Luke 19

Jesus entered Jericho and was making his way through the town.

1And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.

NoteJericho lay in the Jordan valley about seventeen miles northeast of Jerusalem and some three thousand feet lower, a warm, prosperous town on a main road into Judea with a customs post on it. That is why a senior tax official would be stationed there. The trip from Jericho to Jerusalem is a hard climb, which is why verse 28 speaks of "ascending up to Jerusalem"; going to Jerusalem was called going up whatever direction you came from, but from Jericho it was also literally true.

2There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector, and he was rich.

2And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich.

NoteThe King James "publican" has nothing to do with taverns. It means a tax collector working under Roman authority. Such men bought the right to collect taxes and tolls in a district and kept whatever they could raise above the sum they had contracted to hand over, so the work invited overcharging and had no fixed honest rate. A "chief among the publicans" held the contract for a district and drew a share from the collectors working under him. These men were despised twice over, as cheats and as employees of a foreign occupation.

3He wanted to see who Jesus was, but he could not see past the crowd, because he was a short man.

3And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature.

NoteIn 1611 "the press" meant the crowd itself, the pressed-together mass of people. "Little of stature" means short in height; it is not a comment on his age or importance.

4So he ran on ahead and climbed a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus, since Jesus was about to pass that way.

4And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way.

NoteNot the tree Americans call a sycamore. This is the fig-mulberry, a wide tree with a short trunk and low branches spreading sideways, easy for a grown man to scramble into in a hurry. It was common along roads in the Jordan valley and its fruit was cheap food.

5When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and saw him and said, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down. I must stay at your house today."

5And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house.

6So Zacchaeus hurried down and welcomed him gladly.

6And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully.

7When the people saw this, they all complained, saying that Jesus had gone to be the guest of a sinful man.

7And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.

NoteThe complaint is about hospitality. To lodge and eat at a man's table was a public act of acceptance, a statement that he was fit company. A "sinner" in this usage is someone whose life or trade put him outside what observant people would associate with, and a tax collector was a standing example.

8But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord, I give half of everything I own to the poor. And if I have cheated anyone by a false charge, I pay him back four times as much."

8And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.

NoteTwo things sit under this verse. The King James "by false accusation" translates a Greek word for squeezing money out of people by threats or trumped-up charges, the characteristic abuse of a tax collector's position. And the verbs "I give" and "I restore" are present tense in Greek, which can be heard either as what Zacchaeus already does as a standing practice or as what he is undertaking from this moment; the Greek does not settle it, and translations divide. Fourfold repayment was the penalty the law of Moses set for a stolen sheep that had been killed or sold, far heavier than the ordinary restitution of the sum plus a fifth.

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

9And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham.

Note"A son of Abraham" means a member of the Jewish people, a descendant of Abraham and so an heir of what was promised to that people. The crowd's grumbling in verse 7 had in effect written Zacchaeus out of it.

10For the Son of Man came to look for the lost and to save them."

10For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

Note"The Son of man" is the phrase Jesus uses of himself throughout the Gospels. In ordinary Hebrew and Aramaic the expression simply means a human being, a mortal, but it is also the title of the figure in Daniel 7:13 who comes "with the clouds of heaven" and is given an everlasting kingdom. How much of each sense a given saying carries has been argued over since antiquity.

11While the people were listening to this, Jesus went on to tell them a story. He told it because he was near Jerusalem, and because they thought the kingdom of God was about to appear at once.

11And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear.

12So he said, "A man from a noble family went away to a distant country to be made king there, and then to come back.

12He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.

NoteThe setup would have been immediately recognizable. Rome, not local custom, decided who ruled in Judea, and a claimant had to travel to Rome in person to have his kingship confirmed. Herod the Great's son Archelaus did exactly that in 4 BC, and a delegation of Jews followed him there to argue against his appointment. He came back with a reduced title and a long memory. He also owned a palace at Jericho, where this story is being told.

13Before he left, he called ten of his servants and gave them ten pounds of silver. He said to them, 'Do business with this until I come back.'

13And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.

