1 And he told them a parable to the effect that they oughtrch. 21:36; Rom. 12:12; Eph. 6:18; Col. 4:2; 1 Thess. 5:17; [ch. 11:5-9] always to pray and nots2 Cor. 4:1, 16; 2 Thess. 3:13 (Gk.) lose heart. 2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge whot[2 Cor. 8:21] neither 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[ch. 11:8] ‘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 AndvRev. 6:10; [Isa. 63:4] will not God give justice towRom. 8:33; Col. 3:12; Titus 1:1; See Mark 13:20 his elect,xPs. 88:1 who cry to him day and night?yJames 5:7 (Gk.),z2 Pet. 3:9 Will he delay long over them? 8 I tell you, he will give justice to themaHeb. 10:37 speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes,bch. 17:26-30; [Matt. 24:12] will he find faith on earth? ”
9 He also told this parable to somecch. 16:15; [Matt. 5:20] who trustedd2 Cor. 1:9 in themselves that they were righteous,eProv. 30:12; Isa. 65:5; John 7:48, 49 and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two menf2 Kgs. 20:5, 8; Acts 3:1; [ver. 14] went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee,gMatt. 6:5; Mark 11:25 standing by himself, prayed1Or standing, prayed to himselfh[Rev. 3:17] thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 iMatt. 9:14 I fast twice a week;jch. 11:42 I give tithes of all that I get. ’ 13 But the tax collector,g[See ver. 11 above] standing far off,kEzra 9:6 would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, butlch. 23:48 beat his breast, saying, ‘God,mPs. 79:9; Ezek. 16:63; Dan. 9:19 be merciful to me, a sinner! ’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. FornSee ch. 14:11 everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted. ”
15 oFor ver. 15-17, see Matt. 19:13-15; Mark 10:13-16 Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, theypver. 39 rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called them to him, saying, qMatt. 18:3 “Let the children come to me, andr[Mark 9:39] do not hinder them,qMatt. 18:3 for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 17 s[John 3:3, 5] Truly, I say to you, whoever does nott[ch. 8:13; James 1:21] receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it. ”
18 uFor ver. 18-30, see Matt. 19:16-29; Mark 10:17-30; [ch. 10:25-28] And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do tov[Matt. 19:16]; See Matt. 25:34 inherit eternal life? ” 19 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 20 You know the commandments:wRom. 13:9; Cited from Ex. 20:12-16; Deut. 5:16-20; [Matt. 5:21, 27] ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother. ’ ” 21 And he said,x[Phil. 3:6] “All these I have kept from my youth. ” 22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack.ych. 12:33; [ch. 16:9; 19:8; Acts 2:45; 4:34, 35; 1 Tim. 6:18, 19] Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will havezMatt. 6:19, 20 treasure in heaven; and come, follow me. ” 23 a[Ezek. 33:31] But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. 24 Jesus, looking at him with sadness, said, b[1 Cor. 1:26]; See Matt. 13:22 “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to entercSee Matt. 12:28 the kingdom of God! 25 For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enterc[See ver. 24 above] the kingdom of God. ” 26 Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved? ” 27 But he said, dch. 1:37; Gen. 18:14; Job 42:2; Jer. 32:17, 27 “What is impossible with men is possible with God. ” 28 And Peter said, “See,eMatt. 4:20, 22; Mark 1:18, 20 we have left our homes and followed you. ” 29 And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you,f[ch. 14:26] there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30 who will not receiveg[Job 42:10] many times moreh[Matt. 6:33] in this time, and iniMatt. 12:32; Eph. 1:21; [ch. 20:35] the age to come eternal life. ”
31 jFor ver. 31-33, see Matt. 20:17-19; Mark 10:32-34 And taking the twelve, he said to them, “See,kSee ch. 9:51 we are going up to Jerusalem, andlPs. 22; See Matt. 1:22; 26:24 everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. 32 For he will bemMatt. 27:2; John 18:30, 31; Acts 3:13; [Acts 2:23; 4:27; 21:11] delivered over to the Gentiles and will benMatt. 27:26-31 mocked and shamefully treated andoMark 14:65; 15:19; See Matt. 26:67 spit upon. 33 And after flogging him, they will kill him, and onpSee ch. 9:22 the third day he will rise. ” 34 qSee Mark 9:32 But they understood none of these things.rch. 9:45; [ch. 24:16] This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.
35 sFor ver. 35-43, see Matt. 20:29-34; Mark 10:46-52 As he drew near to Jericho,tJohn 9:1, 8 a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36 And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. 37 They told him,uMatt. 2:23 “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by. ” 38 And he cried out, “Jesus,vSee Matt. 1:1; 9:27 Son of David, have mercy on me! ” 39 And those who were in frontwver. 15 rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me! ” 40 And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, 41 xMark 10:36 “What do you want me to do for you? ” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight. ” 42 And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight;ych. 7:50; 8:48; 17:19; Matt. 9:22; Mark 5:34 your faith haszch. 7:3; 8:36, 50 made you well. ” 43 And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him,aSee ch. 7:16; 13:13 glorifying God. Andb[ch. 19:37] all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.