Luke 18

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The Parable of the Dishonest Manager

16 He also said to the disciples, There was a rich man who had ja manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. And he called him and said to him, What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your kmanagement, for you can no longer be manager. And the manager said to himself, What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses. So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, How much do you owe my master? He said, A hundred measures1 of oil. He said to him, Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty. Then he said to another, And how much do you owe? He said, A hundred measures2 of wheat. He said to him, Take your bill, and write eighty. The master commended the dishonest manager for his lshrewdness. For mthe sons of this world3 are lmore shrewd in dealing with their own generation than nthe sons of light. And I tell you, omake friends for yourselves by means of punrighteous wealth,4 so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.

10 qOne who is rfaithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. 11 If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in sthat which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? 13 pNo servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

The Law and the Kingdom of God

14 tThe Pharisees, who were ulovers of money, heard all these things, and they vridiculed him. 15 And he said to them, You are those who wjustify yourselves before men, but xGod knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men yis an abomination in the sight of God.

16 zThe Law and the Prophets were until John; since then athe good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and beveryone forces his way into it.5 17 But cit is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void.

Divorce and Remarriage

18 dEveryone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.

The Rich Man and Lazarus

19 There was a rich man who was clothed in epurple and fine linen and fwho feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate gwas laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who desired to be fed with hwhat fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 The poor man died and was carried by ithe angels jto Abraham’s side.6 The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and in kHades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and lsaw Abraham far off and Lazarus jat his side. 24 And he called out, mFather Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and ncool my tongue, for oI am in anguish in this flame. 25 But Abraham said, Child, remember that pyou in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us. 27 And he said, Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house 28 for I have five brothersso that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment. 29 But Abraham said, They have qMoses and the Prophets; rlet them hear them. 30 And he said, No, sfather Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent. 31 He said to him, If they do not hear qMoses and the Prophets, tneither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.

Temptations to Sin

17 And he said to his disciples, uTemptations to sin1 are vsure to come, but wwoe to the one through whom they come! xIt would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin.2 Pay attention to yourselves! yIf your brother sins, zrebuke him, and if he repents, aforgive him, and if he sins against you bseven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, I repent, you must forgive him.

Increase Our Faith

cThe apostles said to the Lord, dIncrease our faith! And the Lord said, eIf you had faith like fa grain of mustard seed, you could say to this gmulberry tree, Be uprooted and planted in the sea, and it would obey you.

Unworthy Servants

Will any one of you who has a servant3 plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, Come at once and recline at table? Will he not rather say to him, Prepare supper for me, and hdress properly,4 and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink? Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? 10 So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, We are iunworthy servants;5 we have only done what was our duty.

Jesus Cleanses Ten Lepers

11 jOn the way to Jerusalem khe was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers,6 lwho stood at a distance 13 and lifted up their voices, saying, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. 14 When he saw them he said to them, Go and mshow yourselves to the priests. And as they went they were cleansed. 15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, npraising God with a loud voice; 16 and ohe fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was pa Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus answered, Were not qten cleansed? Where are the nine? 18 Was no one found to return and rgive praise to God except this sforeigner? 19 And he said to him, Rise and go your way; tyour faith has tmade you well.7

The Coming of the Kingdom

20 Being asked by the Pharisees uwhen the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, The kingdom of God vis not coming in ways that can be observed, 21 nor wwill they say, Look, here it is! or There! for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.8

22 And he said to the disciples, xThe days are coming when you will desire yto see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. 23 zAnd they will say to you, Look, there! or Look, here! Do not go out or follow them. 24 aFor as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be bin his day.9 25 But first che must suffer many things and cbe rejected by this generation. 26 dJust as it was in the days of eNoah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 fThey were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise, just as it was in the days of gLotthey were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, 29 hbut on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all 30 so will it be ion the day when the Son of Man is revealed. 31 On that day, jlet the one who is on kthe housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back. 32 lRemember Lot’s wife. 33 mWhoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will nkeep it. 34 I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left. 35 oThere will be two women pgrinding together. One will be taken and the other left.10 37 And they said to him, Where, Lord? He said to them, qWhere the corpse11 is, there the vultures12 will gather.