Note"Pounds" translates "minas." A mina was worth about a hundred denarii, and a denarius was a laborer's pay for a day, so one mina was roughly three months' wages for a working man. Each of the ten servants gets one. "Occupy till I come" is a 1611 idiom: occupy here means trade with it, put it to work, not hold your position or stay put.

14But the people of his country hated him. They sent messengers after him to say, 'We do not want this man to rule over us.'

14But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us.

15When he came back, now made king, he ordered the servants he had given the money to be brought to him, so he could learn how much each one had earned by trading.

15And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.

16The first one came and said, 'Master, your one pound has earned ten more.'

16Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds.

17The master said to him, 'Well done, good servant. Because you have been trustworthy with something very small, you will have authority over ten cities.'

17And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.

NoteA ruler newly confirmed in his kingship parceled out towns and districts to men he trusted, to govern and collect revenue on his behalf. The reward is the ordinary machinery of the world the story is set in.

18The second one came and said, 'Master, your one pound has made five more.'

18And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds.

19The master said to him as well, 'You will be over five cities.'

19And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities.

20Then another came and said, 'Master, here is your pound. I kept it put away in a piece of cloth.

20And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin:

NoteThe King James "napkin" means a cloth for wiping the face, a handkerchief or small towel. It has nothing to do with table linen in the modern sense, and nothing to do with infants.

21I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in, and you harvest what you did not plant.'

21For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow.

Note"Austere" in 1611 meant severe, exacting, hard in dealing. The two charges that follow sound like proverbs: taking up money he never deposited and reaping a field he never sowed, that is, collecting the profit on other people's work.

22The master said to him, 'I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant. So you knew that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in and harvesting what I did not plant?

22And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow:

23Then why did you not put my money in the bank? That way, when I came back, I could have collected it with interest.'

23Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury?

Note"Usury" in 1611 meant interest of any size, not excessive interest as the word means now. The "bank" is a money changer's table, where funds left on deposit earned a return. The law of Moses forbade charging interest to a fellow Israelite, though not to an outsider, which is part of why the subject carried an edge.

24And he said to those standing there, 'Take the pound away from him and give it to the man who has ten pounds.'

24And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds.

25(They said to him, 'Master, he already has ten pounds.')

25(And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.)

26'I tell you, everyone who has will be given more. But from the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away.

26For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him.

27But as for those enemies of mine who did not want me to rule over them, bring them here and kill them in front of me.'"

27But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.

NoteReprisals of this kind were not invented for the story. A claimant who came home with Rome's confirmation had the legal power of life and death over the men who had petitioned against him, and the return of Archelaus was remembered for exactly this sort of settling of accounts.

28After Jesus said this, he went on ahead, going up toward Jerusalem.

28And when he had thus spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem.

29When he came near Bethphage and Bethany, at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples ahead.

29And it came to pass, when he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount called the mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples,

NoteBethphage and Bethany were villages on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, roughly two miles from Jerusalem. The Mount of Olives is a ridge running north and south across the Kidron valley, east of the city and higher than it. The road from Bethany crests that ridge and then drops toward the city, so the whole of Jerusalem and the temple opens up at once at the descent mentioned in verse 37.

30He said, "Go into the village just ahead of you. As you enter it, you will find a young donkey tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here.

30Saying, Go ye into the village over against you; in the which at your entering ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat: loose him, and bring him hither.

NoteAn animal that had never been worked or ridden was the kind set apart for sacred use; the law of Moses requires an unworked animal in certain rites. A young donkey also carries an association a first-century hearer would catch: in Zechariah 9:9 a king comes to Jerusalem riding a donkey rather than a war horse, a passage Matthew and John quote at this point in the story.

31If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' say to him, 'The Lord needs it.'"

31And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him.

Note"The Lord" translates a word that in everyday speech simply meant the master or the owner. The owners in verse 33 could hear the answer either way, and the Greek leaves it open.

32The two who were sent went off and found everything just as Jesus had told them.

32And they that were sent went their way, and found even as he had said unto them.

33As they were untying the young donkey, its owners said to them, "Why are you untying the donkey?"

33And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, Why loose ye the colt?

34They answered, "The Lord needs it."

34And they said, The Lord hath need of him.

35They brought it to Jesus. They threw their coats over the animal and helped Jesus onto it.

