Luke 16:15-18:9

English Standard Version

¹⁵ And he said to them, “You are those who ^(A)justify yourselves before men, but ^(B)God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men ^(C)is an abomination in the sight of God.

^16 (D)“The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then ^(E)the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and ^(F)everyone forces his way into it.^{[a] 17} But ^(G)it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void.

Divorce and Remarriage

^18 (H)“Everyone 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 ^(I)purple and fine linen and ^(J)who feasted sumptuously every day. ²⁰ And at his gate ^(K)was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, ²¹ who desired to be fed with ^(L)what 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 ^(M)the angels ^(N)to Abraham's side.^[b] The rich man also died and was buried, ²³ and in ^(O)Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and ^(P)saw Abraham far off and Lazarus ^(Q)at his side. ²⁴ And he called out, ^(R)‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and ^(S)cool my tongue, for ^(T)I am in anguish in this flame.’ ²⁵ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that ^(U)you 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 brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ ²⁹ But Abraham said, ‘They have ^(V)Moses and the Prophets; ^(W)let them hear them.’ ³⁰ And he said, ‘No, ^(X)father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ ³¹ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear ^(Y)Moses and the Prophets, ^(Z)neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”

Temptations to Sin

17 And he said to his disciples, ^(AA)“Temptations to sin^[c] are ^(AB)sure to come, but ^(AC)woe to the one through whom they come! ^2 (AD)It 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.^{[d] 3} Pay attention to yourselves! ^(AE)If your brother sins, ^(AF)rebuke him, and if he repents, ^(AG)forgive him, ⁴ and if he sins against you ^(AH)seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

Increase Our Faith

^5 (AI)The apostles said to the Lord, ^(AJ)“Increase our faith!” ⁶ And the Lord said, ^(AK)“If you had faith like ^(AL)a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this ^(AM)mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

Unworthy Servants

⁷ “Will any one of you who has a servant^[e] plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? ⁸ Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and ^(AN)dress properly,^[f] and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? ⁹ 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 ^(AO)unworthy servants;^[g] we have only done what was our duty.’”

Jesus Cleanses Ten Lepers

^11 (AP)On the way to Jerusalem ^(AQ)he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. ¹² And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers,^{[h] (AR)}who 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 ^(AS)show 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, ^(AT)praising God with a loud voice; ¹⁶ and ^(AU)he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was ^(AV)a Samaritan. ¹⁷ Then Jesus answered, “Were not ^(AW)ten cleansed? Where are the nine? ¹⁸ Was no one found to return and ^(AX)give praise to God except this ^(AY)foreigner?” ¹⁹ And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; ^(AZ)your faith has ^(BA)made you well.”^[i]

The Coming of the Kingdom

²⁰ Being asked by the Pharisees ^(BB)when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God ^(BC)is not coming in ways that can be observed, ²¹ nor ^(BD)will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”^[j]

²² And he said to the disciples, ^(BE)“The days are coming when you will desire ^(BF)to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. ^23 (BG)And they will say to you, ‘Look, there!’ or ‘Look, here!’ Do not go out or follow them. ^24 (BH)For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be ^(BI)in his day.^{[k] 25} But first ^(BJ)he must suffer many things and ^(BK)be rejected by this generation. ^26 (BL)Just as it was in the days of ^(BM)Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. ^27 (BN)They 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 ^(BO)Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, ^29 (BP)but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all— ³⁰ so will it be ^(BQ)on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. ³¹ On that day, ^(BR)let the one who is on ^(BS)the 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 (BT)Remember Lot's wife. ^33 (BU)Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will ^(BV)keep it. ³⁴ I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left. ^35 (BW)There will be two women ^(BX)grinding together. One will be taken and the other left.”^{[l] 37} And they said to him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, ^(BY)“Where the corpse^[m] is, there the vultures^[n] will gather.”

The Parable of the Persistent Widow

18 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought ^(BZ)always to pray and not ^(CA)lose heart. ² He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who ^(CB)neither feared God nor respected man. ³ And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ ⁴ For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ^(CC)‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, ⁵ yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” ⁶ And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. ⁷ And ^(CD)will not God give justice to ^(CE)his elect, ^(CF)who cry to him day and night? ^(CG)(CH)Will he delay long over them? ⁸ I tell you, he will give justice to them ^(CI)speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, ^(CJ)will he find faith on earth?”

The Pharisee and the Tax Collector

⁹ He also told this parable to some ^(CK)who trusted ^(CL)in themselves that they were righteous, ^(CM)and treated others with contempt: