Luke 15-19

New International Version

The Parable of the Lost Sheep^(A)

15 Now the tax collectors^(B) and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. ² But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”^(C)

³ Then Jesus told them this parable:^{(D) 4} “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?^{(E) 5} And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders ⁶ and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’^{(F) 7} I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.^(G)

The Parable of the Lost Coin

⁸ “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins^[a] and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? ⁹ And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’^{(H) 10} In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”^(I)

The Parable of the Lost Son

¹¹ Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons.^{(J) 12} The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’^(K) So he divided his property^(L) between them.

¹³ “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth^(M) in wild living. ¹⁴ After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵ So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs.^{(N) 16} He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

¹⁷ “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! ¹⁸ I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned^(O) against heaven and against you. ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ ²⁰ So he got up and went to his father.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.^(P)

²¹ “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.^(Q) I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

²² “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe^(R) and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger^(S) and sandals on his feet. ²³ Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. ²⁴ For this son of mine was dead and is alive again;^(T) he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.^(U)

²⁵ “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶ So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ²⁷ ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’

²⁸ “The older brother became angry^(V) and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. ²⁹ But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. ³⁰ But when this son of yours who has squandered your property^(W) with prostitutes^(X) comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

³¹ “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. ³² But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”^(Y)

The Parable of the Shrewd Manager

16 Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions.^{(Z) 2} So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’

³ “The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg— ⁴ I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’

⁵ “So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’

⁶ “‘Nine hundred gallons^[b] of olive oil,’ he replied.

“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’

⁷ “Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’

“‘A thousand bushels^[c] of wheat,’ he replied.

“He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’

⁸ “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world^(AA) are more shrewd^(AB) in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.^{(AC) 9} I tell you, use worldly wealth^(AD) to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.^(AE)

¹⁰ “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much,^(AF) and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. ¹¹ So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth,^(AG) who will trust you with true riches? ¹² And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?

¹³ “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”^(AH)

¹⁴ The Pharisees, who loved money,^(AI) heard all this and were sneering at Jesus.^{(AJ) 15} He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves^(AK) in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts.^(AL) What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.

Additional Teachings

¹⁶ “The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John.^(AM) Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached,^(AN) and everyone is forcing their way into it. ¹⁷ It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.^(AO)

¹⁸ “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.^(AP)

The Rich Man and Lazarus

¹⁹ “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.^{(AQ) 20} At his gate was laid a beggar^(AR) named Lazarus, covered with sores ²¹ and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table.^(AS) Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

²² “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. ²³ In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. ²⁴ So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham,^(AT) have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’^(AU)

²⁵ “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things,^(AV) but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.^{(AW) 26} And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

²⁷ “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, ²⁸ for I have five brothers. Let him warn them,^(AX) so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’

²⁹ “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses^(AY) and the Prophets;^(AZ) let them listen to them.’

³⁰ “‘No, father Abraham,’^(BA) he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’

³¹ “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

Sin, Faith, Duty

17 Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble^(BB) are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come.^{(BC) 2} It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones^(BD) to stumble.^{(BE) 3} So watch yourselves.

“If your brother or sister^[d] sins against you, rebuke them;^(BF) and if they repent, forgive them.^{(BG) 4} Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”^(BH)

⁵ The apostles^(BI) said to the Lord,^(BJ) “Increase our faith!”

⁶ He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed,^(BK) you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.^(BL)

⁷ “Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? ⁸ Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me^(BM) while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? ⁹ Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? ¹⁰ So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”^(BN)

Jesus Heals Ten Men With Leprosy

¹¹ Now on his way to Jerusalem,^(BO) Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee.^{(BP) 12} As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy^[e](BQ) met him. They stood at a distance^{(BR) 13} and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master,^(BS) have pity on us!”

¹⁴ When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.”^(BT) And as they went, they were cleansed.

¹⁵ One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God^(BU) in a loud voice. ¹⁶ He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.^(BV)

¹⁷ Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? ¹⁸ Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” ¹⁹ Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”^(BW)

The Coming of the Kingdom of God^(BX)

²⁰ Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come,^(BY) Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, ²¹ nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’^(BZ) because the kingdom of God is in your midst.”^[f]

²² Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man,^(CA) but you will not see it.^{(CB) 23} People will tell you, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Do not go running off after them.^{(CC) 24} For the Son of Man in his day^[g] will be like the lightning,^(CD) which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. ²⁵ But first he must suffer many things^(CE) and be rejected^(CF) by this generation.^(CG)

²⁶ “Just as it was in the days of Noah,^(CH) so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. ²⁷ People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.

²⁸ “It was the same in the days of Lot.^(CI) People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. ²⁹ But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.

³⁰ “It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed.^{(CJ) 31} On that day no one who is on the housetop, with possessions inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything.^{(CK) 32} Remember Lot’s wife!^{(CL) 33} Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it.^{(CM) 34} I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. ³⁵ Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.”^{(CN) [36] [h]}

³⁷ “Where, Lord?” they asked.

