Luke 18:4
Translations
King James Version (KJV)
And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;
American King James Version (AKJV)
And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;
American Standard Version (ASV)
And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;
Basic English Translation (BBE)
And for a time he would not: but later, he said to himself, Though I have no fear of God or respect for man,
Webster's Revision
And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;
World English Bible
He wouldn't for a while, but afterward he said to himself, 'Though I neither fear God, nor respect man,
English Revised Version (ERV)
And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;
Clarke's Luke 18:4 Bible Commentary
He said within himself - How many actions which appear good have neither the love of God, nor that of our neighbor, but only self-love of the basest kind, for their principle and motive!
Barnes's Luke 18:4 Bible Commentary
For a while - Probably this means for a "considerable" time. It was his duty to attend to the claims of justice, but this was long delayed.
Within himself - He thought, or came to a conclusion.
Though I fear not ... - This contains the reason why he attended to the case at all. It was not from any regard to justice, or to the duties of his office. It was simply to avoid "trouble." And yet his conduct in this case might have appeared very upright, and possibly might have been strictly according to law and to justice. How many actions are performed that "appear well," when the doers of those actions know that they are mere hypocrisy! and how many actions are performed from the basest and lowest motives of "selfishness," that have the appearance of external propriety and even of goodness!
She weary me - The word used here, in the original, is that which was employed to denote the wounds and bruises caused by "boxers," who beat each other, and blacken their eyes, and disable them. See the notes at 1 Corinthians 9:27. Hence, it means any vexatious and troublesome importunity that takes the time, and disables from other employment.