Luke 17
1 [One day Jesus] said to his disciples, “Things that will tempt [people] to sin are certain to happen, but it will be terrible for anyone who causes them to happen!
And he said to his disciples, It is necessary for causes of trouble to come about, but unhappy is he by whom they come.
2 Suppose you caused one of these people who [do not believe in me very strongly] to sin. If a huge stone was fastened {someone fastened a huge stone} around your neck and you were thrown {and threw you} into the sea, [you would consider that a severe punishment, but God will punish] you even more severely [if you cause someone to sin!]
It would be well for him if a great stone was put round his neck and he was dropped into the sea, before he made trouble for any of these little ones.
3 Be careful [how you act]. If you [know about] a fellow believer who sins, you [(sg)] should rebuke him. If he [says that he] is sorry for having sinned [and asks you to forgive him], forgive him.
Give attention to yourselves: if your brother does wrong, say a sharp word to him; and if he has sorrow for his sin, let him have forgiveness.
4 Even if he sins against you [(sg)] seven times in one day, if he comes to you each time and says, ‘I am sorry for what I did’, you must continue forgiving him.”
And if he does you wrong seven times in a day, and seven times comes to you and says, I have regret for what I have done; let him have forgiveness.
5 [One day] the apostles said to the Lord, “Help us to trust [in you] (OR, [in God]) more strongly!”
And the twelve said to the Lord, Make our faith greater.
6 The Lord replied, “Mustard [seeds are very small, but in this area they grow and produce large] [MET] [plants]. [Similarly], if your faith grows until you truly believe that God [will do what you ask him to, you will be able to do anything]. You could [even] say to this mulberry tree, ‘Pull yourself out [with your roots] and plant yourself in the sea!’ and it would obey you!”
And the Lord said, If your faith was only as great as a grain of mustard seed, you might say to this tree, Be rooted up and planted in the sea; and it would be done.
7 [Jesus also said], “Suppose that one of you had a servant who was plowing [your fields] or taking care of your sheep. After he comes into the house from the field, you [(sg)] would not say [RHQ], ‘Sit down and eat immediately!’
But which of you, having a servant who is ploughing or keeping sheep, will say to him, when he comes in from the field, Come now and be seated and have a meal,
8 Instead, you would say to him, ‘Put on your apron and prepare a meal for me! Then serve it to me so that I can eat and drink! Afterwards you [(sg)] can eat and drink.’
Will he not say, Get a meal for me, and make yourself ready and see to my needs till I have had my food and drink; and after that you may have yours?
9 (You will not thank your servant for doing the work that he had been told {you had told him} to do!/Would you thank your servant because he did the work that he had been told {you had told him} to do?) [RHQ]
Does he give praise to the servant because he did what was ordered?
10 Similarly, when you [(pl)] have done everything that [God] has told you to do, you should say, ‘We [(inc)] are not worthy [of God thanking us] {[being thanked]}. We are only God’s servants. We have only done the things that he told us to do.’”
In the same way, when you have done all the things which are given you to do, say, There is no profit in us, for we have only done what we were ordered to do.
11 As [Jesus and his disciples] were walking along the road to Jerusalem, they were going through [the region] between Samaria and Galilee [districts].
And it came about that when they were on the way to Jerusalem he went through Samaria and Galilee.
12 As they entered one village, ten lepers came near the road. [Because lepers were not permitted to come near other people], they stood at some distance
And when he went into a certain small town he came across ten men who were lepers, and they, keeping themselves at a distance,
13 and called out, “Jesus, Master, pity us [and heal us]!”
Said, in loud voices, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.
14 When he saw them, he said [to them], “Each of you should go and show yourself to a priest [in Jerusalem so that he can see if you are healed].” As they were going [there], they were healed.
And when he saw them he said, Go, and let the priests see you. And, while they were going, they were made clean.
15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God loudly.
And one of them, when he saw that he was clean, turning back, gave praise to God in a loud voice;
16 He [came to Jesus], prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet, and thanked him. This man was a Samaritan, [not a Jew].
And, falling down on his face at the feet of Jesus, he gave the credit to him; and he was a man of Samaria.
17 Then Jesus said, “[I] healed ten [lepers] (I am disappointed that the other nine did not come back!/Where are the other nine?) [RHQ]
And Jesus said, Were there not ten men who were made clean? where are the nine?
18 I am disappointed [RHQ] that this non-Jewish man was the only one who returned to thank God; none of the others came back to me!”
Have not any of them come back to give glory to God, but only this one from a strange land?
