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He also spoke a parable to them that they must always pray, and not give up,
Luke 18:1 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
  • BSB Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray at all times and not lose heart:
  • NKJV Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart,
  • NASB Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not become discouraged,
  • NLT One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 22

  • Col 4:2Continue steadfastly in prayer, watching therein with thanksgiving;
  • Rom 12:12rejoicing in hope; enduring in troubles; continuing steadfastly in prayer;
  • 1 Th 5:17Pray without ceasing.
  • Phil 4:6In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.
  • Eph 6:18with all prayer and requests, praying at all times in the Spirit, and being watchful to this end in all perseverance and requests for all the saints:
  • Ps 55:16–17As for me, I will call on God. Yahweh will save me.
  • Jer 29:12You shall call on me, and you shall go and pray to me, and I will listen to you.
  • Luke 21:36Therefore be watchful all the time, praying that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will happen, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
  • Gal 6:9Let us not be weary in doing good, for we will reap in due season, if we don’t give up.
  • Ps 86:3Be merciful to me, Lord, for I call to you all day long.
  • Ps 102:17He has responded to the prayer of the destitute, and has not despised their prayer.
  • Luke 11:5–9He said to them, “Which of you, if you go to a friend at midnight, and tell him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,
  • 2 Cor 4:1Therefore seeing we have this ministry, even as we obtained mercy, we don’t faint.
  • Ps 142:5–7I cried to you, Yahweh. I said, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.”
  • Col 4:12Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, salutes you, always striving for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.
  • Ps 65:2You who hear prayer, to you all men will come.
  • Gen 32:24–26Jacob was left alone, and wrestled with a man there until the breaking of the day.
  • Jonah 2:7“When my soul fainted within me, I remembered Yahweh. My prayer came in to you, into your holy temple.
  • Ps 27:13I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of Yahweh in the land of the living.
  • Gen 32:9–12Jacob said, “God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, Yahweh, who said to me, ‘Return to your country, and to your relatives, and I will do you good,’
  • Heb 12:3–5For consider him who has endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, that you don’t grow weary, fainting in your souls.
  • Job 27:8–10For what is the hope of the godless, when he is cut off, when God takes away his life?

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Luke videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Luke 18:1YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on LukeMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.

How Luke 18:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.