Luke 18:9
Translations
King James Version (KJV)
And he spoke this parable to certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
American King James Version (AKJV)
And he spoke this parable to certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
American Standard Version (ASV)
And he spake also this parable unto certain who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and set all others at nought:
Basic English Translation (BBE)
And he made this story for some people who were certain that they were good, and had a low opinion of others:
Webster's Revision
And he spoke this parable to certain who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
World English Bible
He spoke also this parable to certain people who were convinced of their own righteousness, and who despised all others.
English Revised Version (ERV)
And he spake also this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and set all others at nought:
Definitions for Luke 18:9
Clarke's Luke 18:9 Bible Commentary
Despised - Εξουθενουντας, Disdained, made nothing of others, treated them with sovereign contempt. Our Lord grants that the Pharisees made clean the outside: but, alas! what pride, vain glory, and contempt for others, were lodged within!
Barnes's Luke 18:9 Bible Commentary
Unto certain - Unto some.
Which trusted in themselves - Who confided in themselves, or who supposed that they were righteous. They did not trust to God or the Messiah for righteousness, but to their own works. They vainly supposed they had themselves complied with the demands of the law of God.
Despised others - Others who were not as externally righteous as themselves. This was the character of the Pharisees. They trusted in their outward conformity to the ceremonies of the law. They considered all who did not do that as sinners. This, moreover, is the true character of self-righteousness. Men of that stamp always despise all others. They think they are far above them in holiness, and are disposed to say to them, Stand by thyself, for I am holier than thou, Isaiah 65:5. True religion, on the contrary, is humble. Those who trust in Christ for righteousness feel that "they" are, in themselves, poor, and miserable, and guilty, and they are willing to admit that others may be much better than themselves. Certain it is, they "despise" no one. They love all people; they regard them, however vile, as the creatures of God and as going to eternity, and are disposed to treat them well, and to aid them in their journey toward another world.
Wesley's Luke 18:9 Bible Commentary
18:9 He spake this parable - Not to hypocrites; the Pharisee here mentioned was no hypocrite, no more than an outward adulterer: but he sincerely trusted in himself that he was righteous, and accordingly told God so, in the prayer which none but God heard.