SEV Biblia, Chapter 18:8
Os digo que los defender presto. Pero cuando el Hijo del hombre viniere, ¿hallar fe en la tierra?
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Luke 18:8
Verse 8. He will avenge them speedily.] Or, He will do them justice speedily-en tacei, instantly, in a trice. 1. Because he has promised it; and 2. Because he is inclined to do it. When the Son of man cometh] To require the produce of the seed of the kingdom sown among this people.
Shall he find faith on the earth?] Or rather, Shall he find fidelity in this land? Shall he find that the soil has brought forth a harvest proportioned to the culture bestowed on it? No! And therefore he destroyed that land.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 8. I tell you that he will avenge them speedily , etc.] As he did in a few years after the death of Christ, when God's elect among the Jews were singled out, and gathered in from them, and were delivered from their persecutors, and saved from temporal ruin and destruction, whilst the Roman army made sad havoc of their enemies; and so will he do in the end of the world. Nevertheless, when the son of man cometh ; either to destroy Jerusalem, or to judge the world: shall he find faith on the earth ? either in the land of Judea, the believers being removed from thence, and scattered among the Gentiles, and not a man, at least in Jerusalem, that had any faith in Jesus, as the Messiah; or in the world at the last day: there will then be little of the doctrine of faith, and less of the grace of faith, and still less of the exercise of faith, particularly in prayer, and especially about the coming of Christ; it will be little thought of, and expected, or faith little exercised about it. With this agree some expressions in the Jewish writings f570 : Says R. Jose, the holy, blessed God, will not be revealed to Israel, but in the time, atwnmyhm jkta ald , that faith is not found among them. And elsewhere f571 , speaking of the times of the Messiah, and of a star that shall then appear, it is said when that star shall be seen in the world at that time mighty wars shall be stirred up in the world, on all the four sides, jkty al atwnmyhmw , and faith will not be found among them.
They seem to regard the first coming of the Messiah: and which was true with respect to the majority of their nation; and the same holds good with regard to his second coming; in the apocrypha it says: ``Nevertheless as coming the tokens, behold, the days shall come, that they which dwell upon earth shall be taken in a great number, and the way of truth shall be hidden, and the land shall be barren of faith. (2 Esdras 5:1) Ver. 9. And he spake this parable unto certain , etc.] Or with respect to certain men; having a view to them, in order to expose their pride, vanity, arrogance, and self confidence: which trusted in themselves that they were righteous ; or, as if they were righteous; or because they were so in their own eyes, and in the esteem of others: the ground of their trust and confidence were themselves, their hearts, and the supposed goodness of them, their outward holiness, their moral behaviour, their duties, and good works, their almsdeeds, and religious exercises, their ceremonial observances, and fleshly privileges; on account of which they thought themselves very righteous persons, such as could not fail of being accepted with God, and justified in his sight; whereas there are none righteous in, and of themselves, no, not one. All the descendants of Adam, as such, are sinners, destitute of a righteousness, and filled with all unrighteousness, and are enemies to true righteousness: no man is naturally righteous, nor is he capable of making himself so, by any thing he can do: none are righteous by their obedience to the law of works, for that is imperfect, and cannot justify before God, in whose sight no flesh living can be justified on this account, however righteous they may appear before men, or may be in their own eyes: for this is contrary to God's way of making men righteous, and would disannul the death of Christ, and encourage boasting in men. Such trust and confidence must be very vain, and arise from ignorance; from ignorance of God, of the perfection of his justice, and of the nature of his righteous law; and of themselves, of the impurity of their hearts, and the imperfection of their obedience. These were of the pharisaical sort, and of which complexion were the generality of the Jews; and many of these were now standing by Christ, and within the hearing of this parable, and for whose sake it was delivered: and despised others ; or, every man, as the Syriac and Persic versions read; all the rest of mankind, all but themselves; they made nothing of them, had them in no account; treated them as persons unworthy of the regard of God, and not fit to stand near them, or to be named with them.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-8 - All God's people are praying people. Here earnest steadiness in praye for spiritual mercies is taught. The widow's earnestness prevailed eve with the unjust judge: she might fear lest it should set him mor against her; but our earnest prayer is pleasing to our God. Even to the end there will still be ground for the same complaint of weakness of faith.
Greek Textus Receptus
λεγω 3004 5719 V-PAI-1S υμιν 5213 P-2DP οτι 3754 CONJ ποιησει 4160 5692 V-FAI-3S την 3588 T-ASF εκδικησιν 1557 N-ASF αυτων 846 P-GPM εν 1722 PREP ταχει 5034 N-DSN πλην 4133 ADV ο 3588 T-NSM υιος 5207 N-NSM του 3588 T-GSM ανθρωπου 444 N-GSM ελθων 2064 5631 V-2AAP-NSM αρα 687 PRT-I ευρησει 2147 5692 V-FAI-3S την 3588 T-ASF πιστιν 4102 N-ASF επι 1909 PREP της 3588 T-GSF γης 1093 N-GSF
Vincent's NT Word Studies
8. Nevertheless. Notwithstanding God is certain to vindicate, will the Son of man find on earth a persistence in faith answering to the widow's?
Robertson's NT Word Studies
18:8 {However} (plen). It is not clear whether this sentence is also a question or a positive statement. There is no way to decide. Either will make sense though not quite the same sense. The use of ara before heuresei seems to indicate a question expecting a negative answer as in #Ac 8:30; Ro 14:19. But here ara comes in the middle of the sentence instead of near the beginning, an unusual position for either inferential ara or interrogative ara. On the whole the interrogative ara is probably correct, meaning to question if the Son will find a persistence of faith like that of the widow.
