Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
Parallel translations
- WEB “Two men went up into the temple to pray; one was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector.
- BSB “Two men went up to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
- 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 21:31–32Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.
- Acts 23:6–8But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.
- Luke 7:29–30And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John.
- 2 Kgs 20:5Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the LORD.
- 1 Kgs 8:30And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place: and when thou hearest, forgive.
- Luke 19:46Saying unto them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves.
- Acts 26:5Which knew me from the beginning, if they would testify, that after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee.
- Acts 3:1Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.
- 2 Kgs 20:8And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the LORD the third day?
- Luke 1:9–10According to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.
- Phil 3:5Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching 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.