The Parable of the Persistent Widow

18 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought ralways to pray and not slose heart. He said, In a certain city there was a judge who tneither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, Give me justice against my adversary. For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, uThough I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming. And the Lord said, Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And vwill not God give justice to whis elect, xwho cry to him day and night? yzWill he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them aspeedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, bwill he find faith on earth?

The Pharisee and the Tax Collector

He also told this parable to some cwho trusted din themselves that they were righteous, eand treated others with contempt: 10 Two men fwent up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, gstanding by himself, prayed1 hthus: God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 iI fast twice a week; jI give tithes of all that I get. 13 But the tax collector, gstanding far off, kwould not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but lbeat his breast, saying, God, mbe merciful to me, a sinner! 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For neveryone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.

Let the Children Come to Me

15 oNow they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they prebuked them. 16 But Jesus called them to him, saying, qLet the children come to me, and rdo not hinder them, qfor to such belongs the kingdom of God. 17 sTruly, I say to you, whoever does not treceive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.

The Rich Ruler

18 uAnd a ruler asked him, Good Teacher, what must I do to vinherit 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: wDo not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother. 21 And he said, xAll these I have kept from my youth. 22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, One thing you still lack. ySell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have ztreasure in heaven; and come, follow me. 23 aBut when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. 24 Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, bHow difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter cthe 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 cthe kingdom of God. 26 Those who heard it said, Then who can be saved? 27 But he said, dWhat is impossible with man is possible with God. 28 And Peter said, See, ewe have left our homes and followed you. 29 And he said to them, Truly, I say to you, fthere is no one who has left house or wife or brothers2 or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30 who will not receive gmany times more hin this time, and in ithe age to come eternal life.

Jesus Foretells His Death a Third Time

31 jAnd taking the twelve, he said to them, See, kwe are going up to Jerusalem, and leverything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. 32 For he will be mdelivered over to the Gentiles and will be nmocked and shamefully treated and ospit upon. 33 And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on pthe third day he will rise. 34 qBut they understood none of these things. rThis saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.

Jesus Heals a Blind Beggar

35 sAs he drew near to Jericho, ta blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36 And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. 37 They told him, uJesus of Nazareth is passing by. 38 And he cried out, Jesus, vSon of David, have mercy on me! 39 And those who were in front wrebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, Son of David, have mercy on me! 40 And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, 41 xWhat do you want me to do for you? He said, Lord, let me recover my sight. 42 And Jesus said to him, Recover your sight; yyour faith has zmade you well. 43 And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, aglorifying God. And ball the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

Jesus and Zacchaeus

19 cHe entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And dhe was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into ea sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for fI must stay at your house today. So he hurried and came down and greceived him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all hgrumbled, He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner. And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods iI give to the poor. And if I have jdefrauded anyone of anything, I restore it kfourfold. And Jesus said to him, Today salvation has come to this house, since lhe also is a son of Abraham. 10 For mthe Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.

The Parable of the Ten Minas

11 As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because nthey supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. 12 He said therefore, oA nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. 13 Calling pten of his servants,1 he gave them ten minas,2 and said to them, Engage in business quntil I come. 14 But rhis citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, We do not want this man to reign over us. 15 When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business. 16 The first came before him, saying, Lord, your mina has made ten minas more. 17 And he said to him, Well done, good servant!3 Because you have been sfaithful in a very little, tyou shall have authority over ten cities. 18 And the second came, saying, Lord, your mina has made five minas. 19 And he said to him, And you are to be over five cities. 20 Then another came, saying, Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in ua handkerchief; 21 for I was afraid of you, because you are va severe man. You take wwhat you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow. 22 He said to him, xI will condemn you with your own words, yyou wicked servant! You knew that I was va severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest? 24 And he said to those who stood by, Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas. 25 And they said to him, Lord, he has ten minas! 26 I tell you that zto everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 27 But ras for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and aslaughter them before me.

