Luke 19:8

New King James Version

Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold."

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, I’ll give half of my possessions to the poor, Lord. And if I have extorted anything from anyone, I’ll pay back four times as much.”

King James Version (1611)
And Zacheus stood, and said vnto the Lord, Behold, Lord, the halfe of my goods I giue to the poore, & if I haue taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him foure fold.

King James Version
And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord: Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.

English Standard Version
And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold."

New American Standard Bible
But Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I am giving to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone, I am giving back four times as much."

New Century Version
But Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "I will give half of my possessions to the poor. And if I have cheated anyone, I will pay back four times more."

Amplified Bible
Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, "See, Lord, I am [now] giving half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone out of anything, I will give back four times as much."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much."

Legacy Standard Bible
But Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, "Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor, and if I have extorted anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much."

Berean Standard Bible
But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord, half of my possessions I give to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone, I will repay it fourfold."

Contemporary English Version
Later that day Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "I will give half of my property to the poor. And I will now pay back four times as much to everyone I have ever cheated."

Complete Jewish Bible
But Zakkai stood there and said to the Lord, "Here, Lord, I am giving half of all I own to the poor; and if I have cheated anyone, I will pay him back four times as much."

Darby Translation
But Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor, and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I return [him] fourfold.

Easy-to-Read Version
Zacchaeus said to the Lord, "I want to do good. I will give half of my money to the poor. If I have cheated anyone, I will pay them back four times more."

Geneva Bible (1587)
And Zaccheus stood forth, & said vnto the Lord, Beholde, Lord, the halfe of my goods I giue to the poore: and if I haue taken from any man by forged cauillation, I restore him foure folde.

George Lamsa Translation
But Zacchaeus rose up and said to Jesus, Behold, my Lord, half of my wealth I will give to the poor; and I will pay fourfold to every man from whom I have extorted.

Good News Translation
Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Listen, sir! I will give half my belongings to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone, I will pay back four times as much."

Lexham English Bible
And Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord, "Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I am giving to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone, I am paying it back four times as much!"

Literal Translation
But standing, Zaccheus said to the Lord, Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I give to the poor. And if in anything I accused anyone falsely, I restore it fourfold.

American Standard Version
And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have wrongfully exacted aught of any man, I restore fourfold.

Bible in Basic English
And Zacchaeus, waiting before him, said to the Lord, See, Lord, half of my goods I give to the poor, and if I have taken anything from anyone wrongly, I give him back four times as much.

Hebrew Names Version
Zakkai stood and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, half of my goods I give to the poor. If I have wrongfully exacted anything of anyone, I restore four times as much."

International Standard Version
Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Lord, I'll give half of my possessions to the poor. I'll pay four times as much as I oweas I owe">[fn] if I have cheated anyone in any way."Exodus 22:1; 1 Samuel 12:3; 2 Samuel 12:6; Luke 3:14;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
But Zakai stood, and said to Jeshu, Behold, my Lord, the dividing of my wealth give I to the poor; and to every man, whatever I have wrongfully taken, fourfold I restore.

Murdock Translation
And Zaccheus stood up, and said to Jesus: Behold, my Lord, the half of my riches I give to the poor; and to every man, whom I have wronged in any thing, I restore fourfold.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Zache stoode foorth, and sayde vnto the Lorde: Beholde Lorde, the halfe of my goodes I geue to the poore, and yf I haue taken from any man by forged cauillation, I restore him foure folde.

English Revised Version
And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have wrongfully exacted aught of any man, I restore fourfold.

World English Bible
Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, half of my goods I give to the poor. If I have wrongfully exacted anything of anyone, I restore four times as much."

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And Zaccheus stood and said to the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor, and if I have taken any thing from any man wrongfully, I restore him fourfold.

Weymouth's New Testament
Zacchaeus however stood up, and addressing the Lord said, "Here and now, Master, I give half my property to the poor, and if I have unjustly exacted money from any man, I pledge myself to repay to him four times the amount."

