Lukas 18:10

18:10 “Two men went up ¹  to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee ²  and the other a tax collector. ³ 

Lukas 18:13-14

18:13 The tax collector, however, stood ⁴  far off and would not even look up ⁵  to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, be merciful ⁶  to me, sinner that I am!’ ⁷  18:14 I tell you that this man went down to his home justified ⁸  rather than the Pharisee. ⁹  For everyone who exalts ¹⁰  himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

[18:10]  ¹ sn The temple is on a hill in Jerusalem, so one would go up to enter its precincts.

[18:10]  ² sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

[18:10]  ³ sn See the note on tax collectors in 3:12.

[18:13]  ⁴ tn Grk “standing”; the Greek participle has been translated as a finite verb.

[18:13]  ⁵ tn Grk “even lift up his eyes” (an idiom).

[18:13]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Grk “the other”; the referent (the Pharisee, v. 10) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:14]  ¹⁰ sn Everyone who exalts himself. See Luke 14:11. Jesus often called for humility and condemned those who sought honor.