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13 The tax collector, however, stood[a] far off and would not even look up[b] to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, be merciful[c] to me, sinner that I am!’[d] 14 I tell you that this man went down to his home justified[e] rather than the Pharisee.[f] For everyone who exalts[g] himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Jesus and Little Children

15 Now people[h] were even bringing their babies[i] to him for him to touch.[j] But when the disciples saw it, they began to scold those who brought them.[k]

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 18:13 tn Grk “standing”; the Greek participle has been translated as a finite verb.
  2. Luke 18:13 tn Grk “even lift up his eyes” (an idiom).
  3. Luke 18:13 tn The prayer is a humble call for forgiveness. The term for mercy (ἱλάσκομαι, hilaskomai) is associated with the concept of a request for atonement (BDAG 473-74 s.v. 1; Pss 51:1, 3; 25:11; 34:6, 18).
  4. Luke 18:13 tn Grk “the sinner.” The tax collector views himself not just as any sinner but as the worst of all sinners. See ExSyn 222-23.
  5. Luke 18:14 sn The prayer that was heard and honored was the one given with humility; in a surprising reversal it was the tax collector who went down to his home justified.
  6. Luke 18:14 tn Grk “the other”; the referent (the Pharisee, v. 10) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  7. Luke 18:14 sn Everyone who exalts himself. See Luke 14:11. Jesus often called for humility and condemned those who sought honor.
  8. Luke 18:15 tn Grk “they.”
  9. Luke 18:15 tn The term βρέφος (brephos) here can refer to babies or to toddlers (2:12, 16; Acts 7:19; 2 Tim 3:15; 1 Pet 2:2).
  10. Luke 18:15 tn Grk “so that he would touch them.” Here the touch is connected with (or conveys) a blessing (cf. Mark 10:16; also BDAG 126 s.v. ἅπτω 2.c).
  11. Luke 18:15 tn Grk “the disciples began to scold them.” In the translation the referent has been specified as “those who brought them,” since otherwise the statement could be understood to mean that the disciples began scolding the children rather than their parents who brought them.