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
But Sache stood, and seide to the Lord, Lo! Lord, Y yyue the half of my good to pore men; and if Y haue ony thing defraudid ony man, Y yelde foure so myche.

Update Bible Version
And Zacchaeus stood, and said to the Lord, Look, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have wrongfully exacted anything of any man, I restore fourfold.

Webster's Bible Translation
And Zaccheus stood, and said to the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore [him] four-fold.

New English Translation
But Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord, half of my possessions I now give to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone of anything, I am paying back four times as much!"

New Living Translation
Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, "I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!"

New Life Bible
Zaccheus stood up and said to the Lord, "Lord, see! Half of what I own I will give to poor people. And if I have taken money from anyone in a wrong way, I will pay him back four times as much."

New Revised Standard
Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
But, taking his stand, Zacchaeus said unto the Lord - Lo! the half of my possessions, Lord, unto the destitute, I give; and, if, from anyone, I have taken aught by false accusation, I give back fourfold.

Douay-Rheims Bible
But Zacheus standing, said to the Lord: Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have wronged any man of any thing, I restore him fourfold.

Revised Standard Version
And Zacchae'us stood and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have defrauded any one of anything, I restore it fourfold."

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And zache stode forth and sayd vnto ye Lorde: beholde Lorde ye haulfe of my gooddes I geve to the povre and if I have done eny ma wroge I will restore him fower folde.

Young's Literal Translation
And Zaccheus having stood, said unto the Lord, `Lo, the half of my goods, sir, I give to the poor, and if of any one anything I did take by false accusation, I give back fourfold.'

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But Zacheus stode forth, and sayde vnto the LORDE: Beholde LORDE, the half of my goodes geue I to the poore: and yf I haue defrauded eny man, I restore him foure folde.

Mace New Testament (1729)
but Zaccheus address'd himself to Jesus, and said, Lord, half my estate I give to the poor; and if I have wrong'd any man, I will give him four times the value.

THE MESSAGE
Zacchaeus just stood there, a little stunned. He stammered apologetically, "Master, I give away half my income to the poor—and if I'm caught cheating, I pay four times the damages."

Simplified Cowboy Version
Later that evening during dinner, Zacc stood up in front of Jesus and said, "I am going to give half my wealth to the poor. I will also give back four times as much to all those I cheated on their brand inspections."

Contextual Overview

¹ Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. ² Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. ³ And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. ⁴ So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. ⁵ And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, [fn] and said to him, "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house." ⁶ So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. ⁷ But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, "He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner." ⁸ Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold." ⁹ And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; ¹⁰ for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Behold: Luke 3:8-13, Luke 11:41, Luke 12:33, Luke 16:9, Luke 18:22, Luke 18:23, Psalms 41:1, Acts 2:44-46, Acts 4:34, Acts 4:35, 2 Corinthians 8:7, 2 Corinthians 8:8, 1 Timothy 6:17, 1 Timothy 6:18, James 1:10, James 1:11

by false: Luke 3:14, Exodus 20:16

I restore: Exodus 22:1-4, Leviticus 6:1-6, 1 Samuel 12:3, 2 Samuel 12:6, Proverbs 6:31

Reciprocal: Exodus 23:1 - an unrighteous witness Leviticus 5:16 - make Leviticus 6:5 - restore Numbers 5:7 - with the principal Nehemiah 5:12 - We will restore Job 20:10 - his hands Ecclesiastes 5:13 - riches Isaiah 33:15 - despiseth Isaiah 58:7 - to deal Ezekiel 18:17 - hath taken Ezekiel 22:12 - greedily Ezekiel 33:15 - give Matthew 5:23 - rememberest Luke 3:11 - He that hath two Luke 3:13 - Exact Acts 2:45 - sold Acts 26:20 - and do 1 Corinthians 13:3 - though I bestow Ephesians 4:28 - steal no more

Cross-References

Genesis 18:5
And I will bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by, inasmuch as you have come to your servant." They said, "Do as you have said."

