I tell you that he will avenge them quickly. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
Parallel translations
- KJV I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?
- BSB I tell you, He will promptly carry out justice on their behalf. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?”
- NKJV I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”
- NASB I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”
- NLT I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?”
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
God will bring justice quickly, yet Jesus asks whether the Son of Man will find faith on earth at his coming. The real question is whether we will persevere.
Overview
God's vindication is sure and, in his timing, swift, but Jesus turns the focus to his people's endurance. The closing question warns that the danger is not God's faithfulness but the fading of believers' faith during the long wait. Persevering, prayerful faith is what Christ looks to find when he returns.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Heb 10:23–26let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering; for he who promised is faithful.
- 2 Pet 3:8–9But don’t forget this one thing, beloved, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
- Ps 46:5God is within her. She shall not be moved. God will help her at dawn.
- Matt 24:9–13Then they will deliver you up to oppression, and will kill you. You will be hated by all of the nations for my name’s sake.
- Luke 17:26–30As it was in the days of Noah, even so will it be also in the days of the Son of Man.
- Ps 143:7–9Hurry to answer me, Yahweh. My spirit fails. Don’t hide your face from me, so that I don’t become like those who go down into the pit.
- 2 Pet 2:3In covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words: whose sentence now from of old doesn’t linger, and their destruction will not slumber.
- 1 Th 5:1–3But concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need that anything be written to you.
- Matt 24:24For there will arise false christs, and false prophets, and they will show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the chosen ones.
- Jas 5:1–8Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming on you.
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 18:8 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.