“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one 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.
- 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.
- 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?” They said to him, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Most certainly I tell you that the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering into God’s Kingdom 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 brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. Concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged!”
- Luke 7:29–30When all the people and the tax collectors heard this, they declared God to be just, having been baptized with John’s baptism.
- 2 Kgs 20:5“Turn back, and tell Hezekiah the prince of my people, ‘Yahweh, the God of David your father, says, “I have heard your prayer. I have seen your tears. Behold, I will heal you. On the third day, you will go up to Yahweh’s house.
- 1 Kgs 8:30Listen to the supplication of your servant, and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. Yes, hear in heaven, your dwelling place; and when you hear, forgive.
- Luke 19:46saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house is a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of robbers’!”
- Acts 26:5having known me from the first, if they are willing to testify, that after the strictest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee.
- Acts 3:1Peter and John were going up into the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.
- 2 Kgs 20:8Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “What will be the sign that Yahweh will heal me, and that I will go up to Yahweh’s house the third day?”
- Luke 1:9–10according to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to enter into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
- Phil 3:5circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; concerning 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.