Luk 18 | HCSB | STEP | He then told them a parable on the need for them to pray always and not become discouraged :

Luke 18

The Parable of the Persistent Widow

1 He then told them a parable on the need for them to pray ^a always and not become discouraged: ^b 2 “There was a judge in a certain town who didn’t fear God ^c or respect man. 3 And a widow ^d in that town kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’

4 “For a while he was unwilling, but later he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or respect man, 5 yet because this widow keeps ^e pestering me, ^{▼▼Lit widow causes me trouble} I will give her justice, so she doesn’t wear me out ^{▼▼Or doesn’t give me a black eye, or doesn’t ruin my reputation} by her persistent coming.’”

6 Then the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 Will not God grant justice ^h to His elect ⁱ who cry out to Him day and night? ^j Will He delay ^k to help them? ^{▼▼Or Will He put up with them?} 8 I tell you that He will swiftly grant them justice. Nevertheless, when the ^{▼▼Son of Man: The most frequent title Jesus used for Himself; Dn 7:13}Son of Man comes, ⁿ will He find that faith ^{▼▼Or faith, or that kind of faith, or any faith, or the faith, or faithfulness; the faith that persists in prayer for God’s vindication} on earth?”

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

9 He ^p also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves ^q that they were righteous ^r and looked down ^s on everyone else: 10 “Two men went up to the ^{▼▼temple complex: In the Jerusalem temple, the complex included the sanctuary (the holy place and the holy of holies), at least 4 courtyards (for priests, Jewish men, Jewish women, and Gentiles), numerous gates, and several covered walkways.}temple complex to pray, ^u one a ^{▼▼Pharisee(s): In Judaism a religious sect that followed the whole written and oral law}Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee took his stand ^{▼▼Or Pharisee stood by himself
,} ^x and was praying like this: ‘God, I thank You that I’m not like other people ^{▼▼Or like the rest of men} – greedy, ^z unrighteous, ^aa adulterers, ^ab or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast ^ac twice a week; I give a tenth ^{▼▼Or give tithes
,} ^ae of everything I get.’

13 “But the tax collector, standing far off, ^af would not even raise his eyes to heaven ^ag but kept striking his chest ^{▼▼= mourning
,} ^ai and saying, ‘God, turn Your wrath from me ^{▼▼Lit God, be propitious to me; = May Your wrath be turned aside by the sacrifice
,} ^ak – a sinner!’ ^al 14 I tell you, this one went down to his house ^{▼▼justification/justify/justified: The act of God as judge that declares sinners (who were in the wrong) to be right or righteous in His sight. God is just in doing this because Jesus died on the cross to take away their sins and to give them His own righteousness (2Co 5:21). The sinner receives this justification by faith and by grace when he trusts Christ's work.}justified ^an rather than the other; because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” ^ao

Blessing the Children

15 Some ^ap people were even bringing infants to Him so He might touch them, but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. 16 Jesus, however, invited them: “Let the little children come to Me, ^aq and don’t stop them, because the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 17 ^{▼▼I assure you: This is a phrase used only by Jesus to testify to the certainty and importance of His words; in Mt, Mk and Lk it is literally Amen, I say to you, and in Jn it is literally Amen, amen, I say to you.}I assure you: ^as Whoever does not welcome ^at the kingdom of God like a little child ^au will never enter it.”

The Rich Young Ruler

18 A ^av ruler ^aw asked Him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ^ax

19 “Why do you call Me good?” Jesus asked him. “No one is good but One – God. 20 You know the commandments:

Do not commit adultery;
do not murder;
do not steal;
do not bear false witness;
honor your father and mother.” ^{ay
,} ^az

21 “I have kept all these from my youth,” he said.

22 When Jesus heard this, He told him, “You still lack one thing: Sell all that you have and distribute it to the poor, ^ba and you will have treasure in heaven. ^bb Then come, follow Me.” ^bc

23 After he heard this, he became extremely sad, ^bd because he was very rich.

Possessions and the Kingdom

24 Seeing that he became sad, ^{▼▼Other mss omit he became sad} Jesus said, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter 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 enter the kingdom of God.”

26 Those who heard this asked, “Then who can be saved?” ^bf

27 He replied, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.” ^bg

28 Then Peter said, “Look, we have left what we had and followed ^bh You.”

29 So He said to them, “I assure you: There is no one who has left a house, wife or ^{▼▼brother(s): The Greek word adelphoi can be used as a reference to males only or to groups that include males and females. It is the context of each usage that determines the proper meaning.}brothers, parents or children because of the kingdom of God, 30 who will not receive many times more at this time, ^bj and eternal life in the age to come.”

The Third Prediction of His Death

31 Then ^bk He took the Twelve aside and told them, “Listen! We are going up to Jerusalem. ^bl Everything that is written ^bm through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. ^bn 32 For He will be handed over to the Gentiles, ^bo and He will be mocked, ^bp insulted, spit ^bq on; 33 and after they flog Him, they will kill Him, and He will rise on the third day.” ^br

34 They understood none of these things. ^bs This saying ^{▼▼The meaning of the saying
,} ^bu was hidden ^bv from them, and they did not grasp what was said.

A Blind Man Receives His Sight

35 As ^bw He drew near Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road begging. 36 Hearing a crowd passing by, he inquired what this meant. 37 “Jesus the ^{▼▼Nazarene: A person from Nazareth; growing up in Nazareth was an aspect of the Messiah's humble beginnings; Jn 1:46.}Nazarene ^by is passing by,” they told him.

38 So he called out, ^bz “Jesus, Son of David, ^ca have mercy ^cb on me!” 39 Then those in front told him to keep quiet, ^{▼▼Or those in front rebuked him} but he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

40 Jesus stopped and commanded that he be brought to Him. When he drew near, He asked him, 41 “What do you want Me to do for you?”“Lord,” he said, “I want to see!”

42 “Receive your sight!” ^cd Jesus told him. “Your faith has healed you.” ^{▼▼Or has saved you
,} ^cf 43 Instantly he could see, and he began to follow Him, glorifying God. ^cg All the people, ^ch when they saw it, gave praise to God.