Luke 19Expanded Bible (EXB)

Zacchaeus Meets Jesus

19 Jesus [^Lentered and] was going through the city of Jericho. ² A man was there named Zacchaeus, who was a ·very important [chief; leading] tax collector [^Cwith oversight over other tax collectors, and so even more hated; see 18:10], and he was wealthy. ³ He ·wanted [was trying] to see who Jesus was, but he was not able because he was too short to see above the crowd. ⁴ He ran ahead to a place where Jesus ·would come [was about to pass], and he climbed a sycamore tree so he could see him. ⁵ When Jesus came to that place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down! [^LFor; Because] I must stay at your house today.”

⁶ Zacchaeus came down quickly and welcomed him ·gladly [joyfully]. ⁷ All the people saw this and began to ·complain [murmur; grumble], “Jesus ·is staying with [has gone in to lodge with/be the guest of] a sinner!”

⁸ But Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord [^Cthe scene presumably changes here to a meal at Zacchaeus’ home], “[^LLook; ^TBehold] I ·will give [or I am now giving] half of my possessions to the poor. And ·if I have cheated anyone [or to those I have cheated/extorted], I will pay back four times more [^Ca generous response, since the law required only restitution plus one-fifth; Lev. 6:1–5].”

⁹ Jesus said to him, “Salvation has come to this house today, because this man also ·belongs to the family [^Lis a son] of Abraham. ¹⁰ [^LFor; Because] The Son of Man came to ·find [seek out] lost people and save them.”

A Story About Three Servants

¹¹ As ·the people [^Lthey; ^Ceither the disciples, the guests of Zacchaeus, or the larger crowd] were listening to this, Jesus told them a ·story [parable] because he was near Jerusalem and ·they thought [it seemed to them] God’s kingdom would appear immediately. ¹² He said: “A ·very important man [nobleman] went to a country far away to ·be made a king [^Lreceive a kingdom] and then to return home [^CJudean kings, like Herod the Great and his son Archelaus, received their authority to rule from the emperor in Rome]. ¹³ So he called ten of his ·servants [slaves] and gave a coin [^CGreek: mina; worth 100 denarii, or about 3 months’ wages] to each servant. He said, ‘·Do business with [Invest; Trade with] this money until I get back.’ ¹⁴ But ·the people in the kingdom [^Lhis citizens/subjects] hated the man. So they sent a ·group [delegation; embassy] to follow him and say, ‘We don’t want this man to ·be our king [^Lrule/reign over us].’

¹⁵ “But the man ·became king [^Lreceived the kingdom]. When he returned home, he said, ‘Call those ·servants [slaves] who have my money so I can know how much they earned with it.’

¹⁶ “The first servant came and said, ‘Sir, ·I earned ten coins with the one you gave me [^Lyour mina has earned ten minas].’ ¹⁷ The king said to the servant, ‘Excellent! ·You are a good servant [Good servant/slave!]. Since ·I can trust you [you have been faithful] with small things, I will let you ·rule [govern; ^Lhave authority] over ten of my cities.’

¹⁸ “The second servant said, ‘Sir, ·I earned five coins with your one [^Lyour mina earned five minas].’ ¹⁹ The king said to this servant, ‘You can ·rule [be; take charge] over five cities.’

²⁰ “Then another servant came in and said to the king, ‘Sir, here is your ·coin [mina] which I ·wrapped [stored away] in a ·piece of cloth [handkerchief] and hid. ²¹ [^LFor; Because] I was afraid of you, because you are a ·hard [harsh; demanding; severe] man. You even take ·money that [^Lout what] you didn’t ·earn [^Lput in] and ·gather food that [harvest what] you didn’t ·plant [sow].’ ²² Then the king said to the servant, ‘I will ·condemn [judge] you ·by your own words [^Lfrom your mouth], you ·evil [wicked; or worthless] servant. You knew that I am a ·hard [harsh; demanding; severe] man, taking ·money that [^Lout what] I didn’t ·earn [^Lput in]and ·gathering food that [^Lharvesting what] I didn’t ·plant [sow]. ²³ Why then didn’t you put my money ·in the bank [^Lon the table; ^Creferring to the banker’s table]? Then when I came back, my money would have earned some interest.’

