Luke 15

¹⁵This is a trustworthy saying, worthy of full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst.

¹⁰Later, as Jesus was dining at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with Him and His disciples.

¹¹When the Pharisees saw this, they asked His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

²⁹Then Levi hosted a great banquet for Jesus at his house. A large crowd of tax collectors was there, along with others who were eating with them.

³⁰But the Pharisees and their scribes complained to Jesus’ disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

²⁸But what do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first one and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’

²⁹‘I will not,’ he replied. But later he changed his mind and went.

²⁷But if a wicked man turns from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he will save his life.

²⁹All the people who heard this, even the tax collectors, acknowledged God’s justice. For they had received the baptism of John.

¹¹When the Pharisees saw this, they asked His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

³⁹When the Pharisee who had invited Jesus saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, He would know who this is and what kind of woman is touching Him—for she is a sinner!”

⁷And all who saw this began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinful man!”

³⁰But the Pharisees and their scribes complained to Jesus’ disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

³and said, “You visited uncircumcised men and ate with them.”

¹²For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself, for fear of those in the circumcision group.

¹⁶I will seek the lost, bring back the strays, bind up the broken, and strengthen the weak; but the sleek and strong I will destroy. I will shepherd them with justice.’

¹¹For this is what the Lord God says: ‘Behold, I Myself will search for My flock and seek them out.

¹²As a shepherd looks for his scattered sheep when he is among the flock, so I will look for My flock. I will rescue them from all the places to which they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.

¹²What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost?

¹³And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices more over that one sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.

¹⁰For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

²⁵For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

¹⁷⁶I have strayed like a lost sheep; seek Your servant, for I have not forgotten Your commandments.

²Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

³“Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been sustained from the womb, carried along since birth.

⁴Even to your old age, I will be the same, and I will bear you up when you turn gray. I have made you, and I will carry you; I will sustain you and deliver you.

⁹Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham.

¹⁸Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance—who does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in loving devotion?

¹⁰Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and His arm establishes His rule. His reward is with Him, and His recompense accompanies Him.

¹¹He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. He gently leads the nursing ewes.

⁴He will stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majestic name of the Lord His God. And they will dwell securely, for then His greatness will extend to the ends of the earth.

¹⁰In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.”

²⁴For this son of mine was dead and is alive again! He was lost and is found!’ So they began to celebrate.

²⁵For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

¹⁷⁶I have strayed like a lost sheep; seek Your servant, for I have not forgotten Your commandments.

¹⁴You are My friends if you do what I command you.

²⁹The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom stands and listens for him, and is overjoyed to hear the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.

¹⁰In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.”

³²I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

³²But it was fitting to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

¹³And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices more over that one sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.

¹²There is a generation of those who are pure in their own eyes and yet unwashed of their filth.

⁹To some who trusted in their own righteousness and viewed others with contempt, He also told this parable:

¹⁰“Two men went up to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

¹²As a shepherd looks for his scattered sheep when he is among the flock, so I will look for My flock. I will rescue them from all the places to which they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.

¹⁰For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

¹⁶I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them in as well, and they will listen to My voice. Then there will be one flock and one shepherd.

⁵²and not only for the nation, but also for the scattered children of God, to gather them together into one.

¹⁷He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.

⁶comes home, and calls together his friends and neighbors to tell them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost sheep!’

⁷I tell you that in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous ones who do not need to repent.

⁷I tell you that in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous ones who do not need to repent.

¹¹Say to them: ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord God, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked should turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’

¹⁰Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

²³Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Lord God. Wouldn’t I prefer that he turn from his ways and live?

⁵No, I tell you. But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

¹⁴In the same way, your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.

¹⁶when that man assigns his inheritance to his sons he must not appoint the son of the beloved wife as the firstborn over the son of the unloved wife.

¹⁷Instead, he must acknowledge the firstborn, the son of his unloved wife, by giving him a double portion of all that he has. For that son is the firstfruits of his father’s strength; the right of the firstborn belongs to him.

⁴⁴For they all contributed out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.”

¹⁴from such men, O Lord, by Your hand—from men of the world whose portion is in this life. May You fill the bellies of Your treasured ones and satisfy their sons, so they leave their abundance to their children.

³⁰But when this son of yours returns from squandering your wealth with prostitutes, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

¹⁷He who loves pleasure will become poor; the one who loves wine and oil will never be rich.

³A man who loves wisdom brings joy to his father, but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth.

⁵This is what the Lord says: “What fault did your fathers find in Me that they strayed so far from Me? They followed worthless idols, and became worthless themselves.

¹⁹Listen, my son, and be wise, and guide your heart on the right course.

²⁰Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat.

³⁰But when this son of yours returns from squandering your wealth with prostitutes, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

⁷A discerning son keeps the law, but a companion of gluttons disgraces his father.

¹¹So the Lord brought against them the military commanders of the king of Assyria, who captured Manasseh, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles, and took him to Babylon.

²⁷Therefore I stretched out My hand against you and reduced your portion. I gave you over to the desire of those who hate you, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your lewd conduct.

⁹Therefore I will take back My grain in its time and My new wine in its season; I will take away My wool and linen, which were given to cover her nakedness.

