Luke 18 (New American Standard)

Parables on Prayer

1 Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ¹ought to pray and not to ²lose heart, 2 saying, "In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not ³respect man. 3 "There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, '^aGive me legal protection from my opponent.' 4 "For a while he was unwilling ; but afterward he said to himself, 'Even though I do not fear God nor ⁴respect man, 5 yet ⁵because this widow bothers me, I will ^bgive her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will ^c6wear me out.' " 6 And ⁷the Lord said, "Hear what the unrighteous judge said ; 7 now, will not God ⁸bring about justice for His ⁹elect who cry to Him day and night, ^dand will He ¹⁰delay long over them? 8 "I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, ¹¹will He find ^efaith on the earth ?"

The Pharisee and the Publican

9 And He also told this parable to some people who ¹²trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and ¹³viewed others with contempt : 10 "Two men ¹⁴went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 "The Pharisee ¹⁵stood and was praying this to himself : 'God, I thank You that I am not like other people : swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 'I ¹⁶fast twice a week ; I ¹⁷pay tithes of all that I get.' 13 "But the tax collector, ¹⁸standing some distance away, ¹⁹was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but ²⁰was beating his breast, saying, 'God, be ^fmerciful to me, the sinner !' 14 "I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other ; ²¹for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted." 15 ²²And they were bringing even their babies to Him so that He would touch them, but when the disciples saw it, they began rebuking them. 16 But Jesus called for them, saying, "Permit the children to come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 17 "Truly I say to you, ²³whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all."

The Rich Young Ruler

18 ²⁴A ruler questioned Him, saying, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to 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, '²⁵DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, DO NOT MURDER, DO NOT STEAL, DO NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS, HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER.' " 21 And he said, "All these things I have kept from my youth." 22 When Jesus heard this, He said to him, "One thing you still lack ; ²⁶sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have ²⁷treasure in heaven ; and come, follow Me." 23 But when he had heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. 24 And Jesus looked at him and said, "²⁸How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God ! 25 "For ²⁹it is easier for a camel to ^ggo through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." 26 They who heard it said, "Then who can be saved ?" 27 But He said, "³⁰The things that are impossible with people are possible with God." 28 Peter said, "Behold, ³¹we have left ^hour own homes and followed You." 29 And He said to them, "Truly I say to you, ³²there 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 receive many times as much at this time and in ³³the age to come, eternal life." 31 ³⁴Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, "Behold, ³⁵we are going up to Jerusalem, and ³⁶all things which are written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. 32 "³⁷For He will be ⁱhanded over to the Gentiles, and will be mocked and mistreated and spit upon, 33 and after they have scourged Him, they will kill Him; and the third day He will rise again." 34 But ³⁸the disciples understood none of these things, and the meaning of this statement was hidden from them, and they did not comprehend the things that were said.

Bartimaeus Receives Sight

35 ³⁹As ^j40Jesus was approaching Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road begging. 36 Now hearing a crowd going by, he began to inquire what this was. 37 They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. 38 And he called out, saying, "Jesus, ⁴¹Son of David, have mercy on me!" 39 Those who led the way were sternly telling him to be quiet ; but he kept crying out all the more, "⁴²Son of David, have mercy on me!" 40 And Jesus stopped and commanded that he be brought to Him; and when he came near, He questioned him, 41 "What do you want Me to do for you?" And he said, "Lord, I want to regain my sight !" 42 And Jesus said to him, "^kReceive your sight ; ⁴³your faith has ^lmade you well." 43 Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him, ⁴⁴glorifying God ; and when ⁴⁵all the people saw it, they gave praise to God.