“Two men went up to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
Parallel translations
- WEB “Two men went up into the temple to pray; one was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector.
- KJV Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
- NKJV “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
- NASB “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
- NLT “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector.
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.
Quick answer
Two men go to the temple to pray, a respected Pharisee and a despised tax collector. The unlikely outcome will overturn expectations.
Overview
The Pharisee represented religious devotion; the tax collector was a notorious sinner who collaborated with Rome. Both come to the same place to pray, but their hearts differ radically. Jesus uses these stock figures to teach how God truly receives sinners, contrary to common assumptions.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Matt 21:31–32Which of the two did the will of his father?” “The first,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you.
- Acts 23:6–8Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. It is because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.”
- Luke 7:29–30All the people who heard this, even the tax collectors, acknowledged God’s justice. For they had received the baptism of John.
- 2 Kgs 20:5“Go back and tell Hezekiah the leader of My people that this is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: ‘I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. I will surely heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the house of the LORD.
- 1 Kgs 8:30Hear the plea of Your servant and of Your people Israel when they pray toward this place. May You hear from heaven, Your dwelling place. May You hear and forgive.
- Luke 19:46He declared to them, “It is written: ‘My house will be a house of prayer.’ But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”
- Acts 26:5They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that I lived as a Pharisee, adhering to the strictest sect of our religion.
- Acts 3:1One afternoon Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.
- 2 Kgs 20:8Now Hezekiah had asked Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the LORD will heal me and that I will go up to the house of the LORD on the third day?”
- Luke 1:9–10he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
- Phil 3:5circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin; a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee;
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 18:10 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.