Sirach 35:17

Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus
Deuterocanon

14 Do not offer him a bribe, for he will not accept it; 15 and do not rely on a dishonest sacrifice; for the Lord is the judge, and with him there is no partiality. 16 He will not show partiality to the poor; but he will listen to the prayer of one who is wronged. 17 He will not ignore the supplication of the orphan, or the widow when she pours out her complaint. 18 Do not the tears of the widow run down her cheek 19 as she cries out against the one who causes them to fall? 20 The one whose service is pleasing to the Lord will be accepted, and his prayer will reach to the clouds.

Luke 18:3

New Testament

1 Then Jesus told them a parable to show them they should always pray and not lose heart. 2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected people. 3 There was also a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 4 For a while he refused, but later on he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor have regard for people, 5 yet because this widow keeps on bothering me, I will give her justice, or in the end she will wear me out by her unending pleas.’” 6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unrighteous judge says! 7 Won’t God give justice to his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he delay long to help them? 8 I tell you, he will give them justice speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

 Notes and References

"... This parable is deeply embedded in traditional Middle Eastern public chivalry toward women, and needs to be compared to a similar account composed more than two hundred years earlier in a book titled the Wisdom of Ben Sirach (or Ecclesiasticus). This book is often referred to as deutero-canonical and is read as Scripture by Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Christians ... Clearly, there are similarities and differences between the words of Sirach and Jesus ... the Jewish tradition expected that the masal (the parable) should be accompanied by its nimsal (that extra bit of information that the listener/reader needed to understand the parable) ..."

Bailey, Kenneth E. Jesus through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels (pp. 261-268) InterVarsity Press, 2008

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