Luke 18:11

Syriac Peshitta (NT Only)

ܘܗܰܘ ܦ݁ܪܺܝܫܳܐ ܩܳܐܶܡ ܗ݈ܘܳܐ ܒ݁ܰܝܢܰܘܗ݈ܝ ܠܢܰܦ݂ܫܶܗ ܘܗܳܠܶܝܢ ܡܨܰܠܶܐ ܗ݈ܘܳܐ ܐܰܠܳܗܳܐ ܡܰܘܕ݁ܶܐ ܐ݈ܢܳܐ ܠܳܟ݂ ܕ݁ܠܳܐ ܗ݈ܘܺܝܬ݂ ܐܰܝܟ݂ ܫܰܪܟ݁ܳܐ ܕ݁ܐ݈ܢܳܫܳܐ ܚܳܛܽܘܦ݂ܶܐ ܘܥܳܠܽܘܒ݂ܶܐ ܘܓ݂ܰܝܳܪܶܐ ܘܠܳܐ ܐܰܝܟ݂ ܗܳܢܳܐ ܡܳܟ݂ܣܳܐ ܀

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

stood: Psalms 134:1, Psalms 135:2, Matthew 6:5, Mark 11:25

God: Isaiah 1:15, Isaiah 58:2, Jeremiah 2:28, Jeremiah 2:35, Ezekiel 33:31, Micah 3:11, 1 Corinthians 4:7, 1 Corinthians 4:8, 1 Corinthians 15:9, 1 Corinthians 15:10, 1 Timothy 1:12-16, Revelation 3:17

as: Luke 20:47, Isaiah 65:5, Matthew 3:7-10, Matthew 19:18-20, Galatians 3:10, Philippians 3:6, James 2:9-12

Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 15:13 - I have performed 1 Samuel 15:20 - Yea Psalms 51:17 - a broken spirit Psalms 123:3 - Have mercy Proverbs 12:15 - way Proverbs 13:7 - is that maketh himself rich Proverbs 20:6 - proclaim Proverbs 21:2 - right Proverbs 26:12 - a man Proverbs 30:12 - that are Ezekiel 16:56 - was not Ezekiel 22:12 - greedily Matthew 7:3 - why Matthew 9:12 - They that be whole Matthew 18:17 - a publican Matthew 19:20 - All Matthew 20:12 - borne Mark 2:16 - How Mark 10:20 - General Mark 10:31 - General Luke 1:53 - and Luke 5:30 - General Luke 15:29 - Lo Luke 15:30 - this Luke 16:15 - Ye Luke 18:9 - and despised Luke 18:21 - General John 4:23 - true Acts 10:28 - but Romans 2:23 - that makest Romans 7:14 - but Romans 12:3 - not to 1 Corinthians 5:11 - or an extortioner 2 Corinthians 10:12 - we dare not Galatians 6:3 - if Galatians 6:4 - and not

Gill's Notes on the Bible

The Pharisee stood,.... Standing was a praying posture;

:- nor is this observed, as if it was something amiss: but the sense is, either that he stood in some place of eminence, that he might be seen of others; or he stood in a set, fixed posture, in a very grave and solemn manner, showing great devotion and seriousness; or he stood with great boldness and confidence:

and prayed thus with himself; the phrase, "with himself", may be read either with the word "stood", as it is in the Syriac version; and then the sense is that he stood alone, apart from the publican, at a distance from him, as despising him; and lest he should be polluted by him; see Isaiah 65:4 or with the word "prayed", and does not design internal prayer, which was what the Pharisees did not use; for all they did was to be seen, and heard of men: but the meaning is, that he prayed only with respect to himself; he was wholly intent upon himself; his own self, and the commendation of himself, were the subject of his prayer: his whole dependence in it was on himself; and he was only seeking by it his own glory: he had no regard to the people of God, to aid the saints, nor did he put up one petition for them; nor had he any respect to Christ, the mediator, through whom access is had to God, and acceptance with him; nor to the Holy Spirit for his assistance; and though he addressed himself to God, yet in praise of himself, saying,

God I thank thee: there is no petition in this prayer of his for pardoning grace and mercy; nor larger measures of grace; nor for strength to perform duties, and to hold on to the end; nor for any favour whatever; nor is there any confession of sin in it. So that it scarce deserves the name of a prayer, for in it is only a thanksgiving: indeed, thanksgiving in prayer is right; and had he been a man that had received the grace of God, it would have been right in him to have given thanks to God for it, by which he was made to differ from others: nor would he have been blameworthy, had he thanked God for the good things which he had received from him, or which by his assistance he had done; but nothing of this kind is said by him: he thanks God, in order to exalt himself, and places his righteousness in his own works, and treats all other men in a censorious and disdainful manner; thanking God, or rather blessing himself, saying,

that I am not as other men are; and yet he was as other men, and no better: he was a sinner in Adam, as other men; and a sinner by nature, as others are; and had the same iniquities and corruptions in his heart, as others; and had no more goodness in him than other men, and as far from true real righteousness. Perhaps he means the Gentiles, whom the Jews looked upon as sinners, and the worst of men; and yet they were in no wise better than the Gentiles, as to their state and condition by nature: it was usual to call the Gentiles

אחרים, "other men"; which phrase is sometimes explained by "the nations of the world" a; and sometimes by the "Cuthites", or "Samaritans" b; Isaiah 65:4- :. ---He goes on,

extortioners, unjust, adulterers; and yet all these characters belonged to the men of sect: the Pharisees were oppressors of the poor, devoured widows' houses, and extorted money from them, under a pretence of long prayers: they are aptly represented by the unjust steward, in Luke 16:1 and they were au unclean, unchaste, and an adulterous generation of men, Matthew 12:39

or even as this publican; pointing to him at some distance, with great scorn and disdain. This was his prayer, or thanksgiving. It may gratify the curiosity of some to have some other prayers of the Pharisees; and it may be worth while to compare them with this, between which there will appear a pretty deal of likeness.

