LUKE 18:1 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs, orange:accusative/object, cyan:dative/indirect object.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT Then he spoke a parable to them to show that it was necessary for them always to pray and not to become discouraged,

UST Jesus told his disciples another story to teach them that they should pray continually and not become discouraged if God did not immediately answer their prayers.

BSB Then [Jesus] told them a parable about their need to pray at all times and not lose heart:

BLB And He was speaking to them a parable about the way it behooves them always to pray and not to lose heart,

AICNT [[There they will be gathered for their terrible fate;]][fn] [He was telling them a parable to the effect that [they][fn] ought][fn] Always pray and do not lose heart;

18:1, They will be gathered there for the terrible: Some manuscripts include. D(05)

18:1, they: Absent from some manuscripts. D(05) Latin(a b e ff² i) BYZ TR

18:1, He was telling them a parable ...: Absent from some manuscripts. D(05)

OEB ¶ Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and never despair.

WEBBE He also spoke a parable to them that they must always pray and not give up,

WMBB (Same as above)

NET Then Jesus told them a parable to show them they should always pray and not lose heart.

LSV And He also spoke an allegory to them, that it is always necessary to pray and not to faint,

FBV Jesus told them this story to encourage them to pray at all times, and not to become discouraged.

TCNT Then Jesus told them a parable about the [fn]need to pray at all times and not lose heart.

18:1 need ¦ need for them ANT CT

T4T Jesus told his disciples a parable to teach them that they always ought to pray confidently and not be discouraged if God does not immediately answer their prayers.

LEB And he told them a parable to show that they must always pray and not be discouraged,

BBE And he made a story for them, the point of which was that men were to go on making prayer and not get tired;

Moff He also told them a parable about the need of always praying and never losing heart.

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

ASV And he spake a parable unto them to the end that they ought always to pray, and not to faint;

DRA And he spoke also a parable to them, that we ought always to pray, and not to faint,

YLT And he spake also a simile to them, that it behoveth [us] always to pray, and not to faint,

Drby And he spoke also a parable to them to the purport that they should always pray and not faint,

RV And he spake a parable unto them to the end that they ought always to pray, and not to faint;

SLT And he spake to them a parable, that they must always pray, and not lose courage;

Wbstr And he spoke a parable to them to this end , that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

KJB-1769 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

KJB-1611 ¶ And he spake a parable vnto them, to this ende, that men ought alwayes to pray, and not to faint,
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from marking of added words (and possibly capitalisation and punctuation))

Bshps And he put foorth a parable vnto them, to this ende that me ought alwayes to pray, & not to be weery,
(And he put forth a parable unto them, to this end that me ought always to pray, and not to be weery,)

Gnva And he spake also a parable vnto them, to this ende, that they ought alwayes to pray, and not to waxe faint,
(And he spake also a parable unto them, to this end, that they ought always to pray, and not to wax faint, )

Cvdl He tolde them a symilitude, signifienge, yt men ought allwayes to praye, & not to leaue of,
(He told them a similitude, signifienge, it men ought always to praye, and not to leave of,)

TNT And he put forth a similitude vnto the signifyinge that men ought alwayes to praye and not to be wery
(And he put forth a similitude unto the signifyinge that men ought always to pray and not to be weary )

Wycl And he seide to hem also a parable, that it bihoueth to preye euer more, and not faile;
(And he said to hem also a parable, that it behoves to pray ever more, and not fail;)

Luth Er sagte ihnen aber ein Gleichnis davon, daß man allezeit beten und nicht laß werden sollte,
(He said to_them but a parable/allegory of_that, that man at_all_times pray and not let become should,)

ClVg Dicebat autem et parabolam ad illos, quoniam oportet semper orare et non deficere,
(He_said however and parable to those, since/because it_is_necessary always to_pray and not/no to_fail, )

UGNT ἔλεγεν δὲ παραβολὴν αὐτοῖς, πρὸς τὸ δεῖν πάντοτε προσεύχεσθαι αὐτοὺς καὶ μὴ ἐνκακεῖν
(elegen de parabolaʸn autois, pros to dein pantote proseuⱪesthai autous kai maʸ enkakein)

SBL-GNT Ἔλεγεν ⸀δὲ παραβολὴν αὐτοῖς πρὸς τὸ δεῖν πάντοτε προσεύχεσθαι ⸀αὐτοὺς καὶ μὴ ἐγκακεῖν,
(Elegen ⸀de parabolaʸn autois pros to dein pantote proseuⱪesthai ⸀autous kai maʸ egkakein,)

RP-GNT Ἔλεγεν δὲ καὶ παραβολὴν αὐτοῖς πρὸς τὸ δεῖν πάντοτε προσεύχεσθαι, καὶ μὴ ἐκκακεῖν,
(Elegen de kai parabolaʸn autois pros to dein pantote proseuⱪesthai, kai maʸ ekkakein,)

TC-GNT Ἔλεγε δὲ [fn]καὶ παραβολὴν αὐτοῖς πρὸς τὸ δεῖν πάντοτε [fn]προσεύχεσθαι, καὶ μὴ [fn]ἐκκακεῖν,
(Elege de kai parabolaʸn autois pros to dein pantote proseuⱪesthai, kai maʸ ekkakein, )

18:1 και ¦ — CT

18:1 προσευχεσθαι ¦ προσευχεσθαι αυτους ANT CT

18:1 εκκακειν ¦ εγκακειν NA SBL ¦ ενκακειν TH WH

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 18:1–8: Jesus told a story to teach his disciples to pray persistently

At the end of chapter 17, Jesus told his disciples about the coming of the Son of Man. In this section, he concluded this teaching by telling them a parable about praying persistently.Bock (p. 1444) says: “The parable of the nagging widow and the consenting judge is linked to the previous eschatological discourse by the reference in Luke 18:8 to the Son of Man’s return. Its plea that believers ask God for justice looks back to the vindication of the saints described in 17:22–37.” He used the parable to teach them that they should continue to trust God and pray to him. They should not become discouraged when they suffer unjustly, because Jesus will return, and God will give them justice.

Justice is an important theme in this parable. Phrases about justice occur four times. Each phrase uses a form of the same Greek word, so you will probably want to translate the phrases in a similar way:

Grant me justice (18:3)

see that she gets justice (18:5)

will not God bring about justice (18:7)

he will see that they get justice (18:8)

It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it. Some examples of headings for this section are:

The Parable of the Persistent Widow (NIV)

Jesus told a parable about a widow coming repeatedly to an unjust judge

The parable of the unjust judge

God Will Answer His People (NCV)

Luke is the only gospel that has this story. It is similar in some ways to the parable in 11:5–10.

18:1

This verse tells the purpose and meaning of the parable in 18:2–8. In some languages it may be natural to use two sentences to do this. For example:

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable. He wanted to teach them that they must continue to pray and not become discouraged.

See the General Comment on 18:1a–c for a suggestion about using direct speech in this verse.

18:1a

Then Jesus told them

¶ And he told them
¶ Then Jesus used
¶ Then Jesus told his disciples

Then Jesus told them: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as Then Jesus told them is literally “And he told them.” The RSV and several other English versions translate it that way. Jesus continued to speak to the same people that he spoke to in the previous section. The BSB has supplied the word Jesus to make the meaning clear at the beginning of this new section. Introduce the section in a natural way in your language.

them: Versions such as the CEV, GW, GNT, NIV, and NLT say “his disciples” rather than them. If you decide to say “his disciples” in your translation, for help in translating that term, see the note at 17:1a.

18:1b

a parable about their need to pray at all times

a parable/illustration to teach that it is necessary to continue to pray
a story to teach them that they must persist in their prayers to God.
a story. It showed that they needed to ask/beg God often to help them.

18:1c

and not lose heart:

and not stop.
They must not become discouraged and quit trusting/hoping that he will help them.
They should not get tired and stop asking/begging him.

18:1b–c

a parable about their need to: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as a parable about their need to is more literally “a parable that it is necessary to.” This phrase introduces the purpose and meaning of the parable. Other ways to introduce it are:

a parable, teaching his disciples so that they would…Uma Back Translation on TW.

a story to tell them that it is necessary to…

a story. Its meaning was that they must…

used this story to teach his followers that they should… (NCV)

parable: The Greek word that the BSB translates as parable is literally “comparison.” A parable teaches a lesson or truth by showing how it is like something that people already know. Jesus used several types of parables including symbolic stories, metaphors, proverbs, illustrations, and wise sayings.

Some ways to translate parable are:

Use a general term in your language that can be used to describe the different types of parables. Some English examples are:
illustration
metaphor
Use a descriptive term. For example:
symbolic saying/word/story
comparison

See also parable, Type 3, in the Glossary.

to pray at all times and not lose heart: The clause to pray at all times and not lose heart indicates that it is necessary for them to pray often. They must pray until they receive the help that they need from God. It implies that they should not become discouraged and then decide that they will not pray again about their need. Some ways to translate this clause are:

it is necessary to pray persistently and not become discouraged

they must continue to pray. They must not get tired and quit praying.

they need to pray many times without despairing

pray at all times: In this context the phrase pray at all times indicates that Jesus’ disciples should pray often and persistently. It probably does not imply that they should literally be praying all the time. In the parable Jesus applied this instruction to making a specific request. They must persist in asking God to do what they need him to do. Some ways to translate this are:

they should keep on praying (CEV)

it is necessary to persist in praying

pray: The Greek word that the BSB translates as pray refers to speaking to God. It is a general word that includes different types of prayer, such as requests, thanks, and praise. If you need to use a more specific expression here, you should use one that refers to making requests.

In some languages it may be necessary to indicate what is prayed for. If that is true in your language, you should use a general word that can apply to most requests. For example:

ask/beg God for help

Avoid a term that may imply magical or meaningless words.

not lose heart: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as not lose heart means “not become discouraged.”In other contexts it is used in a more general way to mean “not act badly” (TDNT III, p. 486) or, as Green says, “to behave remissly.” He says, “‘Lose heart’ may be too passive a way to understand Jesus’ concern that his followers not begin to behave remissly….” (p. 638). This implies a neglect of prayer that comes out of discouragement, weariness, or wavering in their faith in God. Jesus warns against giving up their trust that God will grant their request. It implies here that they should not be discouraged when God does not quickly do what they ask him to do. They should not stop praying, and they should not stop believing that God will help them. Other ways to translate this are:

never become discouraged (GNT)

never lose hope (NCV)

General Comment on 18:1a–c

In some languages it may be more natural to use direct speech to tell the purpose of the parable. For example:

Then Jesus told them a story to teach them saying, “You must always continue to pray and not give up.”

The words “not lose heart” may also be expressed as direct speech. For example:

Then Jesus told them a parable. He said, “It is necessary to keep on praying. You should never say, ‘I am tired of praying. I will stop.’”