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. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who (C)neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, (D)‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. 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? 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?”

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The Parable of the Unjust Judge

18 And he told them a parable to show that they must always pray and not be discouraged, saying, “There was a certain judge in a certain town who did not fear God and did not respect people. And there was a widow in that town, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary!’ And he was not willing for a time, but after these things he said to himself, ‘Even if I do not fear God or respect people, yet because this widow is causing trouble for me, I will grant her justice, so that she does not wear me down in the end by her[a] coming back!’” And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unrighteous judge is saying! And will not God surely see to it that justice is done[b] to his chosen ones who cry out to him day and night, and will he delay toward them? I tell you that he will see to it that justice is done[c] for them soon! Nevertheless, when[d] the Son of Man comes, then will he find faith on earth?”

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 18:5 Here “by” is supplied as a component of the participle (“coming back”) which is understood as means
  2. Luke 18:7 Literally “carry out the giving of justice”
  3. Luke 18:8 Literally “he will carry out the giving of justice”
  4. Luke 18:8 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“comes”) which is understood as temporal