The Triumphal Entry

28 And when he had said these things, bhe went on ahead, cgoing up to Jerusalem. 29 dWhen he drew near to Bethphage and eBethany, at fthe mount that is called Olivet, he sent gtwo of the disciples, 30 saying, Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, hon which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, Why are you untying it? you shall say this: The Lord has need of it. 32 So those who were sent went away and found it ijust as he had told them. 33 And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, Why are you untying the colt? 34 And they said, The Lord has need of it. 35 And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. 36 And as he rode along, they jspread their cloaks on the road. 37 As he was drawing nearalready on the way down the Mount of Oliveskthe whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice lfor all the mighty works that they had seen, 38 saying, mBlessed is nthe King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and oglory in the highest! 39 pAnd some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, Teacher, rebuke your disciples. 40 He answered, I tell you, if these were silent, qthe very stones would cry out.

Jesus Weeps over Jerusalem

41 rAnd when he drew near and saw the city, she wept over it, 42 saying, tWould that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now uthey are hidden from your eyes. 43 For vthe days will come upon you, when your enemies wwill set up a barricade around you and xsurround you and hem you in on every side 44 yand tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And zthey will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know athe time of your bvisitation.

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

45 cAnd he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, 46 saying to them, It is written, dMy house shall be a house of prayer, but eyou have made it a den of robbers.

47 fAnd he was teaching daily in the temple. gThe chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him, 48 but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words.

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

20 hOne day, ias Jesus1 was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, jthe chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up and said to him, Tell us kby what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority. He answered them, I also will ask you a question. Now tell me, was the baptism of John lfrom heaven or from man? And they discussed it with one another, saying, If we say, From heaven, he will say, mWhy did you not believe him? But if we say, From man, all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was na prophet. So they answered that they did not know where it came from. And Jesus said to them, Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants

oAnd he began to tell the people this parable: A man planted pa vineyard and qlet it out to tenants and rwent into another country for a long while. 10 When the time came, he sent a servant2 to the tenants, so that qthey would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. sBut the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11 tAnd she sent another servant. But they also beat and utreated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. 12 sAnd he sent yet a third. This one also they wounded and cast out. 13 Then the owner of the vineyard said, What shall I do? I will send my vbeloved son; perhaps they will respect him. 14 But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, wThis is the heir. xLet us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours. 15 And they ythrew him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 zHe will acome and destroy those tenants and bgive the vineyard to others. When they heard this, they said, Surely not! 17 But he clooked directly at them and said, What then is this that is written:

dThe stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone?3

18 eEveryone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls fon anyone, it will crush him.

Paying Taxes to Caesar

19 hThe scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that very hour, for they perceived that he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people. 20 iSo they jwatched him and sent spies, who kpretended to be sincere, that they might lcatch him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of mthe governor. 21 So they asked him, Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and oshow no partiality,4 but truly teach pthe way of God. 22 Is it lawful for us to give qtribute to rCaesar, or not? 23 But he perceived their scraftiness, and said to them, 24 Show me ta denarius.5 Whose likeness and inscription does it have? They said, Caesar’s. 25 He said to them, Then urender to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. 26 And they were not able in the presence of the people vto catch him in what he said, but marveling at his answer they became silent.

Sadducees Ask About the Resurrection

27 There came to him wsome Sadducees, xthose who deny that there is a resurrection, 28 and they asked him a question, saying, Teacher, Moses wrote for us ythat if a man’s brother dies, having a wife but no children, the man6 must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 29 Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and died without children. 30 And the second 31 and the third took her, and likewise all seven left no children and died. 32 Afterward the woman also died. 33 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her as wife.

34 And Jesus said to them, zThe sons of this age amarry and aare given in marriage, 35 but those who are bconsidered worthy to attain to cthat age and to the resurrection from the dead dneither marry dnor are given in marriage, 36 for ethey cannot die anymore, because they are fequal to angels and gare hsons of God, being isons7 of the resurrection. 37 But that the dead are raised, jeven Moses showed, in kthe passage about the bush, where he calls lthe Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. 38 Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all mlive to him. 39 Then some of the scribes nanswered, Teacher, you have spoken well. 40 For othey no longer dared to ask him any question.

Whose Son Is the Christ?

41 pBut he said to them, How can they say that qthe Christ is qDavid’s son? 42 For David himself says in the Book of Psalms,

rThe Lord said to my Lord,

Sit at my right hand,

43  until I make your enemies syour footstool.

44 David thus calls him Lord, so thow is he his son?

Beware of the Scribes

45 uAnd in the hearing of all the people he said to his disciples, 46 Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and vthe places of honor at feasts, 47 wwho devour widows’ houses and xfor a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.