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18 : 1 And he told them a parable to the effect that they oughtalways to pray and notlose heart.
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18 : 2 He said,In a certain city there was a judge whoneither feared God nor respected man.
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18 : 3 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying,Give me justice against my adversary.
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18 : 4 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself,Though I neither fear God nor respect man,
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18 : 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.
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18 : 6 And the Lord said,Hear what the unrighteous judge says.
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18 : 7 Andwill not God give justice tohis elect,who cry to him day and night?Will he delay long over them?
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18 : 8 I tell you, he will give justice to themspeedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes,will he find faith on earth?
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18 : 9 He also told this parable to somewho trustedin themselves that they were righteous,and treated others with contempt:
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18 : 10 Two menwent up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
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18 : 11 The Pharisee,standing by himself, prayedthus:God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
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18 : 12 I fast twice a week;I give tithes of all that I get.
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18 : 13 But the tax collector,standing far off,would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, butbeat his breast, saying,God,be merciful to me, a sinner!
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18 : 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. Foreveryone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.
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18 : 15 Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, theyrebuked them.
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18 : 16 But Jesus called them to him, saying,Let the children come to me, anddo not hinder them,for to such belongs the kingdom of God.
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18 : 17 Truly, I say to you, whoever does notreceive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.
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18 : 18 And a ruler asked him,Good Teacher, what must I do toinherit eternal life?
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18 : 19 And Jesus said to him,Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.
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18 : 20 You know the commandments:Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.
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18 : 21 And he said,All these I have kept from my youth.
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18 : 22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him,One thing you still lack.Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will havetreasure in heaven; and come, follow me.
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18 : 23 But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.
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18 : 24 Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said,How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enterthe kingdom of God!
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18 : 25 For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enterthe kingdom of God.
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18 : 26 Those who heard it said,Then who can be saved?
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18 : 27 But he said,What is impossible with man is possible with God.
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18 : 28 And Peter said,See,we have left our homes and followed you.
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18 : 29 And he said to them,Truly, I say to you,there is no one who has left house or wife or brothersor parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God,
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18 : 30 who will not receivemany times morein this time, and inthe age to come eternal life.
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18 : 31 And taking the twelve, he said to them,See,we are going up to Jerusalem, andeverything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished.
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18 : 32 For he will bedelivered over to the Gentiles and will bemocked and shamefully treated andspit upon.
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18 : 33 And after flogging him, they will kill him, and onthe third day he will rise.
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18 : 34 But they understood none of these things.This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.
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18 : 35 As he drew near to Jericho,a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging.
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18 : 36 And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant.
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18 : 37 They told him,Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.
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18 : 38 And he cried out,Jesus,Son of David, have mercy on me!
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18 : 39 And those who were in frontrebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more,Son of David, have mercy on me!
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18 : 40 And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him,
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18 : 41 What do you want me to do for you?He said,Lord, let me recover my sight.
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18 : 42 And Jesus said to him,Recover your sight;your faith hasmade you well.
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18 : 43 And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him,glorifying God. Andall the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.
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