The Bible in Basic English BBE
Good News Translation GNT
1 And he made a story for them, the point of which was that men were to go on making prayer and not get tired;
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Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to teach them that they should always pray and never become discouraged.
2 Saying, There was a judge in a certain town, who had no fear of God or respect for man:
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"In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected people.
3 And there was a widow in that town, and she kept on coming to him and saying, Give me my right against the man who has done me wrong.
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And there was a widow in that same town who kept coming to him and pleading for her rights, saying, "Help me against my opponent!'
4 And for a time he would not: but later, he said to himself, Though I have no fear of God or respect for man,
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For a long time the judge refused to act, but at last he said to himself, "Even though I don't fear God or respect people,
5 Because this widow is a trouble to me, I will give her her right; for if not, I will be completely tired out by her frequent coming.
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yet because of all the trouble this widow is giving me, I will see to it that she gets her rights. If I don't, she will keep on coming and finally wear me out!' "
6 And the Lord said, Give ear to the words of the evil judge.
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And the Lord continued, "Listen to what that corrupt judge said.
7 And will not God do right in the cause of his saints, whose cries come day and night to his ears, though he is long in doing it?
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Now, will God not judge in favor of his own people who cry to him day and night for help? Will he be slow to help them?
8 I say to you that he will quickly do right in their cause. But when the Son of man comes, will there be any faith on earth?
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I tell you, he will judge in their favor and do it quickly. But will the Son of Man find faith on earth when he comes?"
9 And he made this story for some people who were certain that they were good, and had a low opinion of others:
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Jesus also told this parable to people who were sure of their own goodness and despised everybody else.
10 Two men went up to the Temple for prayer; one a Pharisee, and the other a tax-farmer.
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"Once there were two men who went up to the Temple to pray: one was a Pharisee, the other a tax collector.
11 The Pharisee, taking up his position, said to himself these words: God, I give you praise because I am not like other men, who take more than their right, who are evil-doers, who are untrue to their wives, or even like this tax-farmer.
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The Pharisee stood apart by himself and prayed, "I thank you, God, that I am not greedy, dishonest, or an adulterer, like everybody else. I thank you that I am not like that tax collector over there.
12 Twice in the week I go without food; I give a tenth of all I have.
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I fast two days a week, and I give you one tenth of all my income.'
13 The tax-farmer, on the other hand, keeping far away, and not lifting up even his eyes to heaven, made signs of grief and said, God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
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But the tax collector stood at a distance and would not even raise his face to heaven, but beat on his breast and said, "God, have pity on me, a sinner!'
14 I say to you, This man went back to his house with God's approval, and not the other: for everyone who makes himself high will be made low and whoever makes himself low will be made high.
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I tell you," said Jesus, "the tax collector, and not the Pharisee, was in the right with God when he went home. For those who make themselves great will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be made great."
15 And they took their children to him, so that he might put his hands on them: but when the disciples saw it, they said sharp words to them
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Some people brought their babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. The disciples saw them and scolded them for doing so,
16 But Jesus sent for them, saying, Let the children come to me, and do not keep them away, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.
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but Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the children come to me and do not stop them, because the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
17 Truly I say to you, Whoever does not put himself under the kingdom of God like a little child, will not come into it at all.
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Remember this! Whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it."
18 And a certain ruler put a question to him, saying, Good Master, what have I to do so that I may have eternal life?
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A Jewish leader asked Jesus, "Good Teacher, what must I do to receive eternal life?"
19 And Jesus said to him, Why do you say that I am good? No one is good, but only God.
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"Why do you call me good?" Jesus asked him. "No one is good except God alone.
20 You have knowledge of what the law says: Do not be untrue to your wife, Do not put anyone to death, Do not take what is not yours, Do not give false witness, Give honour to your father and mother.
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You know the commandments: "Do not commit adultery; do not commit murder; do not steal; do not accuse anyone falsely; respect your father and your mother.' "
21 And he said, All these things I have done from the time when I was a boy.
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The man replied, "Ever since I was young, I have obeyed all these commandments."
22 And Jesus, hearing it, said to him, One thing you still have need of; get money for your goods, and give it away to the poor, and you will have wealth in heaven; and come after me.
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When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "There is still one more thing you need to do. Sell all you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; then come and follow me."
23 But at these words he became very sad, for he had great wealth.
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But when the man heard this, he became very sad, because he was very rich.
24 And Jesus, looking at him, said, How hard it is for those who have wealth to get into the kingdom of God!
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Jesus saw that he was sad and said, "How hard it is for rich people to enter the Kingdom of God!
25 It is simpler for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a man who has much money to come into the kingdom of God.
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It is much harder for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle."
26 And those who were present said, Then who may have salvation?
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The people who heard him asked, "Who, then, can be saved?"
27 But he said, Things which are not possible with man are possible with God.
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Jesus answered, "What is humanly impossible is possible for God."
28 And Peter said, See, we have given up what is ours to come after you.
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Then Peter said, "Look! We have left our homes to follow you."
29 And he said to them, Truly I say to you, There is no man who has given up house or wife or brothers or father or mother or children, because of the kingdom of God,
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"Yes," Jesus said to them, "and I assure you that anyone who leaves home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the Kingdom of God
30 Who will not get much more in this time, and in the world to come, eternal life.
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will receive much more in this present age and eternal life in the age to come."
31 And he took with him the twelve and said to them, Now we are going up to Jerusalem, and all the things which were said by the prophets will be done to the Son of man.
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Jesus took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, "Listen! We are going to Jerusalem where everything the prophets wrote about the Son of Man will come true.
32 For he will be given up to the Gentiles, and will be made sport of and put to shame:
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He will be handed over to the Gentiles, who will make fun of him, insult him, and spit on him.
33 And he will be given cruel blows and put to death, and on the third day he will come back to life.
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They will whip him and kill him, but three days later he will rise to life."
34 But they did not take in the sense of any of these words, and what he said was not clear to them, and their minds were not able to see it.
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But the disciples did not understand any of these things; the meaning of the words was hidden from them, and they did not know what Jesus was talking about.
35 And it came about that when he got near Jericho, a certain blind man was seated by the side of the road, making requests for money from those who went by.
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As Jesus was coming near Jericho, there was a blind man sitting by the road, begging.
36 And hearing the sound of a great number of people going by, he said, What is this?
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When he heard the crowd passing by, he asked, "What is this?"
37 And they said to him, Jesus of Nazareth is going by.
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"Jesus of Nazareth is passing by," they told him.
38 And he said in a loud voice, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.
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He cried out, "Jesus! Son of David! Have mercy on me!"
39 And those who were in front made protests and said to him, Be quiet: but he said all the more, O Son of David, have mercy on me.
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The people in front scolded him and told him to be quiet. But he shouted even more loudly, "Son of David! Have mercy on me!"
40 And Jesus, stopping, gave orders that he was to come to him, and when he came near, he said to him,
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So Jesus stopped and ordered the blind man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him,
41 What would you have me do for you? And he said, Lord, that I may be able to see again.
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"What do you want me to do for you?" "Sir," he answered, "I want to see again."
42 And Jesus said, See again: your faith has made you well.
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Jesus said to him, "Then see! Your faith has made you well."
43 And straight away he was able to see, and he went after him, giving glory to God; and all the people when they saw it gave praise to God.
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At once he was able to see, and he followed Jesus, giving thanks to God. When the crowd saw it, they all praised God.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.