The Lord said, “Listen to what the unrighteous judge says.
Parallel translations
- KJV And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.
- BSB And the Lord said, “Listen to the words of the unjust judge.
- NKJV Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said.
- NASB And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unrighteous judge *said;
- NLT Then the Lord said, “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge.
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
Jesus calls his hearers to consider what the unjust judge says. The lesson turns on contrast, not comparison.
Overview
Jesus directs attention to the judge's words to draw out the argument from the lesser to the greater. If an unrighteous judge eventually grants justice, God's response will be far surer and better. The verse signals that the parable is about contrast: God is utterly unlike this judge.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 1
- Luke 7:13When the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said to her, “Don’t cry.”
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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 18:6 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
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