Luke 18

Chapter 18

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 judge who did not fear God and did not ^arespect man.

³“There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘¹Give me legal protection from my opponent.’

⁴“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 bothers me, I will ¹give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will ^2bwear me out.’ ”

⁶And ^athe Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge ^*said;

⁷now, will not God ^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 ¹faith on the earth?”

The Pharisee and the Publican

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 this 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 beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be ¹merciful to me, the sinner!’

¹⁴“I tell you, this man went 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 began 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 not enter it at all.”

The Rich Young Ruler

^18aA 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.”

²²When 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 had heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.

²⁴And Jesus looked at him and said, “^aHow hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!

²⁵“For ^ait is easier for a camel to ¹go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

²⁶They who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?”

²⁷But He said, “^aThe things that are impossible with people are possible with God.”

²⁸Peter said, “Behold, ^awe have left ¹our own homes and followed You.”

²⁹And He said to them, “Truly I say to you, ^athere is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God,

³⁰who will not receive many times as much at this time and in ^athe age to come, eternal life.”

^31aThen He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, ^bwe are going up to Jerusalem, and ^call things which are written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished.

³²“^aFor He will be ¹handed over to the Gentiles, and will be mocked and mistreated and spit upon,

³³and after they have scourged Him, they will kill Him; and the third day He will rise again.”

³⁴But ^athe disciples understood none of these things, and the meaning of this statement was hidden from them, and they did not comprehend the things that were said.

Bartimaeus Receives Sight

^35aAs ^1bJesus was approaching Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road begging.

³⁶Now hearing a crowd going by, he began to inquire what this was.

³⁷They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by.

³⁸And he called out, saying, “Jesus, ^aSon of David, have mercy on me!”

³⁹Those who led the way were sternly telling him to be quiet; but he kept crying out all the more, “^aSon of David, have mercy on me!”

⁴⁰And Jesus stopped and commanded that he be brought to Him; and when he came near, He questioned him,

⁴¹“What do you want Me to do for you?” And he said, “Lord, I want to regain my sight!”

⁴²And Jesus said to him, “¹Receive your sight; ^ayour faith has ²made you well.”

⁴³Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him, ^aglorifying God; and when ^ball the people saw it, they gave praise to God.