¹⁰And then I will expose her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and no one will deliver her out of My hands.

⁹And in that day, declares the Lord God, I will make the sun go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the daytime.

¹⁰I will turn your feasts into mourning and all your songs into lamentation. I will cause everyone to wear sackcloth and every head to be shaved. I will make it like a time of mourning for an only son, and its outcome like a bitter day.

³For at one time we too were foolish, disobedient, misled, and enslaved to all sorts of desires and pleasures—living in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.

²⁵He must gently reprove those who oppose him, in the hope that God may grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth.

²⁶Then they will come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, who has taken them captive to his will.

⁵Why do you want more beatings? Why do you keep rebelling? Your head has a massive wound, and your whole heart is afflicted.

⁶I will pelt you with filth and treat you with contempt; I will make a spectacle of you.

³O Lord, do not Your eyes look for truth? You struck them, but they felt no pain. You finished them off, but they refused to accept discipline. They have made their faces harder than stone and refused to repent.

¹⁸I have surely heard Ephraim’s moaning: ‘You disciplined me severely, like an untrained calf. Restore me, that I may return, for You are the Lord my God.

¹⁹After I returned, I repented; and after I was instructed, I struck my thigh in grief. I was ashamed and humiliated because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’

¹⁹I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to escalating wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness.

²⁰For when you were slaves to sin, you were free of obligation to righteousness.

¹Ephraim feeds on the wind and pursues the east wind all day long; he multiplies lies and violence; he makes a covenant with Assyria and sends olive oil to Egypt.

²⁰He feeds on ashes. His deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?”

⁵Those who once ate delicacies are destitute in the streets; those brought up in crimson huddle in ash heaps.

²saying: “In my distress I called to the Lord, and He answered me. From the belly of Sheol I called for help, and You heard my voice.

³For You cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the current swirled about me; all Your breakers and waves swept over me.

²Why spend money on that which is not bread, and your labor on that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of foods.

²⁸Because he considered and turned from all the transgressions he had committed, he will surely live; he will not die.

⁴But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,

⁵made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved!

¹⁸I will get up and go back to my father and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.

¹⁹I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”’

¹⁴So it is said: “Wake up, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

²⁹Calling for lights, the jailer rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.

³⁰Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

¹¹I frequently had them punished in the synagogues, and I tried to make them blaspheme. In my raging fury against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them.

¹²In this pursuit I was on my way to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests.

⁴⁰Let us examine and test our ways, and turn back to the Lord.

⁸If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

⁹If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

²¹The son declared, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

¹³But the tax collector stood at a distance, unwilling even to lift up his eyes to heaven. Instead, he beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner!’

³For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.

⁴Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You may be proved right when You speak and blameless when You judge.

⁴“In those days and at that time, declares the Lord, the children of Israel and the children of Judah will come together, weeping as they come, and will seek the Lord their God.

⁵They will ask the way to Zion and turn their faces toward it. They will come and join themselves to the Lord in an everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.

⁶Therefore I despise myself, and I repent in dust and ashes.”

¹⁰For better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

⁶Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, so that in due time He may exalt you.

⁸Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

⁹Grieve, mourn, and weep. Turn your laughter to mourning, and your joy to gloom.

²⁴The Gibeonites answered, “Your servants were told clearly that the Lord your God had commanded His servant Moses to give you all the land and wipe out all its inhabitants before you. So we greatly feared for our lives because of you, and that is why we have done this.

²⁵Now we are in your hands. Do to us whatever seems good and right to you.”

¹⁰I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness You have shown Your servant. Indeed, with only my staff I came across the Jordan, but now I have become two camps.

¹⁰He has not dealt with us according to our sins or repaid us according to our iniquities.

¹¹For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His loving devotion for those who fear Him.

⁵For You, O Lord, are kind and forgiving, rich in loving devotion to all who call on You.

¹⁵But You, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness.

¹³But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.

¹⁵“Can a woman forget her nursing child, or lack compassion for the son of her womb? Even if she could forget, I will not forget you!

²⁹Joseph prepared his chariot and went there to meet his father Israel. Joseph presented himself to him, embraced him, and wept profusely.

⁴Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You may be proved right when You speak and blameless when You judge.

¹⁸I will get up and go back to my father and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.

¹⁹I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”’

¹³Only acknowledge your guilt, that you have rebelled against the Lord your God. You have scattered your favors to foreign gods under every green tree and have not obeyed My voice,’” declares the Lord.

¹²By sinning against your brothers in this way and wounding their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.

⁴Or do you disregard the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to repentance?

²Do not bring Your servant into judgment, for no one alive is righteous before You.

²The king removed the signet ring he had recovered from Haman and presented it to Mordecai. And Esther appointed Mordecai over the estate of Haman.

⁴²Then Pharaoh removed the signet ring from his finger, put it on Joseph’s finger, clothed him in garments of fine linen, and placed a gold chain around his neck.

¹⁰I will rejoice greatly in the Lord, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation and wrapped me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom wears a priestly headdress, as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

¹¹Then each of them was given a white robe and told to rest a little while longer until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers, were killed, just as they had been killed.

