Matthew 20:31

20:31 The ¹  crowd scolded ²  them to get them to be quiet. But they shouted even more loudly, “Lord, have mercy on us, ³  Son of David!”

Genesis 32:26

32:26 Then the man ⁴  said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” ⁵  “I will not let you go,” Jacob replied, ⁶  “unless you bless me.” ⁷ 

Hosea 12:4

12:4 He struggled ⁸  with an angel and prevailed;

he wept and begged for his favor.

He found God ⁹  at Bethel, ¹⁰ 

and there he spoke with him! ¹¹ 

Luke 11:8-10

11:8 I tell you, even though the man inside ¹²  will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of the first man’s ¹³  sheer persistence ¹⁴  he will get up and give him whatever he needs.

11:9 “So ¹⁵  I tell you: Ask, ¹⁶  and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door ¹⁷  will be opened for you. 11:10 For everyone who asks ¹⁸  receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door ¹⁹  will be opened.

Luke 18:1-8

Prayer and the Parable of the Persistent Widow

18:1 Then ²⁰  Jesus ²¹  told them a parable to show them they should always ²²  pray and not lose heart. ²³  18:2 He said, ²⁴  “In a certain city ²⁵  there was a judge ²⁶  who neither feared God nor respected people. ²⁷  18:3 There was also a widow ²⁸  in that city ²⁹  who kept coming ³⁰  to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 18:4 For ³¹  a while he refused, but later on ³²  he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor have regard for people, ³³  18:5 yet because this widow keeps on bothering me, I will give her justice, or in the end she will wear me out ³⁴  by her unending pleas.’” ³⁵  18:6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unrighteous judge says! ³⁶  18:7 Won’t ³⁷  God give justice to his chosen ones, who cry out ³⁸  to him day and night? ³⁹  Will he delay ⁴⁰  long to help them? 18:8 I tell you, he will give them justice speedily. ⁴¹  Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith ⁴²  on earth?”

[20:31]  ¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[20:31]  ² tn Or “rebuked.” The crowd’s view was that surely Jesus would not be bothered with someone as unimportant as a blind beggar.

[20:31]  ³ tc ‡ The majority of mss (C W ˹ 33 Ï and several versional witnesses) read κύριε (kurie, “Lord”) after ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς (elehson Jhma", “have mercy on us”). But since this is the order of words in v. 30 (though that wording is also disputed), and since the κύριε-first reading enjoys widespread and early support (א B D L Z Θ 085 0281 ˹³ 892 pc lat), the latter was considered original. However, the decision was by no means easy. NA²⁷ has κύριε after ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς here; a majority of that committee felt that since the placement of κύριε in last place was the nonliturgical order it “would have been likely to be altered in transcription to the more familiar sequence” (TCGNT 44).

[32:26]  ⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:26]  ⁵ tn Heb “dawn has arisen.”

[32:26]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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.

[12:4]  ⁸ tc The MT vocalizes the consonantal text וָיָּשַׂר (vayyasar, vav consecutive + Qal preterite 3rd person masculine singular from שׂוּר, sur, “to see”); however, parallelism with שָׂרַה (sarah, “he contended”) in 12:3 suggested that it be vocalized as ויּשׂר (vav consecutive + Qal preterite 3rd person masculine singular from שׂרה [“to strive, contend”]). The latter is followed by almost all English versions here.

[12:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “him”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:4]  ¹⁰ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[12:4]  ¹¹ tc The Leningrad Codex and the Allepo Codex both read 1st person common plural עִמָּנוּ (’immanu, “with us”). The LXX and Peshitta both reflect an alternate Hebrew Vorlage of 3rd person masculine singular עִמוֹ (’imo, “with him”). The BHS editors suggest emending the MT in favor of the Greek and Syriac. The internal evidence of 12:4-5 favors the 3rd person masculine singular reading. It is likely that the 1st person common plural ־נוּ reading on עִמָּנוּ arose due to a misunderstanding of the 3rd person masculine singular ־נוּ suffix on יִמְצָאֶנּוּ (yimtsa’ennu, “he found him”; Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular + 3rd person masculine singular suffix) which was probably misunderstood as the 1st person common plural suffix: “he found us.” Several English versions follow the LXX and Syriac: “there he spoke with him” (RSV, NAB, NEB, NIV, NJPS, TEV). Others follow the MT: “there he spoke with us” (KJV, NASB, CEV). The Hebrew University Old Testament Project, which tends to preserve the MT whenever possible, adopts the MT reading but gives it only a “C” rating. See D. Barthélemy, ed., Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, 5:262-63.

[11:8]  ¹² tn Grk “he”; the referent (the man in bed in the house) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:8]  ¹³ tn Grk “his”; the referent (the first man mentioned) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:8]  ¹⁴ tn The term ἀναίδεια (anaideia) is hard to translate. It refers to a combination of ideas, a boldness that persists over time, or “audacity,” which comes close. It most likely describes the one making the request, since the unit’s teaching is an exhortation about persistence in prayer. Some translate the term “shamelessness” which is the term’s normal meaning, and apply it to the neighbor as an illustration of God responding for the sake of his honor. But the original question was posed in terms of the first man who makes the request, not of the neighbor, so the teaching underscores the action of the one making the request.

[11:9]  ¹⁵ tn Here καί (kai, from καγώ [kagw]) has been translated as “so” to indicate the conclusion drawn from the preceding parable.

[11:9]  ¹⁶ sn The three present imperatives in this verse (Ask…seek…knock) are probably intended to call for a repeated or continual approach before God.

[11:9]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “it”; the referent (a door) is implied by the context and has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:10]  ¹⁸ sn The actions of asking, seeking, and knocking are repeated here from v. 9 with the encouragement that God does respond.

[11:10]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “it”; the referent (a door) is implied by the context and has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:1]  ²⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[18:1]  ²¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:1]  ²² tn Or “should pray at all times” (L&N 67.88).

[18:1]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ 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]  ²⁵ tn Or “town.”

[18:2]  ²⁶ sn The judge here is apparently portrayed as a civil judge who often handled financial cases.

[18:2]  ²⁷ tn Grk “man,” but the singular ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used as a generic in comparison to God.

[18:3]  ²⁸ sn This widow was not necessarily old, since many people lived only into their thirties in the 1st century.

[18:3]  ²⁹ tn Or “town.”

[18:3]  ³⁰ tn This is an iterative imperfect; the widow did this on numerous occasions.

[18:4]  ³¹ tn Grk “And for.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[18:4]  ³² tn Grk “after these things.”

[18:4]  ³³ tn Grk “man,” but the singular ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used as a generic in comparison to God.

[18:5]  ³⁴ tn The term ὑπωπιάζω (Jupwpiazw) in this context means “to wear someone out by continual annoying” (L&N 25.245).

[18:5]  ³⁵ tn Grk “by her continual coming,” but the point of annoyance to the judge is her constant pleas for justice (v. 3).

[18:6]  ³⁶ 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]  ³⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[18:7]  ³⁸ 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]  ³⁹ tn The emphatic particles in this sentence indicate that God will indeed give justice to the righteous.

[18:7]  ⁴⁰ 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]  ⁴¹ 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]  ⁴² sn Will he find faith on earth? The Son of Man is looking for those who continue to believe in him, despite the wait.