The Gospel According to Luke, chapters 18 & 19

18  He spoke to them in a parable to show that they should keep on praying      
and never lose heart: 'There was once a judge who cared nothing for God       
or man, and in the same town there was a widow who constantly came        
before him demanding justice against her opponent.  For a long time he     
refused; but in the end he said to himself, "True, I care nothing for God     
or man; but this widow is so great a nuisance that I will see her righted     
before she wears me out with her persistence." '  The Lord said, 'You      
hear what the unjust judge says; and will not God vindicate his chosen,      
who cry out to him day and night, while he listens patiently to them?       
I tell you, he will vindicate them soon enough.  But when the Son of Man        
comes, will he find faith on earth?'          
   And here is another parable that he told.  It was aimed at those who were     
sure of their own goodness and looked down on everyone else.  'Two men         
went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax-gatherer.     
The Pharisee stood up and prayed thus: "I thank thee, O God, that I am       
not like the rest of men, greedy, dishonest, adulterous; or, for that matter,     
like this tax-gatherer.  I fast twice a week; I pay tithes on all that I get."       
But the other kept his distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven,        
but beat upon his breast, saying, "O God, have mercy on me, sinner that       
I am."  It was this man, I tell you, and not the other, who went home       
acquitted of his sins.  For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled;       
and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.'         
   They even brought babies for him to touch.  When the disciples saw     
them they rebuked them, but Jesus called for the children and said, 'Let        
the little ones come to me; do not try to stop them; for the kingdom of God       
belongs to such as these.  I tell you that whoever does not accept the king-      
dom of God like a child will never enter it.'              
   A man of the ruling class put this question to him: 'Good Master, what      
must I do to win eternal life?'  Jesus said to him, 'Why do you call me good?        
No one is good except God alone.  You know the commandments: "Do not       
commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false evidence;      
honour your father and mother." '  The man answered, 'I have kept all     
these since I was a boy.'  On hearing this Jesus said, 'There is still one     
thing lacking: sell everything you have and distribute to the poor, and you     
will have riches in heaven; and come, follow me.'  At these words his heart 
sank; for he was a very rich man.  When Jesus saw it he said, 'How hard it       
is for the wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!  It is easier for a camel to go      
through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of       
God.'  Those who heard asked, 'Then who can be saved?'  He answered,       
'What is possible for me is possible for God.'             
   Peter said, 'We here have left our belongings to become your followers.'      
Jesus said, 'I tell you this: there is no one who has given up home, or wife,     
brothers, parents, or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who      
will not be repaid many times over in this age, and in the age to come have     
eternal life.'          
   He took the twelve aside and said, 'We are now going up to      
Jerusalem; and all that was written by the prophets will come true for     
the Son of Man.  He will be handed over to the foreign power.  He will be        
mocked, maltreated, and spat upon.  They will flog him and kill him.  And       
on the third day he will rise again.'  But they understood nothing of all this      
they did not grasp what he was talking about; its meaning was concealed      
from them.            
   As he approached Jericho a blind man sat at the roadside begging.  Hear-     
ing a crowd going past, he asked what was happening.  They told him,      
'Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.'  Then he shouted out, 'Jesus, Son of       
David, have pity on me.'  The people in front told him to hold his tongue;       
but he called out all the more, 'Son of David, have pity on me.'  Jesus          
stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him.  When he came up he      
asked him, 'What do you want me to do for you?'  'Sir, I want my sight     
back', he answered.  Jesus said to him, 'Have back your sight; your faith      
has cured you.'  He recovered his sight instantly; and he followed Jesus,        
praising God.  And all the people gave praise to God for what they had         
seen.

