Luke 17:20–18:8
20 Being asked by the Pharisees uwhen the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God vis not coming in ways that can be observed, 21 nor wwill they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”8
22 And he said to the disciples, x“The days are coming when you will desire yto see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. 23 zAnd they will say to you, ‘Look, there!’ or ‘Look, here!’ Do not go out or follow them. 24 aFor as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be bin his day.9 25 But first che must suffer many things and cbe rejected by this generation. 26 dJust as it was in the days of eNoah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 fThey were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise, just as it was in the days of gLot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, 29 hbut on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all— 30 so will it be ion the day when the Son of Man is revealed. 31 On that day, jlet the one who is on kthe housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back. 32 lRemember Lot’s wife. 33 mWhoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will nkeep it. 34 I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left. 35 oThere will be two women pgrinding together. One will be taken and the other left.”10 37 And they said to him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, q“Where the corpse11 is, there the vultures12 will gather.”
The Parable of the Persistent Widow
18 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought ralways to pray and not slose heart. 2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who tneither feared God nor respected man. 3 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 4 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, u‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’ ” 6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. 7 And vwill not God give justice to whis elect, xwho cry to him day and night? yzWill he delay long over them? 8 I tell you, he will give justice to them aspeedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, bwill he find faith on earth?”