19 Then he said to the man, “Get up and continue on your journey. [God] [PRS] [has saved you and] healed you [(sg)] because you trusted [in me].”
And he said to him, Get up, and go on your way; your faith has made you well.
20 [One day] Jesus was asked by [some] Pharisees [SYN] {[some] Pharisees [SYN] asked [Jesus]}, “When is God [going] to rule as king?” He replied, “God’s ruling [MET] is not something people will be able to see with their eyes.
And when the Pharisees put questions to him about when the kingdom of God would come, he gave them an answer and said, The kingdom of God will not come through observation:
21 And people will not be able to say, ‘Look! He is [ruling] here!’ Or ‘He is [ruling] over there!’ because, [contrary to what you think], God’s ruling is people’s inner beings (OR, is already happening among you).”
And men will not say, See, it is here! or, There! for the kingdom of God is among you.
22 [Jesus] said to his disciples, “There will be a time when you will want to see [me] [MTY], the one who came from heaven, [ruling powerfully]. But you will not see that.
And he said to his disciples, The time will come when you will have a great desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, but you will not see it.
23 [Some] people will say to you, ‘Look, [the Messiah] is over there!’ or [they will say] ‘Look, he is here!’ When they say that, do not believe them. Do not follow them [to go see the Messiah].
And if they say to you, See, it is there! or, It is here! do not go away, or go after them.
24 Because when the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, [everyone can see it. Similarly] [SIM], at the time [MTY] when [I], the one who came from heaven, come back again, [everyone will see me].
For as in a thunderstorm the bright light is seen from one end of the sky to the other, so will the Son of man be when his time comes.
25 But before that happens, I must suffer in many ways (OR, very much). And I will be rejected by people {people will reject me}, [even though] they [have observed me doing good for people].
But first, he will have to undergo much and be put on one side by this generation.
26 But when [I], the one who came from heaven, [come again, people] will be doing things just like people were doing at the time when [MTY] Noah [lived].
And as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the day of the Son of man.
27 [At that time] people ate and drank [as usual], and they got married [as usual], up until the day when Noah [and his family] entered the big boat. But then the flood came and destroyed all those [who were not in the boat].
They were feasting and taking wives and getting married, till the day of the overflowing of the waters, when Noah went into the ark, and they all came to destruction.
28 Similarly, when Lot lived [in Sodom city], people [there] ate and drank [as usual]. They bought things and they sold things. They planted [crops] and they built [houses as usual].
In the same way, in the days of Lot; they were feasting and trading, they were planting and building;
29 But on the day that Lot [and his family] left Sodom, fire and [burning] sulfur came down from the sky and destroyed all those [who stayed in the city].
But on the day when Lot went out of Sodom, fire came down from heaven and destruction came on them all.
30 Similarly, when [I], the one who came from heaven, return to earth, [people will be unprepared] (OR, [enjoying normal life]).
So will it be in the day of the revelation of the Son of man.
31 On that day, those who are outside their houses, with all the things that they own inside [the houses], must not go [in] to take them away, [because there will not be enough time to do that]. Similarly, those who are working in a field must not go back home [to get anything]; [they must flee immediately].
On that day, if anyone is on the roof of the house, and his goods are in the house, let him not go down to take them away; and let him who is in the field not go back to his house.
32 Remember Lot’s wife! [Because she turned back and wanted to get some of her things from Sodom, she died immediately and became a pillar of salt].
Keep in mind Lot's wife.
33 Anyone who wants to hold onto his life [and his possessions] will not [receive eternal] life. But anyone who is [willing to] die [for my sake] will live [eternally].
If anyone makes an attempt to keep his life, it will be taken from him, but if anyone gives up his life, he will keep it.
34 I tell you this: On the night [when I return], there will be two people [sleeping] in one bed. The one [who believes in me] will be taken {[God] will take the one [who believes in me]} [to heaven], and the other one will be left [behind and punished] {and [he] will leave the other one [behind and punish him]}.
I say to you, In that night there will be two men sleeping in one bed, and one will be taken away and the other let go.
35 Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left {[God] will take one and leave the other} [behind].”
Two women will be crushing grain together; one will be taken away and the other let go.
37 [His disciples] said to him, “Lord, where [will this happen]?” He replied to them, “Wherever there is an animal carcass, the vultures will gather [to eat it] [MET]. [Similarly, wherever there are people who are spiritually dead, God will punish them].”
And they, answering him, said, Where, Lord? And he said to them, Where the body is, there will the eagles come together.