He replied, “Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.”^(CO)

The Parable of the Persistent Widow

18 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.^{(CP) 2} He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. ³ And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice^(CQ) against my adversary.’

⁴ “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, ⁵ yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”^(CR)

⁶ And the Lord^(CS) said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. ⁷ And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out^(CT) to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? ⁸ I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man^(CU) comes,^(CV) will he find faith on the earth?”

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

⁹ To some who were confident of their own righteousness^(CW) and looked down on everyone else,^(CX) Jesus told this parable: ¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple to pray,^(CY) one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood by himself^(CZ) and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast^(DA) twice a week and give a tenth^(DB) of all I get.’

¹³ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast^(DC) and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’^(DD)

¹⁴ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”^(DE)

The Little Children and Jesus^(DF)

¹⁵ People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. ¹⁶ But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁷ Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child^(DG) will never enter it.”

The Rich and the Kingdom of God^(DH)

¹⁸ A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”^(DI)

¹⁹ “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. ²⁰ You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’^[i]”^(DJ)

²¹ “All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said.

²² When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor,^(DK) and you will have treasure in heaven.^(DL) Then come, follow me.”

²³ When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy. ²⁴ Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!^{(DM) 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.”

²⁶ Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?”

²⁷ Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”^(DN)

²⁸ Peter said to him, “We have left all we had to follow you!”^(DO)

²⁹ “Truly I tell you,” Jesus said to them, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God ³⁰ will fail to receive many times as much in this age, and in the age to come^(DP) eternal life.”^(DQ)

Jesus Predicts His Death a Third Time^(DR)

³¹ Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem,^(DS) and everything that is written by the prophets^(DT) about the Son of Man^(DU) will be fulfilled. ³² He will be delivered over to the Gentiles.^(DV) They will mock him, insult him and spit on him; ³³ they will flog him^(DW) and kill him.^(DX) On the third day^(DY) he will rise again.”^(DZ)

³⁴ The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.^(EA)

A Blind Beggar Receives His Sight^(EB)

³⁵ As Jesus approached Jericho,^(EC) a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. ³⁶ When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. ³⁷ They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”^(ED)

³⁸ He called out, “Jesus, Son of David,^(EE) have mercy^(EF) on me!”

³⁹ Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”^(EG)

⁴⁰ Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, ⁴¹ “What do you want me to do for you?”

“Lord, I want to see,” he replied.

⁴² Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.”^{(EH) 43} Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.^(EI)

Zacchaeus the Tax Collector

19 Jesus entered Jericho^(EJ) and was passing through. ² A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. ³ He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. ⁴ So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig^(EK) tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.^(EL)

⁵ When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” ⁶ So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

⁷ All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”^(EM)

⁸ But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord,^(EN) “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything,^(EO) I will pay back four times the amount.”^(EP)

⁹ Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.^{(EQ) 10} For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”^(ER)

The Parable of the Ten Minas^(ES)

¹¹ While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God^(ET) was going to appear at once.^{(EU) 12} He said: “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. ¹³ So he called ten of his servants^(EV) and gave them ten minas.^[j] ‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back.’

¹⁴ “But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’

¹⁵ “He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.

¹⁶ “The first one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’

¹⁷ “‘Well done, my good servant!’^(EW) his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’^(EX)

¹⁸ “The second came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned five more.’

¹⁹ “His master answered, ‘You take charge of five cities.’

²⁰ “Then another servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. ²¹ I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.’^(EY)

²² “His master replied, ‘I will judge you by your own words,^(EZ) you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow?^{(FA) 23} Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?’

²⁴ “Then he said to those standing by, ‘Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’

²⁵ “‘Sir,’ they said, ‘he already has ten!’

²⁶ “He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away.^{(FB) 27} But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me.’”

Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King^(FC)(FD)

²⁸ After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.^{(FE) 29} As he approached Bethphage and Bethany^(FF) at the hill called the Mount of Olives,^(FG) he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, ³⁰ “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. ³¹ If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”

³² Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them.^{(FH) 33} As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”

³⁴ They replied, “The Lord needs it.”

³⁵ They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. ³⁶ As he went along, people spread their cloaks^(FI) on the road.

³⁷ When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives,^(FJ) the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:

³⁹ Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”^(FM)

⁴⁰ “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”^(FN)

⁴¹ As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it^{(FO) 42} and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. ⁴³ The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side.^{(FP) 44} They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls.^(FQ) They will not leave one stone on another,^(FR) because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming^(FS) to you.”

Jesus at the Temple^(FT)

⁴⁵ When Jesus entered the temple courts, he began to drive out those who were selling. ⁴⁶ “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be a house of prayer’^[l];^(FU) but you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’^[m]”^(FV)

⁴⁷ Every day he was teaching at the temple.^(FW) But the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders among the people were trying to kill him.^{(FX) 48} Yet they could not find any way to do it, because all the people hung on his words.