19  Entering Jericho he made his way through the city.  There was a man      
there named Zacchaeus; he was superintendent of taxes and very rich.  He       
was eager to see what Jesus looked like; but, being a little man, he could      
not see him for the crowd.  So he ran on ahead and climbed a sycomore-       
tree in order to see him, for he was to pass that way.  When Jesus came to the       
place, he looked up and said, 'Zacchaeus, be quick and come down; I          
must come and stay with you today.'  He climbed down as fast as he could     
and welcomed him gladly.  at this there was a general murmur of dis-      
approval.  'He has gone in', they said, 'to be the guest of a sinner.'  But      
Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, 'Here and now, sir, I give half     
my possessions to charity; and if I have cheated anyone, I am ready to         
repay him four times over.'  Jesus said to him, 'Salvation has come to this     
house today! — for this man too is a son of Abraham, and the Son of Man      
has come to seek and save what is lost.'         
   While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable,        
because he was now close to Jerusalem and they though the reign of God     
might dawn at any moment.  He said, 'A man of noble birth went on a long     
journey abroad, to be appointed king and then return.  But first he called       
ten of his servants and gave them a pound each, saying, "Trade with this     
while I am away."  His fellow-citizens hated him, and they sent a delega-        
tion on his heels to say, "We do not want this man as our king."  However,        
back he came as king, and sent for the servants to whom he had given the       
money, to see what profit each had made.  The first came and said, "Your         
pound, sir, has made ten more."  "Well done," he replied; "you are a good      
servant.  You have shown yourself trustworthy in a very small matter, and      
you shall have charge of ten cities."  The second came and said, "Your      
pound, sir, has made me five more"; and he also was told, "You too, take       
charge of five cities."  The third came and said, "Here is your pound, sir;       
I kept it put away in a handkerchief.  I was afraid of you, because you are a     
hard man: you draw out what you never put in and reap what you did not     
sow."  "You rascal!" he replied; "I will judge you by your own words.     
You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, that I draw out what I never put      
in, and reap what I did not sow?  Then why did you not put my money on       
deposit, and I could have claimed it with interest when I came back?"          
Turning to his attendants he said, "Take the pound from him and give it      
to the man with ten."  But, sir," they replied, "he has ten already."  "I tell      
you," he went on, "the man who has will always be given more; but the      
man who has not will forfeit even what he has.  But as for those enemies of        
mine who did not want me for their king, bring them here and slaughter       
them in my presence." '            
   With that Jesus went forward and began his ascent to Jerusalem.             
As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called Olivet, he sent      
two of the disciples with these instructions: 'Go to the village opposite;        
as you enter it you will find tethered there a colt which no one has yet      
ridden.  Untie it and bring it here.  If anyone asks why you are untying it,    
say, "Our Master needs it." '  The two went on their errand and found it      
as he had told them; and while they were untying the colt, its owners asked,       
'Why are you untying that colt?'  They answered, 'Our Master needs it.'           
So they brought the colt to Jesus.       
   Then they threw their cloaks on the colt, for Jesus to mount, and      
they carpeted the road with them as he went on his way.  And now, as he      
approached the descent from the Mount of Olives, the whole company      
of his disciples in their joy began to sing aloud the praises of God for all    
the great things they had seen:        

      'Blessings on him who comes as king in the name of the Lord!       
      Peace in heaven, glory in highest heaven!'              

   Some Pharisees who were in the crowd said to him, 'Master, reprimand       
your disciples.'  He answered, 'I tell you, if my disciples keep silence the        
stones will shout aloud.'           
   When he came in sight of the city, he wept over it and said, 'If only you      
had known, on this great day, the way that leads to peace!  But no; it is     
hidden from your sight.  For a time will come upon you, when your enemies     
will set up siege-works against you; they will encircle you and hem you in      
at every point; they will bring you to the ground, you and your children     
within your walls, and not leave you one stone standing on another,      
because you did not recognize God's moment when it came.'            
   Then he went into the temple and began driving out the traders, with     
these words: 'Scripture says, "My house shall be a house of prayer"; but      
you have made it a robbers' cave.'          
   Day by day he taught in the temple.  And the chief priests and lawyers     
were bent on making an end of him, with the support of the leading      
citizens, but found they were helpless, because the people all hung upon    
his words.          

The New English Bible (with Apocrypha)
Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, 1970