Luke
Chapter 19
1 Jesus went into Jericho and passed through it.
2 Look, there was a man called Zacchaeus, who was the top tax collector, and he was wealthy.
3 He wanted to see who Jesus was but couldn’t because of the crowd and because he was short.
4 He ran ahead and climbed a fig tree to see him, because Jesus was going to pass that way.
5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up, saw Zacchaeus, and said, “Hurry and come down, Zacchaeus; I need to stay at your house today.”
6 He hurried, came down, and welcomed him happily.
7 When they saw this, everyone complained, saying, “He has gone to stay with a man who is a sinner.”
8 Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of what I own to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone, I will pay back four times as much.”
9 Jesus told him, “Today, salvation has come to this house, because he too is a descendant of Abraham.”
10 The Son of Man has come to look for and save what was lost.
11 As they listened, he told them a story because he was close to Jerusalem and they believed that God’s kingdom would soon start.
12 He therefore said, “A nobleman went to a distant country to get a kingdom for himself, and then come back.”
13 He called his ten workers, gave them ten pounds each, and said to them, “Work with this until I return.”
14 His people hated him and sent a message behind him, saying, “We don’t want this man to rule over us.”
15 When he returned after receiving the kingdom, he asked the servants he had given money to come to him, so he could find out how much each one had earned from trading.
16 The first one came and said, “Master, your money has earned ten more.”
17 He said to him, “Good job, you good servant. Since you were loyal with a little, you will be in charge of ten cities.”
18 The second one came and said, “Master, your money has earned five more.”
19 He also said to him, “You will be in charge of five cities.”
20 Another person came and said, ‘Sir, look, here is your money, which I kept wrapped in a cloth.’
21 I was afraid of you, because you are a strict man. You take what you didn’t leave, and you harvest what you didn’t plant.
22 He said to him, “I will judge you by your own words, you bad servant. You knew that I am a strict man, collecting what I didn’t deposit, and gathering what I didn’t plant.”
23 Why didn’t you put my money in the bank so I could have collected it with interest when I returned?
24 He told those standing there, “Take the pound from him and give it to the one who has ten pounds.”
25 They said to him, “Master, he has ten coins.”
26 I tell you, whoever has something will get more; whoever has nothing, even what they have will be taken away.
27 Bring my enemies, who didn’t want me to be their ruler, here and kill them in front of me.
28 After he said this, he went ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
29 When he got close to Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his followers.
30 Say, go to the village ahead of you; as you enter, you will find a tied colt no one has ever ridden; untie it and bring it here.
31 If anyone asks you why you are untying the animal, tell them, ‘God needs it.’
32 The ones sent went and found everything just as he told them.
33 As they untied the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
34 They said, God needs him.
35 They brought him to Jesus, and they threw their clothes on the young donkey and put Jesus on it.
36 As he walked, they laid their clothes on the road.
37 When he got close, just as he was coming down the Mount of Olives, all the followers started to joyfully praise God loudly for all the powerful things they had seen.
38 “Saying, ‘God bless the King who comes in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory to the highest.’”
39 Some Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell your followers to stop.”
40 He answered and said to them, “I tell you, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out right away.”
41 When he got close, he saw the city and cried for it.
42 Saying, if you had known, even you, at least on this day, the things that bring you peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.
43 A time will come when your enemies will surround you with barriers and enclose you from all sides.
44 God will level you to the ground, and your children with you; not one stone will be left on another, because you did not recognize the time when God came to you.
45 He entered the temple and started to drive out those who were selling and buying there.
46 He told them, “It is written, ‘My house is a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a hideout for thieves.”
47 He taught every day in the temple. But the religious leaders, the teachers of the law, and the important people wanted to kill him.
48 They didn’t know what to do because all the people were listening carefully to him.