Daily Reading for Personal Growth, 40 Days with God

¹⁰ ‘Two men went up to the temple to pray,^(A) one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee was standing^(B) and praying like this about himself:^[a] “God, I thank you that I’m not like other people – greedy,^(C) unrighteous,^(D) adulterers,^(E) or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast^(F) twice a week; I give a tenth^[b](G) of everything I get.”

¹³ ‘But the tax collector, standing far off,^(H) would not even raise his eyes to heaven^(I) but kept striking his chest^(J) and saying, “God, have mercy on me,^[c](K) a sinner! ”^{(L) 14} I tell you, this one went down to his house justified^(M) rather than the other, because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.’^(N)