"R. Nechunia ben Hakkana used to pray, when he went into the school, and when he came out, a short prayer: they said unto him, what is the goodness (or the excellency) of this prayer? he replied to them, when I go in, I pray, that no offence might come by means of me; and when I go out, "I give thanks" for my portion: when I go in, this is what I say, let it be thy good pleasure before thee, O Lord, my God, the God of my fathers, that I may not be angry with my colleagues, nor my colleagues be angry with me; that I may not pronounce that which is pure defiled, and that which is defiled, pure; that I may not forbid that which is lawful, nor pronounce lawful that which is forbidden; and that I may not be found ashamed in this world, and in the world to come: and when I come out, this is what I say; I confess before thee, (or I thank thee) O Lord God, and the God of my fathers, that thou hast given me my portion among those that sit in the schools, and synagogues, and hast not given me my portion in the theatres and shows: for I labour, and they labour; I watch, and they watch; I labour to inherit paradise, and they labour for the pit of corruption c.''

And these two prayers the Jews were obliged to recite at their going in, and coming out of the synagogue.

"It is a tradition of R. Juda, saying, three things a man ought to say every day; blessed be thou, שלא עשני גוי, "that thou hast not made me a Gentile"; blessed art thou, that thou hast not made me an unlearned man (or one that is vain and foolish, uncivil and uncultivated); blessed art thou, that hast not made me a woman d.''

In their prayer books e, these thanksgivings stand thus:

"blessed art thou, O Lord our God, the King of the world, that thou hast made me an Israelite; (in some books it is, as before, that thou hast not made me a Gentile;) blessed art thou, O Lord our God, the King of the world, that thou hast not made me a servant; blessed art thou, O Lord our God, the King of the world, that thou hast not made me a woman:''

when the women, instead of this last, say:

"blessed art thou, O Lord our God, the King of the world, who has made me as he pleases.''

And very agreeable to one of these benedictions does the Ethiopic version render the prayer of the Pharisee here; "I thank thee, O Lord that thou hast not made me as other men".

a Gloss. in T. Bab. Bava Metzia, fol. 111. 2. b Gloss. in T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 52. 2. c T. Hieros. Beracot, fol. 7. 4. Vid. Misna Beracot, c. 4. sect. 2. & Maimon. & Bartenora in ib. d T. Hieros. Beracot, fol. 13. 2. e Seder Tephillot, ed. Basil. fol. 2. 2. ed. Amst. fol. 4. 1.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Stood and prayed thus with himself - Some have proposed to render this, “stood by himself” and prayed. In this way it would be characteristic of the sect of the Pharisees, who dreaded the contact of others as polluting, and who were disposed to say to all, Stand by yourselves. The Syraic so renders it, but it is doubtful whether the Greek will allow this construction. If not, it means, he said over to himself what he had done, and what was the ground on which he expected the favour of God.

God, I thank thee - There was still in the prayer of the Pharisee an “appearance” of real religion. He did not profess to claim that he had made himself better than others. He was willing to acknowledge that God had done it for him, and that he had a right to his gratitude for it. Hypocrites are often the most orthodox in opinion of any class of people. They know the truth, and admit it. They use it frequently in their prayers and conversation. They will even persecute those who happen to differ from them in opinion, and who may be really wrong. We are not to judge of the “piety” of people by the fact that they admit the truth, or even that they use it often in their prayers. It is, however, not wrong to thank God that he has kept us from the gross sins which other people commit; but it should not be done in an ostentatious manner, nor should it be done forgetting still that we are great sinners and need pardon. These were the faults of the Pharisees.

Extortioners - Rapacious; avaricious; who take away the goods of others by force and violence. It means, also, those who take advantage of the necessities of others, the poor and the oppressed, and extort their property.

Unjust - They who are not fair and honest in their dealings; who get the property of others by “fraud.” They are distinguished from “extortioners” because they who are unjust may have the “appearance” of honesty; in the other case there is not.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Luke 18:11. Stood and prayed thus with himself — Or, stood by himself and prayed, as some would translate the words. He probably supposed it disgraceful to appear to have any connection with this penitent publican: therefore his conduct seemed to say, "Stand by thyself; I am more holy than thou." He seems not only to have stood by himself, but also to have prayed by himself; neither associating in person nor in petitions with his poor guilty neighbour.

God, I thank thee, c.] In Matthew 5:20, our Lord says, Unless your righteousness abound more than that of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of God: see the note there. Now, the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees is described here by a Pharisee himself. We find it was twofold:

1. It consisted in doing no harm to others.

2. In attending all the ordinances of God, then established in the Jewish economy and in these things they were not like other men, the bulk of the inhabitants of the land paying little or no attention to them.

That the Pharisees were in their origin a pure and holy people can admit of little doubt; but that they had awfully degenerated before our Lord's time is sufficiently evident. They had lost the spirit of their institution, and retained nothing else than its external regulations. Matthew 16:1.

1. This Pharisee did no harm to others - I am not rapacious, nor unjust, nor an adulterer. I seize no man's property through false pretences. I take the advantage of no man's ignorance in buying or selling. I avoid every species of uncleanness. In a word, I do to others as I wish them to do to me. How many of those called Christians are not half as good as this Pharisee! And, yet, he was far from the kingdom of God.

2. He observed the ordinances of religion - I fast twice in the week. The Jewish days of fasting, in each week, were the second and fifth; what we call Monday and Thursday. These were instituted in remembrance of Moses' going up to the mount to give the law, which they suppose to have been on the fifth day; and of his descent, after he had received the two tables, which they suppose was on the second day of the week.