Luke 18:1

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

Prayer and the Parable of the Persistent Widow Then Jesus told them a parable to show them they should always pray and not lose heart.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

¶Ἔλεγεν δὲ καὶ παραβολὴν αὐτοῖς, πρὸς τὸ δεῖν πάντοτε προσεύχεσθαι, καὶ μὴ ἐκκακεῖν·

Transliteration

Elegen de and parabolēn to-them, pros the dein always proseuchesthai, and not ekkakein;

Grammar Details

• *Elegen*: imperfect active indicative, 3rd person singular - was speaking/saying [continuous action]
• *de*: conjunction, adversative/transitional - but/and/now
• *parabolēn*: accusative feminine singular - parable/comparison
• *pros*: preposition + accusative - for/toward [purpose]
• *dein*: present active infinitive - necessity/obligation
• *proseuchesthai*: present middle/passive infinitive - to pray
• *ekkakein*: present active infinitive - to lose heart/give up/grow weary

Word Meanings

• *Elegen*: was telling/was saying/continued speaking
• *parabolēn*: parable/analogy/comparison/illustration
• *dein*: necessity/ought/must/should
• *ekkakein*: lose heart/become discouraged/give up/grow weary

Referenced Verses

• Col 4:2 : 2 Exhortation to Pray for the Success of Paul’s Mission Be devoted to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving.
• 1 Thess 5:17 : 17 constantly pray,
• Rom 12:12 : 12 Rejoice in hope, endure in suffering, persist in prayer.
• Eph 6:18 : 18 With every prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit, and to this end be alert, with all perseverance and petitions for all the saints.
• Phil 4:6 : 6 Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God.
• Ps 55:16-17 : 16 As for me, I will call out to God, and the LORD will deliver me. 17 During the evening, morning, and noontime I will lament and moan, and he will hear me.
• Luke 21:36 : 36 But stay alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that must happen, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
• Luke 11:5-9 : 5 Then he said to them,“Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him,‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 6 because a friend of mine has stopped here while on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him.’ 7 Then he will reply from inside,‘Do not bother me. The door is already shut, and my children and I are in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though the man inside will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of the first man’s sheer persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs. 9 “So I tell you: Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.
• Jer 29:12 : 12 When you call out to me and come to me in prayer, I will hear your prayers.
• Ps 86:3 : 3 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I cry out to you all day long!
• Ps 102:17 : 17 when he responds to the prayer of the destitute, and does not reject their request.
• Gal 6:9 : 9 So we must not grow weary in doing good, for in due time we will reap, if we do not give up.
• 2 Cor 4:1 : 1 Paul’s Perseverance in Ministry Therefore, since we have this ministry, just as God has shown us mercy, we do not become discouraged.
• Gen 32:24-26 : 24 So Jacob was left alone. Then a man wrestled with him until daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not defeat Jacob, he struck the socket of his hip so the socket of Jacob’s hip was dislocated while he wrestled with him. 26 Then the man said,“Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.”“I will not let you go,” Jacob replied,“unless you bless me.”
• Job 27:8-9 : 8 For what hope does the godless have when he is cut off, when God takes away his life? 9 Does God listen to his cry when distress overtakes him? 10 Will he find delight in the Almighty? Will he call out to God at all times?
• Ps 27:13 : 13 Where would I be if I did not believe I would experience the LORD’s favor in the land of the living?
• Ps 65:2 : 2 You hear prayers; all people approach you.
• Ps 142:5-7 : 5 I cry out to you, O LORD; I say,“You are my shelter, my security in the land of the living.” 6 Listen to my cry for help, for I am in serious trouble! Rescue me from those who chase me, for they are stronger than I am. 7 Free me from prison, that I may give thanks to your name. Because of me the godly will assemble, for you will vindicate me.
• Jonah 2:7 : 7 When my life was ebbing away, I called out to the LORD. And my prayer came to you, to your holy temple.
• Heb 12:3-5 : 3 Think of him who endured such opposition against himself by sinners, so that you may not grow weary in your souls and give up. 4 You have not yet resisted to the point of bloodshed in your struggle against sin. 5 And have you forgotten the exhortation addressed to you as sons?“My son, do not scorn the Lord’s discipline or give up when he corrects you.
• Col 4:12 : 12 Epaphras, who is one of you and a slave of Christ, greets you. He is always struggling in prayer on your behalf, so that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.
• Gen 32:9-9 : 9 Then Jacob prayed,“O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, O LORD, you said to me,‘Return to your land and to your relatives and I will make you prosper.’ 10 I am not worthy of all the faithful love you have shown your servant. With only my walking stick I crossed the Jordan, but now I have become two camps. 11 Rescue me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me, as well as the mothers with their children. 12 But you said,‘I will certainly make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand on the seashore, too numerous to count.’”