Luke 17

AUV^{(i) 1} Then Jesus said to His disciples, “It is inevitable that occasions which cause people to be led astray [from God] will come, but it is too bad for that person who is responsible for it happening. ² It would be good [i.e., better] for him to have had a huge millstone tied around his neck and be thrown into the ocean [Note: This “millstone” was a huge, circular stone rolled over grain to crush it and was moved by an animal walking in a circle], rather than having him cause one of these little ones [i.e., humble followers of the Lord] to be led astray [from God]. ³ Pay attention to yourselves! “If your brother sins, rebuke him [i.e., show him where he is wrong in hope of effecting a change]; and if he repents [i.e., changes his heart and life], forgive him. ⁴ And if he sins against you seven times a day and [then] comes to you seven times and says, ‘I repent,’ you should forgive him.” ⁵ Then the apostles said to the Lord, “Give us more faith.” ⁶ And the Lord said, “If you had faith as [small as] a mustard tree seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and replanted in the ocean,’ and it would obey you. ⁷ “But which of you, whose slave is plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he comes in from the field, ‘Come and sit right down to eat’? ⁸ Would you not say to him instead, ‘Prepare the food for my meal [first] and get ready to serve me until I have had enough to eat and drink and [then] afterward you can eat and drink [yourself]’? ⁹ Would he thank his slave for doing the things that he was ordered to do? ¹⁰ So, you too, after you have done everything you were told to, should say, ‘We are unworthy slaves. We have done [only] what we were supposed to do.’” ¹¹ And it happened as Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem that He passed along the border between Samaria and Galilee. [Note: These were the next two provinces north of Judea]. ¹² And as He entered a certain village, He was met by ten men with infectious skin diseases, who were standing some distance away [Note: Restrictions in the Jewish law prevented contact with persons having infectious diseases. See Lev. 13:45ff], ¹³ and shouting, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us.” ¹⁴ And when Jesus saw them, He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” [See Lev. 13:49; 14:2ff]. And it happened, as they went [along], that they were healed. ¹⁵ Then one of them, seeing he had been healed, returned and praised God in a loud voice. ¹⁶ And he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet and thanked Him. And he was a Samaritan. [Note: Samaritans were despised by the Jews and regarded as a ‘half-breeds’]. ¹⁷ Jesus asked [those standing nearby], “Were there not ten men [who were] healed? Where are the [other] nine? ¹⁸ Did not anyone [else] come back to give praise to God, except this foreigner?” ¹⁹ Then Jesus said to the one [who had returned], “Get up and go on your way. Your faith has made you well.” ²⁰ And when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus answered them, “The kingdom of God will not come the way you are looking for it. ²¹ People will not be saying, ‘Look, here [it is]!’ or ‘There [it is]!’ For in fact, the kingdom of God is [now] among you [i.e., as represented by the presence and ministry of Jesus].” ²² Then He said to the disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of man [i.e., the time when the Messiah would deliver His people from tribulation], but you will not see it [i.e., such deliverance would not occur during their lifetimes]. ²³ And people will be saying to you, ‘Look, there [He is]! Look, here [He is]! Do not leave or follow after them. ²⁴ For the Son of man [will come] in His day just like lightning which flashes from one part of the sky and lights up the other part. ²⁵ But first He must experience much suffering and be rejected by the people of this generation. ²⁶ “And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of man. ²⁷ People were eating and drinking and [men were] marrying and [women] were being given away in marriage [right up] until the day that Noah entered the ship and the Flood came and drowned them all. ²⁸ “It happened in a similar way in the days of Lot [i.e., Abraham’s nephew]. People were eating and drinking and buying and selling and planting and building. ²⁹ But on the day that Lot left Sodom, fire and sulphur rained down from the sky and consumed them all. ³⁰ “It will be the same way on the day the Son of man is revealed [i.e., at His second coming]. ³¹ On that day, the person who is on a housetop [Note: This was a flat area where people retired for rest, prayer, etc., with its stairway on the outside], whose belongings are [still] in his house, is not to go down and [attempt to] take any of them away. And the person who is in a field [i.e., doing farm work], also is not to return [to his house]. ³² Remember [what happened to] Lot’s wife! ³³ Whatever person tries to gain [everything to satisfy him in] life [here on earth] will lose it [i.e., never ending life]. But whatever person [is willing to] lose [the comforts and security of] his life [here on earth] will preserve it [for eternity]. ³⁴ I tell you, on that night [i.e., when Jesus returns. See verse 30], there will be two men in one bed; one will be taken [i.e., to be with the Lord] while the other one will be left [i.e., to be punished by the Lord]. ³⁵ There will be two women grinding grain together [Note: This was done with a hand-operated millstone where two persons sat across from each other and rotated a circular stone over kernels of grain]; one will be taken while the other one will be left. {{Some ancient manuscripts include verse ³⁶ There will be two men in a field [i.e., doing farm work]; one will be taken [i.e., to be with the Lord], while the other one will be left [i.e., to be punished by the Lord].” See Matt. 24:40}} ³⁷ And they asked Jesus, “Where [will this happen], Lord?” And He answered them, “Wherever there is a [dead] body [you will see] vultures gathered there also.”