Luke 18:5-15

⁵but this widow keeps bothering me! So I will make sure that she is treated justly. If I do not do that, she will exhaust me by continually coming to me!’”

⁶Then the Lord Jesus said, “ Even though the judge was not a righteous man, think carefully about what he said!

⁷Similarly, ◄God will certainly show that what you have done has been right!/will God not show that what you have done has been right?► RHQ He will do this for you whom he has chosen. He will do this for you who pray earnestly to him night and day, asking him to help you. He may delay helping you.

⁸But I tell you, some day he will show that what you did was right, and he will do it quickly. But when I, the one who came from heaven, return to earth, ◄there may not be many people who will still be trusting that I will vindicate them (OR, who will still be trusting in me)./will there be many people who will still be trusting that I will vindicate them (OR, who will still be trusting in me)?► RHQ”

⁹Jesus also told a parable to warn people who mistakenly thought that they were doing things that made them acceptable to God. Besides, they also despised other people.

¹⁰He said this: “Two men went up to the Temple in Jerusalem to pray. One was a Pharisee. The other was a tax collector.

¹¹The Pharisee stood and prayed silently, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men. Some extort money from others; some treat others unjustly; some commit adultery. I do not do such things. And I am certainly not like this tax collector who cheats people!

¹²Our law says that we(exc) should ◄fast/abstain from food► once a week, but I do more than that. I fast twice a week! I give you ten percent of all that I earn!’

¹³But the tax collector stood far from the other people in the Temple courtyard because he felt very unworthy. He would not even look up toward heaven. Instead, he beat on his chest to show that he was sorry for his sin. He said, ‘God, I am a sinner; be merciful to me and forgive me!’”

¹⁴Then Jesus said, “I tell you (pl) that as the tax collector went home, the record of his sins was erased { God erased the record of his sins}, not that of the Pharisee. Remember this: Those who exalt themselves will be humbled { God will humble all those who exalt themselves}, but those who humble themselves will be exalted { he will exalt those who humble themselves}.”

¹⁵One day when many people were coming to Jesus, they were also bringing small children. They wanted him to put his hands on the children and bless them. When the disciples saw that, they rebuked those who were bringing those children.