Luke 18:11

The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—swindlers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The Pharisee stands apart at the temple while praying to God, directly contrasting himself with the nearby tax collector.

The words — σταθεὶς (statheis) means “having stood,” and ἑαυτὸν (he'auton) means “himself,” highlighting the man’s physical and spiritual isolation during prayer.

The thread — This posture of self-exalting prayer echoes Matthew 6:5, Revelation 3:17, and Isaiah 65:5, where religious confidence masks spiritual bankruptcy.

Why it lands — The text demands that readers expose any prayer built on comparative righteousness and submit to God without relying on moral inventory.

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

The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.

Cross-references

Matthew 6:5 And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.
Revelation 3:17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have grown wealthy and need nothing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.
Isaiah 65:5 They say, ‘Keep to yourself; do not come near me, for I am holier than you!’ Such people are smoke in My nostrils, a fire that burns all day long.
Jeremiah 2:35 you say, ‘I am innocent. Surely His anger will turn from me.’ Behold, I will judge you, because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’
Mark 11:25 And when you stand to pray, if you hold anything against another, forgive it, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your trespasses as well.”
James 2:9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
Psalms 134:1 A song of ascents. Come, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD who serve by night in the house of the LORD!
Psalms 135:2 who stand in the house of the LORD, in the courts of the house of our God.
Isaiah 58:2 For day after day they seek Me and delight to know My ways, like a nation that does what is right and does not forsake the justice of their God. They ask Me for righteous judgments; they delight in the nearness of God.”
Matthew 19:18 “Which ones?” the man asked. Jesus answered, “‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness,