Luke 18:1-8

Prayer and the Parable of the Persistent Widow

18:1 Then ¹  Jesus ²  told them a parable to show them they should always ³  pray and not lose heart. ⁴  18:2 He said, ⁵  “In a certain city ⁶  there was a judge ⁷  who neither feared God nor respected people. ⁸  18:3 There was also a widow ⁹  in that city ¹⁰  who kept coming ¹¹  to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 18:4 For ¹²  a while he refused, but later on ¹³  he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor have regard for people, ¹⁴  18:5 yet because this widow keeps on bothering me, I will give her justice, or in the end she will wear me out ¹⁵  by her unending pleas.’” ¹⁶  18:6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unrighteous judge says! ¹⁷  18:7 Won’t ¹⁸  God give justice to his chosen ones, who cry out ¹⁹  to him day and night? ²⁰  Will he delay ²¹  long to help them? 18:8 I tell you, he will give them justice speedily. ²²  Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith ²³  on earth?”

Genesis 32:26

32:26 Then the man ²⁴  said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” ²⁵  “I will not let you go,” Jacob replied, ²⁶  “unless you bless me.” ²⁷ 

Matthew 15:22-28

15:22 A ²⁸  Canaanite woman from that area came ²⁹  and cried out, ³⁰  “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is horribly demon-possessed!” 15:23 But he did not answer her a word. Then ³¹  his disciples came and begged him, ³²  “Send her away, because she keeps on crying out after us.” 15:24 So ³³  he answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 15:25 But she came and bowed down ³⁴  before him and said, ³⁵  “Lord, help me!” 15:26 “It is not right ³⁶  to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs,” ³⁷  he said. ³⁸  15:27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, ³⁹  “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 15:28 Then ⁴⁰  Jesus answered her, “Woman, ⁴¹  your faith is great! Let what you want be done for you.” And her daughter was healed from that hour.

Romans 15:30

15:30 Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, ⁴²  through our Lord Jesus Christ and through the love of the Spirit, to join fervently with me in prayer to God on my behalf.

Romans 15:2

15:2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good to build him up.

Colossians 1:8

1:8 who also told us of your love in the Spirit.

Colossians 2:1

2:1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you, ⁴³  and for those in Laodicea, and for those who have not met me face to face. ⁴⁴ 

Colossians 4:12

4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you and a slave ⁴⁵  of Christ, ⁴⁶  greets you. He is always struggling in prayer on your behalf, so that you may stand mature and fully assured ⁴⁷  in all the will of God.

[18:1]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[18:1]  ² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:1]  ³ tn Or “should pray at all times” (L&N 67.88).

[18:1]  ⁴ sn This is one of the few parables that comes with an explanation at the start: …they should always pray and not lose heart. It is part of Luke’s goal in encouraging Theophilus (1:4).

[18:2]  ⁵ tn Grk “lose heart, saying.” This is a continuation of the previous sentence in the Greek text, but a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the pronominal subject “He.”

[18:2]  ⁶ tn Or “town.”

[18:2]  ⁷ sn The judge here is apparently portrayed as a civil judge who often handled financial cases.

[18:2]  ⁸ tn Grk “man,” but the singular ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used as a generic in comparison to God.

[18:3]  ⁹ sn This widow was not necessarily old, since many people lived only into their thirties in the 1st century.

[18:3]  ¹⁰ tn Or “town.”

[18:3]  ¹¹ tn This is an iterative imperfect; the widow did this on numerous occasions.

[18:4]  ¹² tn Grk “And for.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[18:4]  ¹³ tn Grk “after these things.”

[18:4]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “man,” but the singular ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used as a generic in comparison to God.

[18:5]  ¹⁵ tn The term ὑπωπιάζω (Jupwpiazw) in this context means “to wear someone out by continual annoying” (L&N 25.245).

[18:5]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “by her continual coming,” but the point of annoyance to the judge is her constant pleas for justice (v. 3).

[18:6]  ¹⁷ sn Listen to what the unrighteous judge says! The point of the parable is that the judge’s lack of compassion was overcome by the widow’s persistence.

[18:7]  ¹⁸ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[18:7]  ¹⁹ sn The prayers have to do with the righteous who cry out to him to receive justice. The context assumes the righteous are persecuted.

[18:7]  ²⁰ tn The emphatic particles in this sentence indicate that God will indeed give justice to the righteous.

[18:7]  ²¹ sn The issue of delay has produced a whole host of views for this verse. (1) Does this assume provision to endure in the meantime? Or (2) does it mean God restricts the level of persecution until he comes? Either view is possible.

[18:8]  ²² tn Some argue this should be translated “suddenly.” When vindication comes it will be quick. But the more natural meaning is “soon.” God will not forget his elect and will respond to them. It may be that this verse has a prophetic perspective. In light of the eternity that comes, vindication is soon.

[18:8]  ²³ sn Will he find faith on earth? The Son of Man is looking for those who continue to believe in him, despite the wait.

[32:26]  ²⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:26]  ²⁵ tn Heb “dawn has arisen.”

[32:26]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and he said, ‘I will not let you go.’” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[32:26]  ²⁷ sn Jacob wrestled with a man thinking him to be a mere man, and on that basis was equal to the task. But when it had gone on long enough, the night visitor touched Jacob and crippled him. Jacob’s request for a blessing can only mean that he now knew that his opponent was supernatural. Contrary to many allegorical interpretations of the passage that make fighting equivalent to prayer, this passage shows that Jacob stopped fighting, and then asked for a blessing.

[15:22]  ²⁸ tn Grk “And behold a Canaanite.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[15:22]  ²⁹ tn Grk The participle ἐξελθοῦσα (exelqousa) is here translated as a finite verb. The emphasis is upon her crying out to Jesus.

[15:22]  ³⁰ tn Grk “cried out, saying.” The participle λέγουσα (legousa) is redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[15:23]  ³¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then.”

[15:23]  ³² tn Grk “asked him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[15:24]  ³³ tn Grk “And answering, he said.” The construction in Greek is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the disciples’ request.

[15:25]  ³⁴ tn In this context the verb προσκυνέω (proskunew), which often describes worship, probably means simply bowing down to the ground in an act of reverence or supplication (see L&N 17.21).

[15:25]  ³⁵ tn Grk “she bowed down to him, saying.”

[15:26]  ³⁶ tn Grk “And answering, he said, ‘It is not right.’” The introductory phrase “answering, he said” has been simplified and placed at the end of the English sentence for stylistic reasons. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[15:26]  ³⁷ tn Or “lap dogs, house dogs,” as opposed to dogs on the street. The diminutive form originally referred to puppies or little dogs, then to house pets. In some Hellenistic uses κυνάριον (kunarion) simply means “dog.”

[15:26]  ³⁸ tn Grk “And answering, he said.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant and has not been translated.

[15:27]  ³⁹ tn Grk “she said.”

[15:28]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “Then answering, Jesus said to her.” This expression has been simplified in the translation.

[15:28]  ⁴¹ sn Woman was a polite form of address (see BDAG 208-9 s.v. γυνή 1), similar to “Madam” or “Ma’am” used in English in different regions.

[15:30]  ⁴² tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.

[2:1]  ⁴³ tn Or “I want you to know how hard I am working for you…”

[2:1]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “as many as have not seen my face in the flesh.”

[4:12]  ⁴⁵ tn See the note on “fellow slave” in 1:7.

[4:12]  ⁴⁶ tc ‡ Strong Alexandrian testimony, along with some other witnesses, suggests that ᾿Ιησοῦ (Ihsou, “Jesus”) follows Χριστοῦ (Cristou, “Christ”; so א A B C I L 0278 33 81 365 629 1175 2464 al lat), but the evidence for the shorter reading is diverse (Ì⁴⁶ D F G Ψ 075 1739 1881 Ï it sy Hier), cutting across all major texttypes. There can be little motivation for omitting the name of Jesus; hence, the shorter reading is judged to be original. NA²⁷ has ᾿Ιησοῦ in brackets, indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.

[4:12]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “filled.”