Luke 18:7 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them?

NIV: And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?

NASB: now, will God not bring about justice for His elect who cry out to Him day and night, and will He delay long for them?

CSB: Will not God grant justice to his elect who cry out to him day and night? Will he delay helping them?

NLT: Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?

KJV: And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?

NKJV: And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them?

In this larger section, Jesus makes several contrasts of those with faith against those without faith. In His description of His second coming, He gives examples of behavior that identify people who will not be anticipating His return. They will marry, celebrate, and plan without a thought. When He returns, they will be destroyed, but their closest friends and family who have faith will be rescued (Luke 17:22–37).

In this parable, Jesus describes a judge who refuses to consider a widow's request for justice. This is contrasted with God the Father, who awaits the day when He will give justice to His elect. The judge finally relents because the widow is so persistent. God does not need convincing; His justice will be swift.

Revelation 8:3–5 describes the actual event when God will exact justice for those who died as martyrs:

And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.

What follows are the first six of the seven trumpet judgments. A third of creation will be destroyed, horrific locusts will descend, and a supernatural army will attack (Revelation 8:6—9:19). And still, the people will not repent (Revelation 9:20–21).

Scholars offer numerous interpretations of the question about God's delay. Where the English Standard Version says, "Will he delay long over them?" the NASB says, "and will He delay long for them?" Most of the debate is over the Greek word for "and"—kai—which can have meanings other than just "and." Instead of using "and," the ESV repeats what the "and" refers to: "will He [God]" from earlier in the verse. The NASB uses both, to be thorough. In some contexts, kai can mean "if," "but," "even if," or "because."

This flexibility leads to many discussions. When all is said and done, two plausible possibilities remain. Both interpret kai simply as "and" but equate "delay long" with God's patience. The question they answer differently is "With whom is God being patient and why?" One response is that God is patient with His followers' endurance and limits the amount of injustice they will suffer before Jesus returns. The other option is that God is patient with those who are not saved (2 Peter 3:8–9), so they have longer to come to a saving faith in Jesus.

Luke 18:1–8 contains the parable of the persistent widow. Jesus contrasts God with a corrupt judge who will only give a widow justice when she becomes a nuisance. The Lord, however, is eager to give His followers justice—partially now and fully when Jesus returns. Like the widow, we must ask diligently and with faith. Jesus goes on to show that proper faith is humble, not self-congratulating (Luke 18:9–14), childlike (Luke 18:15–17), and makes us hold lightly things of the earth as compared to how we cling to God (Luke 18:18–30). Only Luke records this parable.

Luke 18 approaches the end of Jesus' "travelogue" to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51—19:27). Luke has selected miracles, teachings, and events to show how Jesus trained His disciples. His emphasis was explaining the kingdom of God in preparation for their work to build the church. Luke 18 includes several contrasts between those who understand God's kingdom and those who don't. Luke 19 includes the story of Zacchaeus and another parable before Jesus' triumphal entry and the Passion Week. These stories are also found primarily in Matthew 19—20 and Mark 10.

Luke was a traveling companion of Paul (Acts 16:10) and a physician (Colossians 4:14). Unlike Matthew, Mark, and John, Luke writes his gospel as an historian, rather than as a first-hand eyewitness. His extensive writings also include the book of Acts (Acts 1:1–3). These are deliberately organized, carefully researched accounts of those events. The gospel of Luke focuses on the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ. Luke's Gentile perspective presents Christ as a Savior for all people, offering both forgiveness and direction to those who follow Him.