Genesis 19:31
Now the firstborn said to the younger, "Our father is old, and there is no man on the earth to come in to us as is the custom of all the earth.

Genesis 19:38
And the younger, she also bore a son and called his name Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the people of Ammon to this day.

Genesis 42:37
Then Reuben spoke to his father, saying, "Kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you; put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you."

Exodus 32:22
So Aaron said, "Do not let the anger of my lord become hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil.

Judges 9:15
And the bramble said to the trees, "If in truth you anoint me as king over you, Then come and take shelter in my shade; But if not, let fire come out of the bramble And devour the cedars of Lebanon!'

Judges 19:24
Look, here is my virgin daughter and the man's [fn] concubine; let me bring them out now. Humble them, and do with them as you please; but to this man do not do such a vile thing!"

Isaiah 58:7
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh?

Mark 9:6
because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid.

Romans 3:8
And why not say, "Let us do evil that good may come"?--as we are slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say. Their condemnation is just.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Zacchaeus stood,.... Before Christ, in respect to him, and reverence of him; and in the presence of others, to make a public confession before them, and that they might all hear it, when come to his own house:

and said unto the Lord; that is, to "Jesus", as the Syriac and Persic versions, and some copies read; he addressed himself to Christ, and made his confession to him, as the Israelite, when he brought the basket of the firstfruits to the priest, confessed before the Lord his God, Deuteronomy 26:4. And the rather Zacchaeus directed his speech to Christ, being, as he was now convinced, the discerner of the thoughts, and intents of the heart; who knew the genuineness of his repentance, that it was hearty and real; and the sincerity of his expressions and resolutions, and upon what principles he acted, and proposed to do as follows:

behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give unto the poor; not to make satisfaction for the sins he had committed, but to testify his sense of them, and his repentance for them, and as willing to do good with what he had gotten; which shows, that the disposition of his mind was altered, and of a covetous oppressor, he was become tender, kind, and liberal. According to an order made by the Jews in Usha, a man might not give away more than a fifth part of his estate, unless in some extraordinary cases u; and we read of one, that gave a "third" part of his goods to the poor w; and of another, that gave, as here, half of his mammon, or wealth x; and another, half of his food to the poor y; and of another, that gave away all his goods to them z; see 1 Corinthians 13:3; to give a tenth part, was reckoned a medium a:

and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation; or by extorting any thing from him on any pretence, by making an unjust demand upon him; or in any oppressive way, by defrauding and tricking, and by doing him any injury, in any form or manner:

I restore him fourfold: the same that was done in case of sheep stealing, Exodus 22:1 but in such a case as this, the law only required the principal, with the fifth part added to it; see Leviticus 6:5 but Zacchaeus proposes as much as in the case of theft, and which was rarely used. The Jews b say,

"that the manner of paying double, was more used than the manner of paying fourfold, or fivefold; for the manner of paying double was used, both in things animate and inanimate; but the manner of paying fourfold and fivefold, was used but with respect to an ox, and a sheep only.''

This was done by Zacchaeus, to show the truth and reality of his repentance; for with that nation,

"the repentance of shepherds, and of collectors, and of "publicans", is said c to be very difficult:''

the reason given by the gloss is, because they rob many, and do not know who to return to.

u T. Bab. Cetubot, fol. 50. 1. & Maimon. in Misn. Peah, c. 1, sect 1. w T. Bab. Menachot, fol. 44. 1. x T. Bab. Cetubot, fol. 67. 2. y Juchasin, fol. 105. 2. z T. Hieros. Peah, fol. 15. 2. a Maimon. Hilch. Mattanot Anayim, c. 7. sect. 5. b Misna Bava Kama, c. 7. sect. 1. c T. Bab. Bava Kama, fol. 94. 2.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The half of my goods I give to the poor - It is not necessary to understand this as affirming that this “had” been his practice, or that he said this in the way of proclaiming his own righteousness. It maybe understood rather as a purpose which he “then” formed under the teaching of Christ. He seems to have been sensible that he was a sinner. Of this he was convinced, as we may suppose, by the presence and discourse of Jesus. At first, attracted only by curiosity, or, it may be, by partial conviction that this was the Messiah, he had sought to see the Saviour; but his presence and conversation convinced him of his guilt, and he stood and openly confessed his sins, and expressed his purpose to give half his ill-gotten property to the poor. This was not a proclamation of his “own” righteousness, nor the “ground” of his righteousness, but it was the “evidence” of the sincerity of his repentance, and the confession which with the mouth is made unto salvation, Romans 10:10.

