New Testament in a Year
Jesus and Zacchaeus
19 As Jesus[a] entered Jericho and was passing through it, 2 a man named Zacchaeus appeared. He was a leading tax collector, and a rich one at that! 3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but he couldn’t do so due to the crowd, since he was a short man. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see Jesus,[b] who was going to pass that way.
5 When Jesus came to the tree,[c] he looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down! I must stay at your house today.” 6 Zacchaeus[d] came down quickly and was glad to welcome him into his home.[e]
7 But all the people who saw this began to complain: “Jesus[f] is going to be the guest of a notorious[g] sinner!”
8 Later, Zacchaeus stood up and announced to the Lord, “Look! I’m giving half of my possessions to the destitute, and if I have accused anyone falsely, I’m repaying four times as much as I owe.”[h]
9 Then Jesus told him, “Today salvation has come to this home, because this man[i] is also a descendant of Abraham, 10 and the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.”
The Parable about the Coins
11 As they were listening to this, Jesus[j] went on to tell a parable because he was near Jerusalem and because the people[k] thought that the kingdom of God would appear immediately. 12 So he said, “A prince went to a distant country to be appointed king and then to return. 13 He called ten of his servants and gave them ten coins.[l] He told them, ‘Invest this money until I come back.’ 14 But the citizens of his country hated him and sent a delegation to follow him and to announce, ‘We don’t want this man to rule over us!’
15 “After he was appointed king, the prince[m] came back. He ordered the servants to whom he had given the money to be called so he could find out what they had earned by investing. 16 The first servant[n] came and said, ‘Sir, your coin has earned ten more coins.’ 17 The king[o] told him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been trustworthy in a very small thing, take charge of ten cities.’
18 “The second servant[p] came and said, ‘Your coin, sir, has earned five coins.’ 19 The king[q] told him, ‘You take charge of five cities.’
20 “Then the other servant[r] came and said, ‘Sir, look! Here’s your coin. I’ve kept it in a cloth for safekeeping 21 because I was afraid of you. You are a hard man. You withdraw what you didn’t deposit and harvest what you didn’t plant.’ 22 The king[s] told him, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you evil servant! You knew, did you, that I was a hard man, and that I withdraw what I didn’t deposit and harvest what I didn’t plant? 23 Then why didn’t you put my money in the bank? When I returned, I could have collected it with interest.’
24 “So the king[t] told those standing nearby, ‘Take the coin away from him and give it to the man who has the ten coins.’ 25 They answered him, ‘Sir, he already[u] has ten coins!’ 26 ‘I tell you, to everyone who has something, more will be given, but from the person who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away. 27 But as for these enemies of mine who didn’t want me to be their king—bring them here and slaughter them in my presence!’”
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