Luke 18:1-14

Names of God Bible

God Will Help His People

18 Yeshua used this illustration with his disciples to show them that they need to pray all the time and never give up. ² He said, “In a city there was a judge who didn’t fear God or respect people. ³ In that city there was also a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice.’

⁴ “For a while the judge refused to do anything. But then he thought, ‘This widow really annoys me. Although I don’t fear God or respect people, ⁵ I’ll have to give her justice. Otherwise, she’ll keep coming to me until she wears me out.’”

⁶ The Lord added, “Pay attention to what the dishonest judge thought. ⁷ Won’t God give his chosen people justice when they cry out to him for help day and night? Is he slow to help them? ⁸ I can guarantee that he will give them justice quickly. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

A Pharisee and a Tax Collector

⁹ Yeshua also used this illustration with some who were sure that God approved of them while they looked down on everyone else. ¹⁰ He said, “Two men went into the temple courtyard to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood up and prayed, ‘God, I thank you that I’m not like other people! I’m not a robber or a dishonest person. I haven’t committed adultery. I’m not even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my entire income.’

¹³ “But the tax collector was standing at a distance. He wouldn’t even look up to heaven. Instead, he became very upset, and he said, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’

¹⁴ “I can guarantee that this tax collector went home with God’s approval, but the Pharisee didn’t. Everyone who honors himself will be humbled, but the person who humbles himself will be honored.”