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The Parable of the Persistent Widow

¹ And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought ^(a)always to pray and not ^(b)lose heart. ² He said, "In a certain city there was a judge who ^(c)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, ^(d)‘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 ^(e)will not God give justice to ^(f)his elect, ^(g)who cry to him day and night? ^(h)(i)Will he delay long over them? ⁸ I tell you, he will give justice to them ^(j)speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, ^(k)will he find faith on earth?"

The Pharisee and the Tax Collector

⁹ He also told this parable to some ^(l)who trusted ^(m)in themselves that they were righteous, ⁽ⁿ⁾and treated others with contempt: ¹⁰ "Two men ^(o)went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee, ^(p)standing by himself, prayed^{[a] (q)}thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ^12 (r)I fast twice a week; ^(s)I give tithes of all that I get.' ¹³ But the tax collector, ^(t)standing far off, ^(u)would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but ^(v)beat his breast, saying, ‘God, ^(w)be merciful to me, a sinner!' ¹⁴ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For ^(x)everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted."

Let the Children Come to Me

^15 (y)Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they ^(z)rebuked them. ¹⁶ But Jesus called them to him, saying, ^(aa)"Let the children come to me, and ^(ab)do not hinder them, ^(ac)for to such belongs the kingdom of God. ^17 (ad)Truly, I say to you, whoever does not ^(ae)receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it."

The Rich Ruler

^18 (af)And a ruler asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to ^(ag)inherit 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: ^(ah)‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.'" ²¹ And he said, ^(ai)"All these I have kept from my youth." ²² When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "One thing you still lack. ^(aj)Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have ^(ak)treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." ^23 (al)But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. ²⁴ Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, ^(am)"How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter ^(an)the 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 ^(ao)the kingdom of God." ²⁶ Those who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?" ²⁷ But he said, ^(ap)"What is impossible with man is possible with God." ²⁸ And Peter said, "See, ^(aq)we have left our homes and followed you." ²⁹ And he said to them, "Truly, I say to you, ^(ar)there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers^[b] or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, ³⁰ who will not receive ^(as)many times more ^(at)in this time, and in ^(au)the age to come eternal life."

Jesus Foretells His Death a Third Time

^31 (av)And taking the twelve, he said to them, "See, ^(aw)we are going up to Jerusalem, and ^(ax)everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. ³² For he will be ^(ay)delivered over to the Gentiles and will be ^(az)mocked and shamefully treated and ^(ba)spit upon. ³³ And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on ^(bb)the third day he will rise." ^34 (bc)But they understood none of these things. ^(bd)This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.

Jesus Heals a Blind Beggar

^35 (be)As he drew near to Jericho, ^(bf)a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. ³⁶ And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. ³⁷ They told him, ^(bg)"Jesus of Nazareth is passing by." ³⁸ And he cried out, "Jesus, ^(bh)Son of David, have mercy on me!" ³⁹ And those who were in front ^(bi)rebuked 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 (bj)"What 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; ^(bk)your faith has ^(bl)made you well." ⁴³ And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, ^(bm)glorifying God. And ^(bn)all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.