Luke 17

Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come!

1Jesus said to his followers, "Things that trip people into sin will surely come. But it will be very bad for the person who brings them."

2It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.

2"It would be better to tie a heavy millstone around his neck. Then throw him into the sea. That would be better than making one of these little ones sin."

NoteA millstone was a huge round stone. People used it to crush grain into flour. It was far too heavy for one person to lift.

3Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.

3"Watch yourselves. If your brother does something wrong, tell him he is wrong. If he is sorry and turns back, forgive him."

4And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.

4"He may do wrong to you seven times in one day. Seven times he may come back and say, 'I am sorry.' You must still forgive him."

5And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.

5The apostles, the special helpers Jesus chose, said to the Lord, "Give us more faith!"

6And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.

6The Lord said, "Faith as small as a tiny mustard seed is enough. You could tell this mulberry tree, 'Pull up your roots and plant yourself in the sea.' And the tree would obey you."

7But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat?

7"Suppose one of you has a servant. He plows the field or takes care of the animals. When he comes in, would you say, 'Come right now and sit down to eat'?"

8And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink?

8"No. You would say, 'Get my supper ready. Then get yourself ready and serve me while I eat and drink. After that you may eat and drink.'"

9Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not.

9"The servant only did what he was told. Does the master thank him for that? No, he does not."

10So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.

10"It is the same for you. You may do everything you were told to do. Then say, 'We are only servants. We just did the job we had to do.'"

11And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.

11Jesus was walking toward the city of Jerusalem. He went along the border between Samaria and Galilee.

12And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:

12He came into a village. Ten men with leprosy, a bad skin sickness, met him there. They stood far away from him.

NoteLeprosy was a serious skin disease. People who had it were kept away from everyone else. That is why the ten men stood far off.

13And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.

13They shouted out loud, "Jesus, Master, please be kind to us and help us!"

14And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.

14Jesus saw them and said, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." Priests were leaders who could say a sick person was well again. As the ten men walked away, their sickness was gone.

15And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,

15One of them saw that he was healed. He turned around and came back. He praised God in a loud voice.

16And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.

16He lay down with his face at Jesus' feet and thanked him. This man was a Samaritan.

17And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?

17Jesus said, "Weren't all ten of them made well? Where are the other nine?"

18There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.

18"Did no one come back to give thanks to God, except this man from another people?"

NoteThe old wording says "stranger" here. It means a person from another people or country, not a person nobody knows.

19And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

19Then Jesus said to him, "Get up and go. Your faith has made you well."

20And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:

20Some Pharisees asked Jesus when God's kingdom would come. Pharisees were teachers who cared very much about religious rules. God's kingdom means God ruling as king. Jesus said, "God's kingdom does not come in a way you can watch for."

21Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

21"People will not say, 'Look, it is here!' or 'Look, it is there!' God's kingdom is right here among you."

NoteThe old wording says the kingdom is "within you." The Greek words can also mean "among you" or "right here with you."

22And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it.

22Then Jesus spoke to his followers. "Son of Man" was a name he used for himself. He said, "A time is coming when you will wish to see one day of the Son of Man. But you will not see it."

23And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them.

23"People will tell you, 'Look, he is there!' or 'Look, he is here!' Do not go out after them. Do not follow them."

24For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day.

24"Lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. The Son of Man will be like that on his day."

25But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation.

25"But first he must go through much pain. The people living now will turn him away."

26And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.

26"The days of the Son of Man will be like the days of Noah."

27They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.

27"People ate and drank. They got married. They kept on until the day Noah went into the big boat. Then the flood came and destroyed them all."

28Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;

28"It was the same in the days of Lot. People ate and drank. They bought and sold. They planted and built."

29But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.

29"But on the day Lot left the city of Sodom, fire and burning sulfur rained down from the sky. It destroyed them all."

30Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

30"That is how it will be on the day the Son of Man is shown to everyone."

31In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back.

31"On that day, do not go back for your things. If you are up on the roof, do not go down into the house. If you are out in the field, do not go back home."

32Remember Lot’s wife.

32"Remember Lot's wife!"

33Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.

33"Whoever tries to keep his own life will lose it. Whoever gives up his life will keep it."

34I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.

34"I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed. One will be taken, and the other will be left."

35Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

35"Two women will be grinding grain together. One will be taken, and the other will be left."

36Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

36"Two men will be out in the field. One will be taken, and the other will be left."

ManuscriptsMost modern translations leave this verse out. It is in the Greek text the King James translators worked from, but not in the older manuscripts found since, so scholars generally take it as a copyist’s addition rather than part of the original.

37And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.

37His followers asked him, "Where, Lord?" Jesus said, "Where a dead body is, the vultures will gather."