Bible Strands
Luke 18:10
“Two men went up to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jesus delivers this parable to listeners who trusted in their own righteousness and viewed others with contempt, introducing a scene where two men go to the temple to pray.
The words — The text records ἀνέβησαν (anebēsan), meaning "went up," and εἰς τὸ ἱερόν (eis to hieron), meaning "into the temple," establishing the physical location for the purpose of προσεύξασθαι (proseuxasthai), "to pray."
The thread — The ascent to the temple for prayer aligns with the pattern in 1 Kings 8:30, where God is petitioned to hear pleas directed toward that place, while the parable's contrast between religious insiders and social outcasts echoes the dynamic in Matthew 21:31 regarding who ultimately does a father's will.
Why it lands — The verse functions as a neutral setup, requiring readers to note the exact identities and location before the narrative reveals the content and reception of each man's prayer.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
Cross-references
- Matthew 21:31 Which of the two did the will of his father?” “The first,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you.
- 1 Kings 8:30 Hear the plea of Your servant and of Your people Israel when they pray toward this place. May You hear from heaven, Your dwelling place. May You hear and forgive.
- 2 Kings 20:5 “Go back and tell Hezekiah the leader of My people that this is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: ‘I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. I will surely heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the house of the LORD.
- Acts 3:1 One afternoon Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.
- 2 Kings 20:8 Now Hezekiah had asked Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the LORD will heal me and that I will go up to the house of the LORD on the third day?”
- Luke 1:9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
- Luke 7:29 All the people who heard this, even the tax collectors, acknowledged God’s justice. For they had received the baptism of John.
- Acts 23:6 Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. It is because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.”
- Acts 26:5 They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that I lived as a Pharisee, adhering to the strictest sect of our religion.
- Philippians 3:5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin; a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee;