The Greek Text of Luke 18:9-14

Luke 18:9-14

9He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt:  10“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  11The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like

other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.  12I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’  13But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’  14I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”

v9 τους πεποιθοτας (πειθω) perf. part. "[some] who were confident" - being persuaded, convinced, trusting – idiom meaning those who were complacently pleased with themselves over their δικαιοι adj. "righteousness (last week’s parable was about the nature of this).

τους ..... εξουθενουντας (εξουθενεω) pres. part. "looked down on [everybody else]" - despising, holding contempt for τους πεποιθοτας. not "despised" but "the scorned".

v10 προσευξασθαι (προσευχομαι) aor. inf. "to pray" - infinitive expresses purpose - prayer services were a regular feature of temple worship - not unlike “the hours”.

τελωνης (ης ου) "tax collector" - a Jew working for the Roman government and feeding off fellow Jews so a traitor the closest modern parallel would be a corrupt politician.

v11 σταθεις (ιστημι aor. pas. part. "stood up" - implies the positioning of oneself to make an important public statement. 

ο θεος "God" - Nominative of address with the force of vocative – a personal address.

ευχαριστω (ευχαριστεω) pres. "I thank" - the ideal of a pious man is to be thankful so what has this Pharisee done wrong? Probably nothing – in fact he is presented as a good moral man. οι λοιποι των ανθρωπων "other men" - the rest of men expressing exclusivity.

αρπαγες (αξ αγος) "robbers" αδικοι adj. "unjust" (the judge in the previous parable is included in this, μοιχοι (ος) "adulterers" and NOW he’s getting personal...

v12 νηστευω pres. "I fast" του σαββατου (ον) "[twice] a week" – literally as the Sabbath requires; which is the minimum requirement.... 

κτωμαι (κταομαι) pres. "[I tithe all] I get" – i.e. he counts the GROSS not the NET which is the maximum requirement

v13 ετως (ιστημι) perf. part. "stood [at a distance]" - either standing far away from the people, or in the outer court of the temple, or far away from God...

ηθελεν (θελω) ουκ ... ουδε  imperf. "he would not even" - Double negative emphasizing his deference and unworthiness to approach God.

ετυπτεν (τυπτω) imperf. "beat [his breast]" -  imperfect expressing repeated action.

ιλασθητι (ιλασκομαι) aor. pas. imp. "have mercy" - the sense in the passive voice, is forgive although "mollify or make amends", cf. Ex.32:14, is also possible. 

τω αμαρτωλω (ος) dat. "the sinner" so the phrase should read "have mercy on me the sinner".

v14a Here is the punch-line. παρ (παρα) + acc. "[this man] rather than [the other]" is 

δεδικαιωμενος (δικαιοω) perf. pas. pat. [went down to his house] justified before God" -  which tells you two things, 1) he was a towny and 2) he went down in a state of being justified. It has been long asserted that Luke was a traveling companion to St. Paul, here as in Chapter 15 one wonders if Luke and his stories influenced Paul's theology or vice versa.  

V14b is an independent saying, it likely derives from Jesus, but was probably not originally part of this parable. The punch-line of the parable is 14a. This saying may have been added during oral transmission or stitched on to the parable by Luke. Either way it explains how a good man ends up condemned and a bad man ends up blessed. There is no ignoring the eschatological nature of this verse.

οτι “because” ο υψων (υψοω) part. "[everyone] who exalts" - in the sense of lifted up to a high station.

ταπεινωθησεται (ταπεινοω) fut. pas. "will be humbled" – a theological passive, the agent of the action is God. The "proud", or more particularly the "self-righteous", will be humiliated in the day of judgment.

ο .. ταπεινων (ταπεινοω) pres. part. "those who humble [themselves]" υψωθησεται (υψοω) fut. pas. "will be exalted" - as opposed to abased, at the final judgment.