Luke 17
1 Jesus said to His disciples, "It is inevitable that causes of stumbling should come; but alas for him through whom they come!
[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!
2 It would be well for him if, with a millstone round his neck, he were lying at the bottom of the sea, rather than that he should cause even one of these little ones to fall.
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!]
3 Be on your guard. "If your brother acts wrongly, reprove him; and if he is sorry, forgive him;
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.
4 and if seven times in a day he acts wrongly towards you, and seven times turns again to you and says, 'I am sorry,' you must forgive him."
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.”
5 And the Apostles said to the Lord, "Give us faith."
[One day] the apostles said to the Lord, “Help us to trust [in you] (OR, [in God]) more strongly!”
6 "If your faith," replied the Lord, "is like a mustard seed, you might command this black-mulberry-tree, 'Tear up your roots and plant yourself in the sea,' and instantly it would obey you.
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!”
7 But which of you who has a servant ploughing, or tending sheep, will say to him when he comes in from the farm, 'Come at once and take your place at table,'
[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!’
8 and will not rather say to him, 'Get my dinner ready, make yourself tidy, and wait upon me till I have finished my dinner, and then you shall have yours'?
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.’
9 Does he thank the servant for obeying his orders?
(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]
10 So you also, when you have obeyed all the orders given you, must say, "'There is no merit in our service: what we have done is only what we were in duty bound to do.'"
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.’”
11 As they pursued their journey to Jerusalem, He passed through Samaria and Galilee.
As [Jesus and his disciples] were walking along the road to Jerusalem, they were going through [the region] between Samaria and Galilee [districts].
12 And as He entered a certain village, ten men met Him who were lepers and stood at a distance.
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
13 In loud voices they cried out, "Jesus, Rabbi, take pity on us."
and called out, “Jesus, Master, pity us [and heal us]!”
14 Perceiving this, He said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the Priests." And while on their way to do this they were made clean.
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.
15 One of them, seeing that he was cured, came back, adoring and praising God in a loud voice,
Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God loudly.
16 and he threw himself at the feet of Jesus, thanking Him. He was a Samaritan.
He [came to Jesus], prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet, and thanked him. This man was a Samaritan, [not a Jew].
17 "Were not all ten made clean?" Jesus asked; "but where are the nine?
Then Jesus said, “[I] healed ten [lepers] (I am disappointed that the other nine did not come back!/Where are the other nine?) [RHQ]
18 Have none been found to come back and give glory to God except this foreigner?"
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!”
19 And He said to him, "Rise and go: your faith has cured you."
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].”
20 Being asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God was coming, He answered, "The Kingdom of God does not so come that you can stealthily watch for it.
[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.
21 Nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!' --for the Kingdom of God is within you."
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).”
22 Then, turning to His disciples, He said, "There will come a time when you will wish you could see a single one of the days of the Son of Man, but will not see one.
[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.
23 And they will say to you, 'See there!' 'See here!' Do not start off and go in pursuit.
[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].
24 For just as the lightning, when it flashes, shines from one part of the horizon to the opposite part, so will the Son of Man be on His day.
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].
25 But first He must endure much suffering, and be rejected by the present generation.
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].
26 "And as it was in the time of Noah, so will it also be in the time of the Son of Man.
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].
27 Men were eating and drinking, taking wives and giving wives, up to the very day on which Noah entered the Ark, and the Deluge came and destroyed them all.
[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].
28 The same was true in the time of Lot: they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building;
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].
29 but on the day that Lot left Sodom, God rained fire and brimstone from the sky and destroyed them all.
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].
30 Exactly so will it be on the day that the veil is lifted from the Son of Man.
Similarly, when [I], the one who came from heaven, return to earth, [people will be unprepared] (OR, [enjoying normal life]).
31 "On that day, if a man is on the roof and his property indoors, let him not go down to fetch it; and, in the same way, he who is in the field, let him not turn back.
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].
32 Remember Lot's wife.
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].
33 Any man who makes it his object to keep his own life safe, will lose it; but whoever loses his life will preserve it.
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].
34 On that night, I tell you, there will be two men in one bed: one will be taken away and the other left behind.
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]}.
35 There will be two women turning the mill together: one will be taken away and the other left behind."
Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left {[God] will take one and leave the other} [behind].”
37 "Where, Master?" they inquired. "Where the dead body is," He replied, "there also will the vultures flock together."
[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].”
