are linked by the theme of prayer (see vv. 1, 7, 10) and so make up a unit. The parable of the persistent widow, however, also relates closely to the preceding section (compare Luke 18:8b with Luke 17:22, 26, 30), so much so that some commentators take Luke 17:20–18:8 as a unified section. Nevertheless, it is probably best to understand the parable of the persistent widow as more closely related to the parable that follows (although it is quite possible that Luke has intended 18:1–8 to be a transition
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