He wouldn’t for a while, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God, nor respect man,
Parallel Translations
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He wouldn’t for a while, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God, nor respect man,
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And he wolde not for a whyle. But afterwarde he sayd vnto him selfe: though I feare not God nor care for man
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And hee would not of a long time: but afterward he said with himselfe, Though I feare not God, nor reuerence man,
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (3)
Passages linked to Luke 18:4 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Hebrews 4:12-13 For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and is able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart. There is no creature that is hidden from his sight, but all things are naked and laid open before the eyes of him to whom we must give an account.
- Luke 12:17 He reasoned within himself, saying, ‘What will I do, because I don’t have room to store my crops?’
- Luke 16:3 “The manager said within himself, ‘What will I do, seeing that my lord is taking away the management position from me? I don’t have strength to dig. I am ashamed to beg.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (9 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 4 And he would not for a while: but…
4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;
Ver. 4. And he would not for awhile] There is a passive injustice. Non faciendo nocens, sed patiendo fuit, saith Ausonius of Claudius: Not to do justice is injustice.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And he would not for a while,.... He would…
And he would not for a while,.... He would give no ear to her cries, nor take her cause in hand, nor right her wrongs, and clear her of her adversary:
but afterward he said within himself; as he was considering the matter in his own mind, and reflecting on this woman's case and the frequent application she had made to him:
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though I fear not God, nor regard man; a monster in iniquity he was, to say so of himself; for though the character belongs to many, there are few that are so impudent in sin, as to take it to themselves, and glory in it.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 4. He said within himself] How many actions…
Verse 4. He said within himself] How many actions which appear good have neither the love of God, nor that of our neighbour, but only self-love of the basest kind, for their principle and motive!
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain For a while - Probably this means for a…
For a while - Probably this means for a “considerable” time. It was his duty to attend to the claims of justice, but this was long delayed.
Within himself - He thought, or came to a conclusion.
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Though I fear not ... - This contains the reason why he attended to the case at all. It was not from any regard to justice, or to the duties of his office. It was simply to avoid “trouble.” And yet his conduct in this case might have appeared very upright, and possibly might have been strictly according to law and to justice. How many actions are performed that “appear well,” when the doers of those actions know that they are mere hypocrisy! and how many actions are performed from the basest and lowest motives of “selfishness,” that have the appearance of external propriety and even of goodness!
She weary me - The word used here, in the original, is that which was employed to denote the wounds and bruises caused by “boxers,” who beat each other, and blacken their eyes, and disable them. See the notes at 1Co 9:27. Hence, it means any vexatious and troublesome importunity that takes the time, and disables from other employment.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain And he would not for a long time. The…
And he would not for a long time. The Almighty does not always hear us as soon as we could wish, nor in the manner that seems best to us; but if we are not always heard according to our desires, we always are as far as is conducive to our salvation. He sometimes delays, in order to exercise our patience, and increase our ardour: sometimes he grants, in his anger, what, in him mercy, he would refuse. Let us then pray always, desire always, love always. Desire always, and you pray always. This is the continual voice of prayer, which the Almighty demands of you. You are silent, when you cease to love. The cooling of charity, is the silence of the heart. (St. Augustine, in Psalm xxxvii.) (Witham)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 4. For a while—The grand interval between the First…
4. For a while—The grand interval between the First and Second Coming of the Son of man. This we take to be its true and perhaps its only proper meaning. But as the same principle is applicable to the prayer of the individual soul as to the collective prayer of the Church, so God often makes a trying interval between the offering of our prayer and the granting of the reply.
I fear not God—Most men believe that they are not so very bad; and though they may each deceive themselves, yet they are the less evil for even this self-pretence. But here is a man consciously unprincipled upon principle. The man who can thus unflinchingly face himself, can of course show the hardest face to others.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 4. he said within himself] The shamelessness with which…
4. he said within himself] The shamelessness with which he acknowledges his own sin renders it still more aggravated.
Though I fear not God, nor regard man] ‘The creed of a powerful atheist.’ Bengel.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (4) He would not for a while.—The judge was…
(4) He would not for a while.—The judge was callous and dead to pity, even for that extremest wretchedness. The pleadings of the widow were simply an annoyance, which at first he bore with indifference.
Though I fear not God, nor regard man.—Here, also, there is a graphic touch of intensity. The man had passed beyond the stage of hypocrisy, conscious or unconscious, and saw himself even as others, even as God, saw him.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 4, 5. And he would not for a while.…
4, 5. And he would not for a while. Because selfishly indifferent.
This widow troubleth me. What neither the fear of God nor the regard for human rights could do, her persistence accomplished, because her “continual coming wearied him.”
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.