Luke 18:1–23

Parables on Prayer

¹Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ^aought to pray and not to ^blose heart,

²saying, “In a certain city there was a certain judge who did not fear God and did not ^arespect man.

³“Now there was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me justice from my opponent.’

⁴“And for a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor ^arespect man,

⁵yet ^abecause this widow is bothering me, I will give her justice, lest by continually coming she ^1bwears me out.’”

⁶And ^athe Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge ^*said.

⁷“Now, will God not ^abring about justice for His ^belect who cry to Him day and night, ¹and will He ^cdelay long over them?

⁸“I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, ^awill He find that faith on the earth?”

⁹And He also told this parable to some people who ^atrusted in themselves that they were righteous, and ^bviewed others with contempt:

¹⁰“Two men ^awent up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

¹¹“The Pharisee ^astood and was praying these things to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.

¹²‘I ^afast twice a week; I ^bpay tithes of all that I get.’

¹³“But the tax collector, ^astanding some distance away, ^bwas even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but ^cwas ¹beating his chest, saying, ‘God, be ²merciful to me, the sinner!’

¹⁴“I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other, ^afor everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

^15aAnd they were bringing even their babies to Him so that He would touch them, but when the disciples saw it, they were rebuking them.

¹⁶But Jesus called for them, saying, “Permit the children to come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

¹⁷“Truly I say to you, ^awhoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”

The Rich Young Ruler

^18aAnd a ruler questioned Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

¹⁹And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.

²⁰“You know the commandments, ‘^aDo not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’”

²¹And he said, “All these things I have kept from my youth.”

²²And when Jesus heard this, He said to him, “One thing you still lack: ^asell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have ^btreasure in heaven. And come, follow Me.”

²³But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.