New Revised Standard NRS
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart.
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And he made a story for them, the point of which was that men were to go on making prayer and not get tired;
2 He said, "In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people.
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Saying, There was a judge in a certain town, who had no fear of God or respect for man:
3 In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, "Grant me justice against my opponent.'
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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.
4 For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, "Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone,
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And for a time he would not: but later, he said to himself, Though I have no fear of God or respect for man,
5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.' "
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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.
6 And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says.
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And the Lord said, Give ear to the words of the evil judge.
7 And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them?
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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?
8 I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"
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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?
9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt:
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And he made this story for some people who were certain that they were good, and had a low opinion of others:
10 "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
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Two men went up to the Temple for prayer; one a Pharisee, and the other a tax-farmer.
11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, "God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
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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.
12 I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.'
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Twice in the week I go without food; I give a tenth of all I have.
13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner!'
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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.
14 I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted."
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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.
15 People were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them; and when the disciples saw it, they sternly ordered them not to do it.
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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
16 But Jesus called for them and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.
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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.
17 Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it."
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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.
18 A certain ruler asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
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And a certain ruler put a question to him, saying, Good Master, what have I to do so that I may have eternal life?
19 Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.
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And Jesus said to him, Why do you say that I am good? No one is good, but only God.
20 You know the commandments: "You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honor your father and mother.' "
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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.
21 He replied, "I have kept all these since my youth."
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And he said, All these things I have done from the time when I was a boy.
22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."
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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.
23 But when he heard this, he became sad; for he was very rich.
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But at these words he became very sad, for he had great wealth.
24 Jesus looked at him and said, "How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!
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And Jesus, looking at him, said, How hard it is for those who have wealth to get into the kingdom of God!
25 Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."
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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.
26 Those who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?"
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And those who were present said, Then who may have salvation?
27 He replied, "What is impossible for mortals is possible for God."
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But he said, Things which are not possible with man are possible with God.
28 Then Peter said, "Look, we have left our homes and followed you."
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And Peter said, See, we have given up what is ours to come after you.
29 And he said to them, "Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God,
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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,
30 who will not get back very much more in this age, and in the age to come eternal life."
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Who will not get much more in this time, and in the world to come, eternal life.
31 Then he took the twelve aside and said to them, "See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished.
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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.
32 For he will be handed over to the Gentiles; and he will be mocked and insulted and spat upon.
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For he will be given up to the Gentiles, and will be made sport of and put to shame:
33 After they have flogged him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise again."
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And he will be given cruel blows and put to death, and on the third day he will come back to life.
34 But they understood nothing about all these things; in fact, what he said was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.
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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.
35 As he approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging.
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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.
36 When he heard a crowd going by, he asked what was happening.
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And hearing the sound of a great number of people going by, he said, What is this?
37 They told him, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by."
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And they said to him, Jesus of Nazareth is going by.
38 Then he shouted, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"
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And he said in a loud voice, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.
39 Those who were in front sternly ordered him to be quiet; but he shouted even more loudly, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"
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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.
40 Jesus stood still and ordered the man to be brought to him; and when he came near, he asked him,
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And Jesus, stopping, gave orders that he was to come to him, and when he came near, he said to him,
41 "What do you want me to do for you?" He said, "Lord, let me see again."
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What would you have me do for you? And he said, Lord, that I may be able to see again.
42 Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has saved you."
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And Jesus said, See again: your faith has made you well.
43 Immediately he regained his sight and followed him, glorifying God; and all the people, when they saw it, praised God.
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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.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.