35And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon.

NoteThe "garments" are outer cloaks, the heavy square of cloth worn over everything else. For most people it was the most valuable thing they wore and doubled as a blanket at night. Thrown over the animal's back it serves as a saddle.

36As he rode along, people spread their coats on the road.

36And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way.

NoteSpreading cloaks on the road in front of a man was how a king was greeted. When Jehu was proclaimed king, his fellow officers spread their garments under him on the bare steps (2 Kings 9:13).

37When he came close, right at the place where the road goes down from the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began to shout for joy and praise God for all the powerful works they had seen.

37And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen;

Note"Mighty works" is the standard King James term for miracles.

38They said, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest place!"

38Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.

NoteThe shout quotes Psalm 118:26, one of a group of psalms sung at the great festivals and used to greet pilgrims coming up to the temple. The word "King" is not in the psalm; it is added here. "Glory in the highest" means glory in the highest heaven, where God is; "the highest" is a way of saying that place without naming it.

39Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell your followers to stop."

39And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples.

NoteThe Pharisees were a movement, mostly lay rather than priestly, known for exact and detailed keeping of the law and for applying to daily life the purity rules that strictly applied to priests. "Master" in the King James here does not mean owner or employer; it translates the ordinary word for a teacher, which is how the rendering gives it.

40He answered, "I tell you, if they kept quiet, the stones would cry out at once."

40And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.

41When he came near and saw the city, he wept over it.

41And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,

42He said, "If only you had known, even you, on this day of yours, the things that would bring you peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.

42Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.

NoteThere is a play on words here that English cannot carry. The name Jerusalem was commonly heard as containing shalom, the Hebrew word for peace, so "the things which belong unto thy peace," said over this city of all cities, lands with a particular sting. "This thy day" means this day that was yours, your moment.

43The days are coming when your enemies will build a wall of earth around you. They will surround you and close you in on every side.

43For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side,

NoteThe King James "cast a trench about thee" does not mean dig a ditch. The word stands for a siege wall: a rampart of piled earth topped with sharpened stakes, thrown up right around a city so that nobody can get in or out. It was standard Roman siege practice, and it is what the army of Titus built around Jerusalem in AD 70.

44They will level you to the ground, you and your children inside your walls. They will not leave one stone standing on another, because you did not recognize the time when God came to you."

44And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.

Note"Thy children within thee" speaks of the city as a mother and of the people inside her walls as her children. "The time of thy visitation" translates a phrase meaning the moment when God comes to look on a people. Depending on the passage it can mean coming to help or coming to call to account, and both senses are available in the word here.

45Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out the people who were selling there, and those who were buying.

45And he went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought;

NoteThe buying and selling went on in the outer court of the temple, the large open area open to anyone. Animals and birds without blemish were sold there for sacrifice, and money changers exchanged ordinary coinage, which carried images and foreign inscriptions, for the currency accepted for the temple tax. The trade was a practical service to pilgrims who had traveled too far to bring an animal with them.

46He said to them, "It is written, 'My house is a house of prayer.' But you have made it a hideout for robbers."

46Saying unto them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves.

NoteTwo quotations, both of which the first hearers would have recognized. "My house is the house of prayer" comes from Isaiah 56:7, where the sentence goes on "for all people." "A den of thieves" comes from Jeremiah 7:11, spoken about the temple of Jeremiah's own day. A den is the cave a band holes up in between raids, not the place where the robbery is committed, and the word behind "thieves" means a bandit or brigand, a man of violence, not a petty thief.

47He taught in the temple every day. But the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the leaders of the people were trying to find a way to kill him.

47And he taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy him,

NoteThe "chief priests" were the priestly aristocracy of Jerusalem: the serving high priest, men who had held that office before him, and the officers who ran the temple and its treasury. The "scribes" were the professional experts in the law of Moses, trained to copy it, teach it and give rulings from it, which is why the rendering calls them teachers of the law.

48They could not find any way to do it, because all the people listened closely to every word he said.

48And could not find what they might do: for all the people were very attentive to hear him.

NoteThe King James "very attentive to hear him" renders a vivid Greek verb: the people were hanging on him as they listened.