¹⁰So the king removed the signet ring from his finger and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews.

³Now Joshua was dressed in filthy garments as he stood before the angel.

⁴So the angel said to those standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes!” Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have removed your iniquity, and I will clothe you with splendid robes.”

²“The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son.

³He sent his servants to call those he had invited to the banquet, but they refused to come.

⁵My soul is satisfied as with the richest of foods; with joyful lips my mouth will praise You.

⁶On this mountain the Lord of Hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all the peoples, a feast of aged wine, of choice meat, of finely aged wine.

⁷Meanwhile, Abraham ran to the herd, selected a tender and choice calf, and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it.

¹³Therefore this is what the Lord God says: “My servants will eat, but you will go hungry; My servants will drink, but you will go thirsty; My servants will rejoice, but you will be put to shame.

¹⁴My servants will shout for joy with a glad heart, but you will cry out with a heavy heart and wail with a broken spirit.

²She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine; she has also set her table.

⁵made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved!

¹⁶I will seek the lost, bring back the strays, bind up the broken, and strengthen the weak; but the sleek and strong I will destroy. I will shepherd them with justice.’

¹⁰For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

¹³When you were dead in your trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our trespasses,

⁴“What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the pasture and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?

¹And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,

⁴Praise Him with tambourine and dancing; praise Him with strings and flute.

⁴Again I will build you, and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel. Again you will take up your tambourines and go out in joyful dancing.

¹¹Then Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons.

¹²The younger son said to him, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

¹A song of ascents. When the Lord restored the captives of Zion, we were like dreamers.

³²They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to one another: ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’

¹⁴And David, wearing a linen ephod, danced with all his might before the Lord,

³⁰But when this son of yours returns from squandering your wealth with prostitutes, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

¹⁶no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a beloved brother. He is especially beloved to me, but even more so to you, both in person and in the Lord.

¹³came and stood beside me. ‘Brother Saul,’ he said, ‘receive your sight.’ And at that moment I could see him.

¹⁷So Ananias went to the house, and when he arrived, he placed his hands on Saul. “Brother Saul,” he said, “the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here, has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

⁸And Saul was furious and resented this song. “They have ascribed tens of thousands to David,” he said, “but only thousands to me. What more can he have but the kingdom?”

⁹Then God asked Jonah, “Have you any right to be angry about the plant?” “I do,” he replied. “I am angry enough to die!”

⁵but He had no regard for Cain and his offering. So Cain became very angry, and his countenance fell.

⁶“Why are you angry,” said the Lord to Cain, “and why has your countenance fallen?

²So the Pharisees and scribes began to grumble: “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

³⁹When the Pharisee who had invited Jesus saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, He would know who this is and what kind of woman is touching Him—for she is a sinner!”

⁵They say, ‘Keep to yourself; do not come near me, for I am holier than you!’ Such people are smoke in My nostrils, a fire that burns all day long.

⁷I tell you that in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous ones who do not need to repent.

³by asking the priests of the house of the Lord of Hosts, as well as the prophets, “Should I weep and fast in the fifth month, as I have done these many years?”

¹¹The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—swindlers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.

¹²I fast twice a week and pay tithes of all that I acquire.’

¹⁴You have said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What have we gained by keeping His requirements and walking mournfully before the Lord of Hosts?

²⁰You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honor your father and mother.’”

²¹“All these I have kept from my youth,” he said.

⁵They say, ‘Keep to yourself; do not come near me, for I am holier than you!’ Such people are smoke in My nostrils, a fire that burns all day long.

¹²The younger son said to him, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

¹³After a few days, the younger son got everything together and journeyed to a distant country, where he squandered his wealth in wild living.

³A man who loves wisdom brings joy to his father, but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth.

¹¹The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—swindlers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.

³²But it was fitting to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

⁷Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves.

²²But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.

²³Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let us feast and celebrate.

²⁷“First let the children have their fill,” He said. “For it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

²⁸“Yes, Lord,” she replied, “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”

¹I ask then, did God reject His people? Certainly not! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.

⁴the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory and the covenants; theirs the giving of the law, the temple worship, and the promises.

¹³But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Did you not agree with me on one denarius?

¹⁴Take your pay and go. I want to give this last man the same as I gave you.

³⁵“Who has first given to God, that God should repay him?”

²²His master replied, ‘You wicked servant, I will judge you by your own words. So you knew that I am a harsh man, withdrawing what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow?

²³Why then did you not deposit my money in the bank, and upon my return I could have collected it with interest?’

¹And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,

²in which you used to walk when you conformed to the ways of this world and of the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit who is now at work in the sons of disobedience.

²⁴For this son of mine was dead and is alive again! He was lost and is found!’ So they began to celebrate.

¹⁰So the redeemed of the Lord will return and enter Zion with singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee.

⁴Certainly not! Let God be true and every man a liar. As it is written: “So that You may be proved right when You speak and victorious when You judge.”

⁸Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones You have crushed rejoice.

⁹so that the Gentiles may glorify God for His mercy. As it is written: “Therefore I will praise You among the Gentiles; I will sing hymns to Your name.”

¹⁰Again, it says: “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people.”