²⁴ “·The king [He] said to the men who were standing by, ‘Take the ·coin [^Lmina] away from this servant and give it to the servant who earned ten ·coins [^Lminas].’ ²⁵ They said, ‘But sir, that servant already has ten ·coins [^Lminas].’ ²⁶ ·The king said [^LI say to you], ‘Those who have will be given more, but those who do not have anything ·will have everything [^Leven what they have will be] taken away from them. ²⁷ Now ·where are my enemies [or concerning those enemies] who didn’t want me to ·be king [rule/reign over them]? Bring them here and ·kill [slay; slaughter] them before me.’”

Jesus Enters Jerusalem as a King

²⁸ After Jesus said this, he went on [^Lahead, going up] toward Jerusalem. ²⁹ As Jesus came near Bethphage and Bethany, towns near the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent out two of his ·followers [disciples]. ³⁰ He said, “Go to the town ·you can see there [ahead of you; or opposite you; ^Cunclear whether Bethphage or Bethany]. When you enter it, you will find a ·colt [young donkey] tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here to me. ³¹ If anyone asks you why you are untying it, say that ·the Master [the Lord; or its Owner] needs it.”

³² The two ·followers [^Lwho were sent] went into town and found ·the colt [or the situation] just as Jesus had told them. ³³ As they were untying it, its ·owners [masters] came out and asked the followers, “Why are you untying our ·colt [young donkey]?”

³⁴ The followers answered, “·The Master [The Lord; Its Owner] needs it.” ³⁵ So they brought it to Jesus, threw their ·coats [garments] on the ·colt’s [young donkey’s] back, and put Jesus on it. ³⁶ As Jesus rode toward Jerusalem, others spread their coats on the ·road [path; way] before him.

³⁷ As he was coming close to Jerusalem, on the way down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of ·followers [disciples] began joyfully shouting praise to God for all the ·miracles [mighty works] they had seen. ³⁸ They said,

³⁹ Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, ·tell your followers not to say these things [^Lrebuke your disciples].”

⁴⁰ But Jesus answered, “I tell you, if ·my followers didn’t say these things [^Lthey remained silent], then the stones would ·cry out [start shouting].”

Jesus Cries for Jerusalem

⁴¹ As Jesus came near Jerusalem, he saw the city and ·cried for [wept over] it, ⁴² saying, “·I wish you [^LIf you, even you,] ·knew [recognized] today what would bring you peace. But now it is hidden from ·you [^Lyour eyes]. ⁴³ ·The time is coming [^LFor the days will come upon you] when your enemies will build ·a wall around you [ramparts against your walls] and will ·hold you in [^Lsurround and close you in] on all sides. ⁴⁴ They will ·destroy you [level you; smash you to the ground] and all your ·people [^Lchildren within your walls], and not one stone will be left on another. All this will happen because you did not recognize the time ·when God came to save you [^Lof your visitation; ^Cthe failure to recognize God’s “visit” in Jesus (see 1:68, 78) will result in a divine “visit” in judgment].”

Jesus Goes to the Temple

⁴⁵ Jesus went into the Temple and began to ·throw [drive] out the people who were selling things there. ⁴⁶ He said, “It is written in the Scriptures, ‘My ·Temple [^LHouse] will be a house for prayer [Is. 56:7].’ But you have ·changed [made] it into a ‘·hideout for robbers’ [^Tden of thieves; Jer. 7:11]!”

⁴⁷ Jesus ·taught [was teaching] in the Temple every day. The ·leading [^Tchief] priests, the ·experts on the law [scribes], and some of the leaders of the people ·wanted [were looking for a way] to ·kill [destroy] Jesus. ⁴⁸ But they ·did not know how they could [could not find a way to] do it, because all the people were ·listening closely to him [hanging on his every word].