Lukas 11:8-10

11:8 I tell you, even though the man inside ¹  will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of the first man’s ²  sheer persistence ³  he will get up and give him whatever he needs.

11:9 “So ⁴  I tell you: Ask, ⁵  and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door ⁶  will be opened for you. 11:10 For everyone who asks ⁷  receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door ⁸  will be opened.

Lukas 18:13-14

18:13 The tax collector, however, stood ⁹  far off and would not even look up ¹⁰  to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, be merciful ¹¹  to me, sinner that I am!’ ¹²  18:14 I tell you that this man went down to his home justified ¹³  rather than the Pharisee. ¹⁴  For everyone who exalts ¹⁵  himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

[11:8]  ¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the man in bed in the house) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:8]  ² tn Grk “his”; the referent (the first man mentioned) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:8]  ³ tn The term ἀναίδεια (anaideia) is hard to translate. It refers to a combination of ideas, a boldness that persists over time, or “audacity,” which comes close. It most likely describes the one making the request, since the unit’s teaching is an exhortation about persistence in prayer. Some translate the term “shamelessness” which is the term’s normal meaning, and apply it to the neighbor as an illustration of God responding for the sake of his honor. But the original question was posed in terms of the first man who makes the request, not of the neighbor, so the teaching underscores the action of the one making the request.

[11:9]  ⁴ tn Here καί (kai, from καγώ [kagw]) has been translated as “so” to indicate the conclusion drawn from the preceding parable.

[11:9]  ⁵ sn The three present imperatives in this verse (Ask…seek…knock) are probably intended to call for a repeated or continual approach before God.

[11:9]  ⁶ tn Grk “it”; the referent (a door) is implied by the context and has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:10]  ⁷ sn The actions of asking, seeking, and knocking are repeated here from v. 9 with the encouragement that God does respond.

[11:10]  ⁸ tn Grk “it”; the referent (a door) is implied by the context and has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:13]  ⁹ tn Grk “standing”; the Greek participle has been translated as a finite verb.

[18:13]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “even lift up his eyes” (an idiom).

[18:13]  ¹¹ tn The prayer is a humble call for forgiveness. The term for mercy (ἱλάσκομαι, Jilaskomai) is associated with the concept of a request for atonement (BDAG 473-74 s.v. 1; Ps 51:1, 3; 25:11; 34:6, 18).

[18:13]  ¹² tn Grk “the sinner.” The tax collector views himself not just as any sinner but as the worst of all sinners. See ExSyn 222-23.

[18:14]  ¹³ sn The prayer that was heard and honored was the one given with humility; in a surprising reversal it was the tax collector who went down to his home justified.

[18:14]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “the other”; the referent (the Pharisee, v. 10) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:14]  ¹⁵ sn Everyone who exalts himself. See Luke 14:11. Jesus often called for humility and condemned those who sought honor.