 (N)He said to them, “Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God 30 who will not receive [back] an overabundant return in this present age and eternal life in the age to come.”
The Third Prediction of the Passion.(O) 31 [f]Then he took the Twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem and everything written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled.[g] 32 (P)He will be handed over to the Gentiles and he will be mocked and insulted and spat upon; 33 and after they have scourged him they will kill him, but on the third day he will rise.” 34 But they understood nothing of this; the word remained hidden from them and they failed to comprehend what he said.(Q)
The Healing of the Blind Beggar.(R) 35 Now as he approached Jericho a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging, 36 and hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what was happening. 37 They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” 38 (S)He shouted, “Jesus, Son of David,[h] have pity on me!” 39 The people walking in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent, but he kept calling out all the more, “Son of David, have pity on me!” 40 Then Jesus stopped and ordered that he be brought to him; and when he came near, Jesus asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?” He replied, “Lord, please let me see.”(T) 42 Jesus told him, “Have sight; your faith has saved you.”(U) 43 He immediately received his sight and followed him, giving glory to God. When they saw this, all the people gave praise to God.
Footnotes
- 18:1–14 The particularly Lucan material in the travel narrative concludes with two parables on prayer. The first (Lk 18:1–8) teaches the disciples the need of persistent prayer so that they not fall victims to apostasy (Lk 18:8). The second (Lk 18:9–14) condemns the self-righteous, critical attitude of the Pharisee and teaches that the fundamental attitude of the Christian disciple must be the recognition of sinfulness and complete dependence on God’s graciousness. The second parable recalls the story of the pardoning of the sinful woman (Lk 7:36–50) where a similar contrast is presented between the critical attitude of the Pharisee Simon and the love shown by the pardoned sinner.
- 18:5 Strike me: the Greek verb translated as strike means “to strike under the eye” and suggests the extreme situation to which the persistence of the widow might lead. It may, however, be used here in the much weaker sense of “to wear one out.”
- 18:15–19:27 Luke here includes much of the material about the journey to Jerusalem found in his Marcan source (Lk 10:1–52) and adds to it the story of Zacchaeus (Lk 19:1–10) from his own particular tradition and the parable of the gold coins (minas) (Lk 19:11–27) from Q, the source common to Luke and Matthew.
- 18:15–17 The sayings on children furnish a contrast to the attitude of the Pharisee in the preceding episode (Lk 18:9–14) and that of the wealthy official in the following one (Lk 18:18–23) who think that they can lay claim to God’s favor by their own merit. The attitude of the disciple should be marked by the receptivity and trustful dependence characteristic of the child.
- 18:22 Detachment from material possessions results in the total dependence on God demanded of one who would inherit eternal life. Sell all that you have: the original saying (cf. Mk 10:21) has characteristically been made more demanding by Luke’s addition of “all.”
- 18:31–33 The details included in this third announcement of Jesus’ suffering and death suggest that the literary formulation of the announcement has been directed by the knowledge of the historical passion and death of Jesus.
- 18:31 Everything written by the prophets…will be fulfilled: this is a Lucan addition to the words of Jesus found in the Marcan source (Mk 10:32–34). Luke understands the events of Jesus’ last days in Jerusalem to be the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, but, as is usually the case in Luke-Acts, the author does not specify which Old Testament prophets he has in mind; cf. Lk 24:25, 27, 44; Acts 3:8; 13:27; 26:22–23.
- 18:38 Son of David: the blind beggar identifies Jesus with a title that is related to Jesus’ role as Messiah (see note on Lk 2:11). Through this Son of David, salvation comes to the blind man. Note the connection between salvation and house of David mentioned earlier in Zechariah’s canticle (Lk 1:69). See also note on Mt 9:27.
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