Weymouth New Testament in Modern Speech, Luke Part 7

016:024 So he cried aloud, and said, "'Father Abraham, take pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.'

016:025 "'Remember, my child,' said Abraham, 'that you had all your good things during your lifetime, and that Lazarus in like manner had his bad things. But, now and here, he is receiving consolation and you are in agony.

016:026 And, besides all this, a vast chasm is immovably fixed between us and you, put there in order that those who desire to cross from this side to you may not be able, nor any be able to cross over from your side to us.'

016:027 "'I entreat you then, father,' said he, 'to send him to my father's house.

016:028 For I have five brothers. Let him earnestly warn them, lest they also come to this place of torment.'

016:029 "'They have Moses and the Prophets,' replied Abraham; 'let them hear them.'

016:030 "'No, father Abraham,' he pleaded; 'but if some one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.'

016:031 "'If they are deaf to Moses and the Prophets,' replied Abraham, 'they would not be led to believe even if some one should rise from the dead.'"

017:001 Jesus said to His disciples, "It is inevitable that causes of stumbling should come; but alas for him through whom they come!

017:002 It would be well for him if, with a millstone round his neck, he were lying at the bottom of the sea, rather than that he should cause even one of these little ones to fall.

017:003 Be on your guard. "If your brother acts wrongly, reprove him; and if he is sorry, forgive him; 017:004 and if seven times in a day he acts wrongly towards you, and seven times turns again to you and says, 'I am sorry,'

you must forgive him."

017:005 And the Apostles said to the Lord, "Give us faith."

017:006 "If your faith," replied the Lord, "is like a mustard seed, you might command this black-mulberry-tree, 'Tear up your roots and plant yourself in the sea,' and instantly it would obey you.

017:007 But which of you who has a servant ploughing, or tending sheep, will say to him when he comes in from the farm, 'Come at once and take your place at table,'

017:008 and will not rather say to him, 'Get my dinner ready, make yourself tidy, and wait upon me till I have finished my dinner, and then you shall have yours'?

017:009 Does he thank the servant for obeying his orders?

017:010 So you also, when you have obeyed all the orders given you, must say, "'There is no merit in our service: what we have done is only what we were in duty bound to do.'"

017:011 As they pursued their journey to Jerusalem, He pa.s.sed through Samaria and Galilee.

017:012 And as He entered a certain village, ten men met Him who were lepers and stood at a distance.

017:013 In loud voices they cried out, "Jesus, Rabbi, take pity on us."

017:014 Perceiving this, He said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the Priests." And while on their way to do this they were made clean.

017:015 One of them, seeing that he was cured, came back, adoring and praising G.o.d in a loud voice, 017:016 and he threw himself at the feet of Jesus, thanking Him.

He was a Samaritan.

017:017 "Were not all ten made clean?" Jesus asked; "but where are the nine?

017:018 Have none been found to come back and give glory to G.o.d except this foreigner?"

017:019 And He said to him, "Rise and go: your faith has cured you."

017:020 Being asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of G.o.d was coming, He answered, "The Kingdom of G.o.d does not so come that you can stealthily watch for it.

017:021 Nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!'--for the Kingdom of G.o.d is within you."

017:022 Then, turning to His disciples, He said, "There will come a time when you will wish you could see a single one of the days of the Son of Man, but will not see one.

017:023 And they will say to you, 'See there!' 'See here!'

Do not start off and go in pursuit.

017:024 For just as the lightning, when it flashes, s.h.i.+nes from one part of the horizon to the opposite part, so will the Son of Man be on His day.

017:025 But first He must endure much suffering, and be rejected by the present generation.

017:026 "And as it was in the time of Noah, so will it also be in the time of the Son of Man.

017:027 Men were eating and drinking, taking wives and giving wives, up to the very day on which Noah entered the Ark, and the Deluge came and destroyed them all.

017:028 The same was true in the time of Lot: they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building; 017:029 but on the day that Lot left Sodom, G.o.d rained fire and brimstone from the sky and destroyed them all.

017:030 Exactly so will it be on the day that the veil is lifted from the Son of Man.

017:031 "On that day, if a man is on the roof and his property indoors, let him not go down to fetch it; and, in the same way, he who is in the field, let him not turn back.

017:032 Remember Lot's wife.

017:033 Any man who makes it his object to keep his own life safe, will lose it; but whoever loses his life will preserve it.

017:034 On that night, I tell you, there will be two men in one bed: one will be taken away and the other left behind.

017:035 There will be two women turning the mill together: one will be taken away and the other left behind."

017:036 []

017:037 "Where, Master?" they inquired. "Where the dead body is,"

He replied, "there also will the vultures flock together."

018:001 He also taught them by a parable that they must always pray and never lose heart.

018:002 "In a certain town," He said, "there was a judge who had no fear of G.o.d and no respect for man.

018:003 And in the same town was a widow who repeatedly came and entreated him, saying, "'Give me justice and stop my oppressor.'

018:004 "For a time he would not, but afterwards he said to himself, "'Though I have neither reverence for G.o.d nor respect for man, 018:005 yet because she annoys me I will give her justice, to prevent her from constantly coming to pester me.'"

