Luke 18

1 Jesus ^{a18:1 Lit. He} told his disciples ^{b18:1 Lit. them} a parable about their need to pray all the time and never give up.ISV — Luke 18:1

2 He said, “In a city there was a judge who didn’t fear God or respect people.ISV — Luke 18:2

3 In that city there was also a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ISV — Luke 18:3

4 For a while the judge ^{c18:4 Lit. he} refused. But later, he told himself, ‘I don’t fear God or respect people,ISV — Luke 18:4

5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice. Otherwise, she will keep coming and wear me out.’”ISV — Luke 18:5

6 Then the Lord added, “Listen to what the unrighteous judge says.ISV — Luke 18:6

7 Won’t God grant his chosen people justice when they cry out to him day and night? Is he slow to help them?ISV — Luke 18:7

8 I tell you, he will give them justice quickly. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”ISV — Luke 18:8

9 Jesus ^{d18:9 Lit. He} also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves, thinking they were righteous, but who looked down on everyone else:ISV — Luke 18:9

10 “Two men went up to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector.ISV — Luke 18:10

11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, ‘O God, I thank you that I’m not like other people—thieves, dishonest people, adulterers, or even this tax collector.ISV — Luke 18:11

12 I fast twice a week, and I give a tenth of my entire income.’ISV — Luke 18:12

13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance and would not even look up to heaven. Instead, he continued to beat his chest and said, ‘O God, be merciful to me, the sinner that I am!’ ^{e18:13 The Gk. lacks that I am}ISV — Luke 18:13

14 I tell you, this man, rather than the other one, went down to his home justified, because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the person who humbles himself will be exalted.” ( ; )ISV — Luke 18:14

15 Now some people ^{f18:15 Lit. they} were even bringing their infants to Jesus ^{g18:15 Lit. him} to have him touch them. But when the disciples saw this, they sternly told the people ^{h18:15 Lit. them} not to do that.ISV — Luke 18:15

16 Jesus, however, called for the children ^{i18:16 Lit. them} and said, “Let the little children come to me, and stop keeping them away, because the kingdom of God belongs to people like these.ISV — Luke 18:16

17 I tell all of you ^{j18:17 The Gk. pronoun you is pl.} with certainty, whoever doesn’t receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never get into it at all.” ( ; )ISV — Luke 18:17

18 Then an official asked Jesus, ^{k18:18 Lit. him} “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”ISV — Luke 18:18

19 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked him. “Nobody is good except for one—God.ISV — Luke 18:19

20 You know the commandments: ‘Never commit adultery. ^{l18:20 Cf. Exod 20:14; Deut 5:18} Never murder. ^{m18:20 Cf. Exod 20:13; Deut 5:17} Never steal. ^{n18:20 Cf. Exod 20:15; Deut 5:19} Never give false testimony. ^{o18:20 Cf. Exod 20:16; Deut 5:20} Honor your father and mother.’” ^{p18:20 Cf. Exod 20:12; Deut 5:16}ISV — Luke 18:20

21 The official ^{q18:21 Lit. He} replied, “I have kept all of these since I was a young man.”ISV — Luke 18:21

22 When Jesus heard this, he told him, “You still need to do one thing. Sell everything you have and give the money ^{r18:22 The Gk. lacks the money} to the destitute, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come back and follow me.”ISV — Luke 18:22

23 But when the official ^{s18:23 Lit. he} heard this he became sad, because he was very rich. ( ; )ISV — Luke 18:23

24 So when Jesus saw how sad he was, he ^{t18:24 Other mss. read So Jesus looked at him and} said, “How hard it is for rich people to get into the kingdom of God!ISV — Luke 18:24

25 Indeed, it’s easier for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to get into the kingdom of God.”ISV — Luke 18:25

26 Those who were listening to Jesus ^{u18:26 Lit. him} asked, “Then who can be saved?”ISV — Luke 18:26

27 Jesus ^{v18:27 Lit. He} replied, “The things that are impossible for people are possible for God.”ISV — Luke 18:27

28 Then Peter said, “See, we have left everything we have and followed you.”ISV — Luke 18:28

29 Jesus ^{w18:29 Lit. He} told them, “I tell all of you ^{x18:29 The Gk. pronoun you is pl.} with certainty, there is no one who has left his home, wife, brothers, parents, or children because of the kingdom of GodISV — Luke 18:29

30 who will not receive many times as much in this world, as well as eternal life in the age to come.” ( ; )ISV — Luke 18:30

31 Jesus ^{y18:31 Lit. He} took the Twelve aside and told them, “Pay attention! We’re going up to Jerusalem. Everything written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled,ISV — Luke 18:31

32 because he’ll be handed over to the unbelievers, ^{z18:32 Lit. gentiles ; i.e. unbelieving non-Jews} and will be mocked, insulted, and spit on.ISV — Luke 18:32

33 After they have whipped him, they’ll kill him, but on the third day he’ll rise again.”ISV — Luke 18:33

34 But they didn’t understand any of this. What he said was hidden from them, and they didn’t know what he meant. ( ; )ISV — Luke 18:34

35 As Jesus ^{aa18:35 Lit. he} was approaching Jericho, there was a blind man sitting by the road begging.ISV — Luke 18:35

36 When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening.ISV — Luke 18:36

37 They told him that Jesus from Nazareth ^{bb18:37 Or Jesus the Nazarene; the Gk. Nazoraios may be a word play between Heb. netser, meaning branch (see Isa 11:1), and the name Nazareth.} was coming by.ISV — Luke 18:37

38 So he shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”ISV — Luke 18:38

39 The people at the front of the crowd ^{cc18:39 The Gk. lacks of the crowd} sternly told him to be quiet, but he started shouting even louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”ISV — Luke 18:39

40 Then Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus ^{dd18:40 Lit. he} asked him,ISV — Luke 18:40

41 “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, I want to see again!”ISV — Luke 18:41

42 So Jesus told him, “See again! Your faith has made you well.”ISV — Luke 18:42

43 Immediately the man ^{ee18:43 Lit. he} could see again and began to follow Jesus, ^{ff18:43 Lit. him} glorifying God. All the people saw this and gave praise to God.ISV — Luke 18:43