Luke 18 English Standard Version

The Parable of the Persistent Widow

18 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought ^(A)always to pray and not ^(B)lose heart. ²He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who ^(C)neither feared God nor respected man. ³And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ ⁴For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ^(D)‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, ⁵yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” ⁶And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. ⁷And ^(E)will not God give justice to ^(F)his elect, ^(G)who cry to him day and night? ^(H)^(I)Will he delay long over them? ⁸I tell you, he will give justice to them ^(J)speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, ^(K)will he find faith on earth?”

The Pharisee and the Tax Collector

⁹He also told this parable to some ^(L)who trusted ^(M)in themselves that they were righteous, ^(N)and treated others with contempt: ¹⁰“Two men ^(O)went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹The Pharisee, ^(P)standing by himself, prayed^[a] ^(Q)thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ¹²^(R)I fast twice a week; ^(S)I give tithes of all that I get.’ ¹³But the tax collector, ^(T)standing far off, ^(U)would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but ^(V)beat his breast, saying, ‘God, ^(W)be merciful to me, a sinner!’ ¹⁴I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For ^(X)everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Let the Children Come to Me

¹⁵^(Y)Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they ^(Z)rebuked them. ¹⁶But Jesus called them to him, saying, ^(AA)“Let the children come to me, and ^(AB)do not hinder them, ^(AC)for to such belongs the kingdom of God. ¹⁷^(AD)Truly, I say to you, whoever does not ^(AE)receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”

The Rich Ruler

¹⁸^(AF)And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to ^(AG)inherit eternal life?” ¹⁹And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. ²⁰You know the commandments: ^(AH)‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’” ²¹And he said, ^(AI)“All these I have kept from my youth.” ²²When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. ^(AJ)Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have ^(AK)treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” ²³^(AL)But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. ²⁴Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, ^(AM)“How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter ^(AN)the kingdom of God! ²⁵For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter ^(AO)the kingdom of God.” ²⁶Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” ²⁷But he said, ^(AP)“What is impossible with man is possible with God.” ²⁸And Peter said, “See, ^(AQ)we have left our homes and followed you.” ²⁹And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, ^(AR)there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers^[b] or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, ³⁰who will not receive ^(AS)many times more ^(AT)in this time, and in ^(AU)the age to come eternal life.”

Jesus Foretells His Death a Third Time

³¹^(AV)And taking the twelve, he said to them, “See, ^(AW)we are going up to Jerusalem, and ^(AX)everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. ³²For he will be ^(AY)delivered over to the Gentiles and will be ^(AZ)mocked and shamefully treated and ^(BA)spit upon. ³³And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on ^(BB)the third day he will rise.” ³⁴^(BC)But they understood none of these things. ^(BD)This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.

Jesus Heals a Blind Beggar

³⁵^(BE)As he drew near to Jericho, ^(BF)a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. ³⁶And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. ³⁷They told him, ^(BG)“Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” ³⁸And he cried out, “Jesus, ^(BH)Son of David, have mercy on me!” ³⁹And those who were in front ^(BI)rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁰And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, ⁴¹^(BJ)“What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” ⁴²And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; ^(BK)your faith has ^(BL)made you well.” ⁴³And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, ^(BM)glorifying God. And ^(BN)all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.