018:006 And the Lord said, "Hear those words of the unjust judge.

018:007 And will not G.o.d avenge the wrongs of His own People who cry aloud to Him day and night, although He seems slow in taking action on their behalf?

018:008 Yes, He will soon avenge their wrongs. Yet, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?"

018:009 And to some who relied on themselves as being righteous men, and looked down upon all others, He addressed this parable.

018:010 "Two men went up to the Temple to pray," He said; "one being a Pharisee and the other a tax-gatherer.

018:011 The Pharisee, standing erect, prayed as follows by himself: "'O G.o.d, I thank Thee that I am not like other people-- I am not a thief nor a cheat nor an adulterer, nor do I even resemble this tax-gatherer.

018:012 I fast twice a week. I pay the t.i.the on all my gains.'

018:013 "But the tax-gatherer, standing far back, would not so much as lift his eyes to Heaven, but kept beating his breast and saying, "'O G.o.d, be reconciled to me, sinner that I am.'

018:014 "I tell you that this man went home more thoroughly absolved from guilt than the other; for every one who uplifts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be uplifted."

018:015 On one occasion people also brought with them their infants, for Him to touch them; but the disciples, noticing this, proceeded to find fault with them.

018:016 Jesus however called the infants to Him. "Let the little children come to me," He said; "do not hinder them; for it is to those who are childlike that the Kingdom of G.o.d belongs.

018:017 I tell you in solemn truth that, whoever does not receive the Kingdom of G.o.d like a little child will certainly not enter it."

018:018 The question was put to Him by a Ruler: "Good Rabbi, what shall I do to inherit the Life of the Ages?"

018:019 "Why do you call me good?" replied Jesus; "there is no one good but One, namely G.o.d.

018:020 You know the Commandments: 'Do not commit adultery;'

'Do not murder;' 'Do not steal;' 'Do not lie in giving evidence;'

'Honour thy father and thy mother.'"

018:021 "All of those," he replied, "I have kept from my youth."

018:022 On receiving this answer Jesus said to him, "There is still one thing wanting in you. Sell everything you possess and give the money to the poor, and you shall have wealth in Heaven; and then come, follow me."

018:023 But on hearing these words he was deeply sorrowful, for he was exceedingly rich.

018:024 Jesus saw his sorrow, and said, "With how hard a struggle do the possessors of riches ever enter the Kingdom of G.o.d!

018:025 Why, it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of G.o.d."

018:026 "Who then can be saved?" exclaimed the hearers.

018:027 "Things impossible with man," He replied, "are possible with G.o.d."

018:028 Then Peter said, "See, we have given up our homes and have followed you."

018:029 "I solemnly tell you," replied Jesus, "that there is no one who has left house or wife, or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of G.o.d's Kingdom, 018:030 who shall not certainly receive many times as much in this life, and in the age that is coming the Life of the Ages."

018:031 Then He drew the Twelve to Him and said, "See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything written in the Prophets which refers to the Son of Man will be fulfilled.

018:032 For He will be given up to the Gentiles, and be mocked, outraged and spit upon.

018:033 They will scourge Him and put Him to death, and on the third day He will rise to life again."

018:034 Nothing of this did they understand. The words were a mystery to them, nor could they see what He meant.

018:035 As Jesus came near to Jericho, there was a blind man sitting by the way-side begging.

018:036 He heard a crowd of people going past, and inquired what it all meant.

018:037 "Jesus the Nazarene is pa.s.sing by," they told him.

018:038 Then, at the top of his voice, he cried out, "Jesus, son of David, take pity on me."

018:039 Those in front reproved him and tried to silence him; but he continued shouting, louder than ever, "Son of David, take pity on me."

018:040 At length Jesus stopped and desired them to bring the man to Him; and when he had come close to Him He asked him, 018:041 "What shall I do for you?" "Sir," he replied, "let me recover my sight."

018:042 "Recover your sight," said Jesus: "your faith has cured you."

018:043 No sooner were the words spoken than the man regained his sight and followed Jesus, giving glory to G.o.d; and all the people, seeing it, gave praise to G.o.d.

019:001 So He entered Jericho and was pa.s.sing through the town.

019:002 There was a man there called Zacchaeus, who was the local surveyor of taxes, and was wealthy.

019:003 He was anxious to see what sort of man Jesus was; but he could not because of the crowd, for he was short in stature.

019:004 So he ran on in front and climbed up a mulberry tree to see Him; for He was about to pa.s.s that way.

019:005 As soon as Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for I must stay at your house to-day."

019:006 So he came down in haste, and welcomed Him joyfully.

019:007 When they all saw this, they began to complain with indignation.

"He has gone in to be the guest of a notorious sinner!" they said.

019:008 Zacchaeus however stood up, and addressing the Lord said, "Here and now, Master, I give half my property to the poor, and if I have unjustly exacted money from any man, I pledge myself to repay to him four times the amount."

019:009 Turning towards him, Jesus replied, "To-day salvation has come to this house, seeing that he too is a son of Abraham.

019:010 For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."

019:011 As they were listening to His words, He went on to teach them by a parable, because He was near to Jerusalem and they supposed that the Kingdom of G.o.d was going to appear immediately.