³¹ The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

The Little Children and Jesus^(A)

¹³ Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them^(B) and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them.

Further Instructions

² Devote yourselves to prayer,^(A) being watchful and thankful.

¹⁷ pray continually,^(A)

The Parable of the Persistent Widow

18 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.^{(A) 2} He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. ³ And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice^(B) against my adversary.’

⁴ “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, ⁵ yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”^(C)

⁶ And the Lord^(D) said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. ⁷ And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out^(E) to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? ⁸ I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man^(F) comes,^(G) will he find faith on the earth?”

⁸ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity^[a] he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.^(A)

⁹ “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you;^(B) seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

²³ Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”

Ask, Seek, Knock^(A)

⁷ “Ask and it will be given to you;^(B) seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds;^(C) and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

²⁵ When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip^(A) so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. ²⁶ Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”

But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”^(B)

²⁷ The man asked him, “What is your name?”

“Jacob,”^(C) he answered.

²⁸ Then the man said, “Your name^(D) will no longer be Jacob, but Israel,^[a](E) because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”^(F)

²⁹ Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”^(G)

But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?”^(H) Then he blessed^(I) him there.