And if I have taken - His office gave him the power of oppressing the people, and it seems that he did not deny that it had been done.

By false accusation - This is the same word which in Luke 3:14 is rendered “neither accuse any falsely.” The accusation seems to have been so made that the person accused was obliged to pay much greater taxes, or so that his property came into the hands of the informer. There are many ways in which this might be done, but we do not know the exact manner.

I restore him - We cannot suppose that this had been always his practice, for no man would wantonly extort money from another, and then restore him at once four times as much; but it means that he was made sensible of his guilt; perhaps that his mind had been a considerable time perplexed in the matter, and that now he was resolved to make the restoration. This was the “evidence” of his penitence and conversion. And here it may be remarked that this is “always” an indisputable evidence of a man’s conversion to God. A man who has hoarded ill-gotten gold, if he becomes a Christian, will be disposed to do good with it. A man who has injured others - who has cheated them or defrauded them, “even by due forms of law,” must, if he be a Christian, be willing, as far as possible, to make restoration. Zacchaeus, for anything that appears to the contrary, may have obtained this property by the decisions of courts of justice, but he now felt that it was wrong; and though the defrauded people could not “legally” recover it, yet his conscience told him that, in order to his being a true penitent, he must make restitution. One of the best evidences of true conversion is when it produces this result; and one of the surest evidences that a “professed” penitent is not a “true” one, is when he is “not” disposed to follow the example of this son of Abraham and make proper restitution.

Four-fold - Four times as much as had been unjustly taken. This was the amount that was required in the Jewish law when a sheep had been stolen, and a man was convicted of the theft by trial at law, Exodus 22:1. If he “confessed” it himself, without being “detected” and tried, he had only to restore what was stolen, and add to it a fifth part of its value, Numbers 5:6-7. The sincerity of Zacchaeus’ repentance was manifest by his being willing to make restoration as great as if it had been proved against him, evincing “his sense” of the wrong, and his purpose to make full restitution. The Jews were allowed to take “no interest” of their brethren Leviticus 25:35-36, and this is the reason why that is not mentioned as the measure of the restitution. When injury of this kind is done in other places, the least that is proper is to restore the principal and interest; for the injured person has a right “to all” that his property would have procured him if it had not been unjustly taken away.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Luke 19:8. The half of my goods I give to the poor — Probably he had already done so for some time past; though it is generally understood that the expressions only refer to what he now purposed to do.

If I have taken any thing - by false accusation — εσυκοφαντησα, from συκον, a fig, and φαινω, I show or declare; for among the primitive Athenians, when the use of that fruit was first found out, or in the time of a dearth, when all sorts of provisions were exceedingly scarce, it was enacted that no figs should be exported from Attica; and this law (not being actually repealed, when a plentiful harvest had rendered it useless, by taking away the reason of it) gave occasion to ill-natured and malicious fellows to accuse all persons they found breaking the letter of it; and from them all busy informers have ever since been branded with the name of sycophants. POTTER's Antiq. vol. i. c. 21, end.

I restore him fourfold.] This restitution the Roman laws obliged the tax-gatherers to make, when it was proved they had abused their power by oppressing the people. But here was no such proof: the man, to show the sincerity of his conversion, does it of his own accord. He who has wronged his fellow must make restitution, if he have it in his power. He that does not do so cannot expect the mercy of God. See the observations at the end of Genesis 42:0, and Numbers 5:7.