18:1 Then 1 Jesus 2 told them a parable to show them they should always 3 pray and not lose heart. 4 18:2 He said, 5 “In a certain city 6 there was a judge 7 who neither feared God nor respected people. 8 18:3 There was also a widow 9 in that city 10 who kept coming 11 to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 18:4 For 12 a while he refused, but later on 13 he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor have regard for people, 14 18:5 yet because this widow keeps on bothering me, I will give her justice, or in the end she will wear me out 15 by her unending pleas.’” 16 18:6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unrighteous judge says! 17 18:7 Won’t 18 God give justice to his chosen ones, who cry out 19 to him day and night? 20 Will he delay 21 long to help them? 18:8 I tell you, he will give them justice speedily. 22 Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith 23 on earth?”
18:9 Jesus 24 also told this parable to some who were confident that they were righteous and looked down 25 on everyone else. 18:10 “Two men went up 26 to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee 27 and the other a tax collector. 28 18:11 The Pharisee stood and prayed about himself like this: 29 ‘God, I thank 30 you that I am not like other people: 31 extortionists, 32 unrighteous people, 33 adulterers – or even like this tax collector. 34 18:12 I fast twice 35 a week; I give a tenth 36 of everything I get.’ 18:13 The tax collector, however, stood 37 far off and would not even look up 38 to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, be merciful 39 to me, sinner that I am!’ 40 18:14 I tell you that this man went down to his home justified 41 rather than the Pharisee. 42 For everyone who exalts 43 himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
18:15 Now people 44 were even bringing their babies 45 to him for him to touch. 46 But when the disciples saw it, they began to scold those who brought them. 47 18:16 But Jesus called for the children, 48 saying, “Let the little children come to me and do not try to stop them, for the kingdom of God 49 belongs to such as these. 50