Old/New Testament

The calling of Zacchaeus

19 They went into Jericho and passed through. ² There was a man named Zacchaeus, a chief tax-collector, who was very rich. ³ He was trying to see who Jesus was, but, being a small man, he couldn’t, because of the crowd. ⁴ So he ran on ahead, along the route Jesus was going to take, and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him.

⁵ When Jesus came to the place, he looked up. “Zacchaeus,” he said to him, “hurry up and come down. I have to stay at your house today.” ⁶ So he hurried up, came down, and welcomed him with joy.

⁷ Everybody began to murmur when they saw it. “He’s gone in to spend time with a proper old sinner!” they were saying.

⁸ But Zacchaeus stood there and addressed the master.

“Look, Master,” he said, “I’m giving half my property to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I’m giving it back to them four times over.”

⁹ “Today,” said Jesus, “salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. ¹⁰ You see, the son of man came to seek and to save the lost.”

The king, the servants and the money

¹¹ While people were listening to this, Jesus went on to tell a parable. They were, after all, getting close to Jerusalem, and they thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at any moment.

¹² “There was once a nobleman,” he said, “who went into a country far away to be given royal authority and then return. ¹³ He summoned ten of his slaves and gave them ten silver coins. ‘Do business with these,’ he said, ‘until I come back.’ ¹⁴ His subjects, though, hated him, and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’

¹⁵ “So it happened that when he received the kingship and came back again, he gave orders to summon the slaves who had received the money, so that he could find out how they had got on with their business efforts. ¹⁶ The first came forward and said, ‘Master, your money has made ten times its value!’

¹⁷ “ ‘Well done, you splendid servant!’ he said. ‘You’ve been trustworthy with something small; now you can take command of ten cities.’

¹⁸ “The second came and said, ‘Master, your money has made five times its value!’

¹⁹ “ ‘You too—you can take charge of five cities.’

²⁰ “The other came and said, ‘Master, here is your money. I kept it wrapped in this handkerchief. ²¹ You see, I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man: you profit where you made no investment, and you harvest what you didn’t sow.’

²² “ ‘I’ll condemn you out of your own mouth, you wicked scoundrel of a servant!’ he replied. ‘So: you knew that I was a hard man, profiting where I didn’t invest and harvesting where I didn’t sow? ²³ So why didn’t you put my money with the bankers? Then I’d have had the interest when I got back!’

²⁴ “ ‘Take the money from him,’ he said to the bystanders, ‘and give it to the man who’s made ten of them!’ ²⁵ (‘Master,’ they said to him, ‘he’s got ten coins already!’)

²⁶ “Let me tell you: everyone who has will be given more; but if someone has nothing, even what he has will be taken away from him. ²⁷ But as for these enemies of mine, who didn’t want me to be king over them—bring them here and slaughter them in front of me.”