Luke 18:9

And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
And	δὲ de	G1161	but · conjunction
spake	Εἶπεν Eipen	G2036	to speak or say (by word or writing) · verb — second aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
this	ταύτην.¶ tautēn	G3778	the he (she or it) · demonstrative pronoun — accusative singular feminine
parable	παραβολὴν parabolēn	G3850	a similitude ("parable") · noun — accusative singular feminine
unto	πρός pros	G4314	a preposition of direction · preposition
certain	τινας tinas	G5100	some or any person or object · indefinite pronoun — accusative plural masculine
which	τοὺς tous	G3588	the (sometimes to be supplied · article — accusative plural masculine
trusted	πεποιθότας pepoithotas	G3982	to convince (by argument · verb — second perfect active participle, accusative plural masculine
in	ἐφ᾽ eph᾽	G1909	properly · preposition
themselves	ἑαυτοῖς he'autois	G1438	him- (her- · reflexive pronoun
that	ὅτι hoti	G3754	demonstrative · conjunction
were	εἰσί eisí	G1526	they are
righteous	δίκαιοι dikaioi	G1342	equitable (in character or act) · adjective — nominative plural masculine
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
despised	ἐξουθενοῦντας exouthenountas	G1848	contemptible · verb — present active participle, accusative plural masculine
others	λοιποὺς loipous	G3062	remaining ones · adjective — accusative plural masculine

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Luke 16:15 And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among…
Proverbs 30:12 There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.
Isaiah 65:5 Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day.
Romans 10:3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the…
Romans 14:10 But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
Romans 9:31-32 But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.
Luke 7:39 Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and…
John 7:47-49 Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived?

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Luke 18:9-14

The scope of this parable likewise is prefixed to it, and we are told (Luk 18:9) who they were whom it was levelled at, and for whom it was calculated. He designed it for the conviction of some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others. They were such as had, 1. A great conceit of themselves, and of their own goodness; they thought themselves as holy as they needed to be, and holier than all their neighbours, and such as might serve for examples to them all. But that was not all; 2. They had a confidence in themselves before God, and not only had a high opinion of their own righteousness, but depended upon the merit of it, whenever they addressed God, as their p…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Luke 18:8

speedily--as if pained at the long delay, impatient for the destined moment to interpose. (Compare Pro 29:1.) Nevertheless, &c.--that is, Yet ere the Son of man comes to redress the wrongs of His Church, so low will the hope of relief sink, through the length of the delay, that one will be fain to ask, Will He find any faith of a coming avenger left on the earth? From this we learn: (1) That the primary and historical reference of this parable is to the Church in its widowed, desolate, oppressed, defenseless condition during the present absence of her Lord in the heavens; (2) That in these circumstances importunate, persevering prayer for deliverance is the Church's fitting exercise; (3) T…

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Adam Clarke on Luke 18:9

Despised - Εξουθενουντας, Disdained, made nothing of others, treated them with sovereign contempt. Our Lord grants that the Pharisees made clean the outside: but, alas! what pride, vain glory, and contempt for others, were lodged within!

John Gill on Luke 18:9

And he spake this parable unto certain,.... Or with respect to certain men; having a view to them, in order to expose their pride, vanity, arrogance, and self confidence: which trusted in themselves that they were righteous; or, as if they were righteous; or because they were so in their own eyes, and in the esteem of others: the ground of their trust and confidence were themselves, their hearts, and the supposed goodness of them, their outward holiness, their moral behaviour, their duties, and good works, their almsdeeds, and religious exercises, their ceremonial observances, and fleshly privileges; on account of which they thought themselves very righteous persons, such as could not fail…

The Church Fathers

(Serm. 115.) Since faith is not a gift of the proud but of the humble, our Lord proceeds to add a parable concerning humility and against pride.
— Augustine of Hippo ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Typically, the Pharisee is the Jewish people, who boast of their ornaments because of the righteousness of the law; but the Publican is the Gentiles, who being at a distance from God confess their sins. Of whom the one for His pride returned humbled, the other for his contrition was thought worthy to draw near and be exalted.
— Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

(Asterius.) To be diligent in prayer was the lesson taught by our Lord in the parable of the widow and the judge, He now instructs us how we should direct our prayers to Him, in order that our prayers may not be fruitless. The Pharisee was condemned because he prayed heedlessly. As it follows, The Pharisee stood and prayed with himself.
— Ancient Greek Expositor ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Confidence · FALSE — FALSE
Contempt · Self-righteous prompts to — Self-righteous prompts to
Parables · Pharisee and Publican — Pharisee and Publican
Pharisees, The · Character of: Self-righteous — Character of: Self-righteous
Publicans · Parable concerning — Parable concerning
Righteousness · Unregenerate man seeks justification by works of — Unregenerate man seeks justification by works of
Self-Righteousness · 2:4; — 2:4;

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Luke 18:9

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Luke 18:9-14

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Luke 18:8

Adam Clarke on Luke 18:9

John Gill on Luke 18:9

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Luke 18:9

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Luke 18:9-14

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Luke 18:8

Adam Clarke on Luke 18:9

John Gill on Luke 18:9

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Luke 18:9-14

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Luke 18:9-14