Luke 18:3
1 Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray at all times and not lose heart:
2 “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected men.
And there was a widow in that town who kept appealing to him, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’
4 For a while he refused, but later he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect men,
5 yet because this widow keeps pestering me, I will give her justice. Then she will stop wearing me out with her perpetual requests.’”
Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- And there was a widow in that town who kept appealing to him, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’
- KJV
- And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.
- WEB
- A widow was in that city, and she often came to him, saying, ‘Defend me from my adversary!’
- ASV
- and there was a widow in that city; and she came oft unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.
- DARBY
- and there was a widow in that city, and she came to him, saying, Avenge me of mine adverse party.
- BLB
- And there was a widow in that city, and she was coming to him, saying, ‘Avenge me from my adversary.’
- ÅB
- Og det var en enke der i byen, og hun kom til ham og sa: Hjelp meg til å få rett over min motstander!
- OTB
- Og det var en enke i den byen som stadig kom til ham med bønn: ‘Gi meg rett overfor min motpart.’
- B1930
- Og det var en enke der i byen, og hun kom til ham og sa: Hjelp mig til å få rett over min motstander!
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Isaiah 1:17
Learn to do right; seek justice and correct the oppressor. Defend the fatherless and plead the case of the widow.”
Read in contextJeremiah 5:28
They have grown fat and sleek, and have excelled in the deeds of the wicked. They have not taken up the cause of the fatherless, that they might prosper; nor have they defended the rights of the needy.
Read in contextJob 22:9
You sent widows away empty-handed, and the strength of the fatherless was crushed.
Read in contextDeuteronomy 27:19
‘Cursed is he who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
Read in contextLuke 18:7–8
Will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry out to Him day and night? Will He continue to defer their help?
Read in contextJob 29:13
The dying man blessed me, and I made the widow’s heart sing for joy.
Read in contextRomans 13:3–4
For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the one in authority? Then do what is right, and you will have his approval.
Read in context2 Samuel 14:5–24
“What troubles you?” the king asked her. “Indeed,” she said, “I am a widow, for my husband is dead.
Read in context