Luke 18
Legacy Standard Bible
Parables on Prayer
18 Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they (A)ought to pray and not to (B)lose heart, 2 saying, “In a certain city there was a certain judge who did not fear God and did not (C)respect man. 3 Now there was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me justice from my opponent.’ 4 And for a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor (D)respect man, 5 yet (E)because this widow is bothering me, I will give her justice, lest by continually coming she [a](F)wears me out.’” 6 And (G)the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge *said. 7 Now, will God not (H)bring about justice for His (I)elect who cry to Him day and night, [b]and will He (J)delay long over them? 8 I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, (K)will He find that faith on the earth?”
9 And He also told this parable to some people who (L)trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and (M)viewed others with contempt: 10 “Two men (N)went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee (O)stood and was praying these things to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I (P)fast twice a week; I (Q)pay tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, (R)standing some distance away, (S)was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but (T)was [c]beating his chest, saying, ‘God, be [d]merciful to me, the sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other, (U)for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
15 (V)And they were bringing even their babies to Him so that He would touch them, but when the disciples saw it, they were rebuking them. 16 But Jesus called for them, saying, “Permit the children to come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 17 Truly I say to you, (W)whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”
The Rich Young Ruler
18 (X)And a ruler questioned Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to 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, ‘(Y)Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’” 21 And he said, “All these things I have kept from my youth.” 22 And when Jesus heard this, He said to him, “One thing you still lack: (Z)sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have (AA)treasure in heaven. And come, follow Me.” 23 But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. 24 And Jesus looked at him and said, “(AB)How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God! 25 For (AC)it is easier for a camel to [e]go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 And those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” 27 But He said, “(AD)The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.”
28 And Peter said, “Behold, (AE)we have left all that is our own and followed You.” 29 And He said to them, “Truly I say to you, (AF)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 more at this time and in (AG)the age to come, eternal life.”
31 (AH)But when He took the twelve aside, He said to them, “Behold, (AI)we are going up to Jerusalem, and (AJ)all things which are written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be [f]completed. 32 (AK)For He will be [g]delivered over to the Gentiles, and will be mocked and mistreated and spit upon, 33 and after they have flogged Him, they will kill Him, and the third day He will rise again.” 34 But (AL)the disciples understood none of these things, and this statement was hidden from them, and they did not comprehend the things that were said.
Bartimaeus Regains His Sight
35 (AM)Now it happened that as [h](AN)Jesus was approaching Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road begging. 36 Now hearing a crowd going by, he began to inquire what this was. 37 They reported to him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” 38 And he called out, saying, “Jesus, (AO)Son of David, have mercy on me!” 39 And those who went ahead were rebuking him so that he would be quiet, but he kept crying out all the more, “(AP)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 questioned 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, “[i]Receive your sight; (AQ)your faith has [j]saved you.” 43 Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him, (AR)glorifying God. And when (AS)all the people saw it, they gave praise to God.
Footnotes
- Luke 18:5 Lit hit me under the eye
- Luke 18:7 Or and yet He is very patient toward them
- Luke 18:13 A traditional sign of mourning or contrition
- Luke 18:13 Or propitious
- Luke 18:25 Lit enter
- Luke 18:31 Or finished, cf. 12:50
- Luke 18:32 Or betrayed
- Luke 18:35 Lit He
- Luke 18:42 Lit Regain
- Luke 18:42 Or made you well
Luke 18
Evangelical Heritage Version
The Parable of the Persistent Widow
18 Jesus told them a parable about the need to always pray and not lose heart: 2 “There was a judge in a certain town who did not fear God and did not care about people. 3 There was a widow in that town, and she kept going to him, saying, ‘Give me justice from my adversary!’ 4 For some time he refused, but after a while he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God or care about people, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice so that she will not wear me out with her endless pleading.’”
6 The Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 Will not God give justice to his chosen ones, who are crying out to him day and night? Will he put off helping them? 8 I tell you that he will give them justice quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
The Pharisee and the Tax Collector
9 Jesus told this parable to certain people who trusted in themselves (that they were righteous) and looked down on others: 10 “Two men went up to the temple courts to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed about himself like this: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people, robbers, evildoers, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week. I give a tenth of all my income.’
13 “However the tax collector stood at a distance and would not even lift his eyes up to heaven, but was beating his chest and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’
14 “I tell you, this man went home justified rather than the other, because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Jesus Loves Little Children
15 People were bringing even their babies to Jesus, so that he would touch them. When the disciples saw this, they began to rebuke them. 16 But Jesus invited them, saying, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 17 Amen I tell you: Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
The Rich Young Ruler
18 A certain ruler asked Jesus, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
19 Jesus asked him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good, except one—God. 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.’”[a]
21 “I have kept all these since I was a child,” he said.
22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
23 But when the ruler heard these words, he became very sad, because he was very rich.
24 When Jesus saw that the man became very sad, he said, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! 25 In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
26 Those who heard this said, “Then who can be saved?”
27 He replied, “What is impossible for people is possible for God.”
28 And Peter said, “Look, we have left our possessions[b] and followed you.”
29 He said to them, “Amen I tell you: Anyone who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God 30 will most certainly receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come, eternal life.”
Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection Again
31 He took the Twelve aside and said to them, “Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. 32 Indeed, he will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, mistreat him, spit on him, 33 flog him, and kill him. On the third day, he will rise again.”
34 They did not understand any of these things. What he said was hidden from them, and they did not understand what was said.
Blind Bartimaeus
35 As he approached Jericho, a blind man sat by the road, begging. 36 When he heard a crowd going by, he asked what was happening. 37 They told him that Jesus the Nazarene was passing by. 38 He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 39 Those who were at the front of the crowd rebuked him, telling him to be quiet. But he kept calling out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
40 Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, he asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?”
He said, “Lord, I want to see again.”
42 Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight. Your faith has saved you.”
43 Immediately he received his sight and began following Jesus, glorifying God. All the people, when they saw this, gave praise to God.
Footnotes
- Luke 18:20 Exodus 20:12-16; Deuteronomy 5:16-20
- Luke 18:28 Some witnesses to the text read left everything.
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