But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, half of my possessions I give to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone, I will repay it fourfold.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my goods I give to the poor. If I have wrongfully exacted anything of anyone, I restore four times as much.”
- KJV And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.
- NKJV Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.”
- NASB But Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I am giving to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone, I am giving back four times as much.”
- NLT Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!”
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
Zacchaeus pledges to give half his goods to the poor and to repay fourfold anyone he has cheated. His transformed life shows that grace produces real repentance and restitution.
Overview
Standing before the Lord, Zacchaeus responds to grace with generous, concrete repentance that goes beyond what the law required for restitution. His changed relationship to money proves the genuineness of his conversion, for faith that saves also reforms the life. This is the fruit, not the cause, of the salvation Jesus announces in the next verse.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 19
- 2 Sam 12:6Because he has done this thing and has shown no pity, he must pay for the lamb four times over.”
- Num 5:7and must confess the sin he has committed. He must make full restitution, add a fifth to its value, and give all this to the one he has wronged.
- Luke 18:22–23On hearing this, Jesus told him, “You still lack one thing: Sell everything you own and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”
- Prov 6:31Yet if caught, he must pay sevenfold; he must give up all the wealth of his house.
- Lev 6:1–6And the LORD said to Moses,
- Luke 12:33Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide yourselves with purses that will not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.
- Exod 22:1–4“If a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters or sells it, he must repay five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep.
- Luke 16:9I tell you, use worldly wealth to make friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, they will welcome you into eternal dwellings.
- 1 Tim 6:17–18Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us to enjoy.
- Acts 2:44–46All the believers were together and had everything in common.
- 1 Sam 12:3Here I am. Bear witness against me before the LORD and before His anointed: Whose ox or donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated or oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe and closed my eyes? Tell me, and I will restore it to you.”
- Acts 4:34–35There were no needy ones among them, because those who owned lands or houses would sell their property, bring the proceeds from the sales,
- Jas 1:10–11But the one who is rich should exult in his low position, because he will pass away like a flower of the field.
- Luke 11:41But give as alms the things that are within you, and you will see that everything is clean for you.
- 2 Cor 8:7–8But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness, and in the love we inspired in you—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.
- Luke 3:8–14Produce fruit, then, in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.
- Luke 7:13When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said, “Do not weep.”
- Exod 20:16You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
- Ps 41:1For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. Blessed is the one who cares for the poor; the LORD will deliver him in the day of trouble.
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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 19:8 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
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