New Testament in a Year
Zacchaeus Meets Jesus
19 Jesus [L entered and] was going through the city of Jericho. 2 A man was there named Zacchaeus, who was a ·very important [chief; leading] tax collector [C with 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! [L For; 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 [C the scene presumably changes here to a meal at Zacchaeus’ home], “[L Look; T Behold] 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 [C a 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 [L is a son] of Abraham. 10 [L For; Because] The Son of Man came to ·find [seek out] lost people and save them.”
A Story About Three Servants(A)
11 As ·the people [L they; C either 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 [L receive a kingdom] and then to return home [C Judean 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 [C Greek: 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 [L his 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 [L rule/reign over us].’
15 “But the man ·became king [L received 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 [L your 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; L have authority] over ten of my cities.’
18 “The second servant said, ‘Sir, ·I earned five coins with your one [L your 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 [L For; Because] I was afraid of you, because you are a ·hard [harsh; demanding; severe] man. You even take ·money that [L out what] you didn’t ·earn [L put 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 [L from your mouth], you ·evil [wicked; or worthless] servant. You knew that I am a ·hard [harsh; demanding; severe] man, taking ·money that [L out what] I didn’t ·earn [L put in]and ·gathering food that [L harvesting what] I didn’t ·plant [sow]. 23 Why then didn’t you put my money ·in the bank [L on the table; C referring 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 [L mina] away from this servant and give it to the servant who earned ten ·coins [L minas].’ 25 They said, ‘But sir, that servant already has ten ·coins [L minas].’ 26 ·The king said [L I say to you], ‘Those who have will be given more, but those who do not have anything ·will have everything [L even 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.’”
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