The Pharisee and the Tax Collector

⁹Jesus also told this parable to some people who were confident in their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else. ¹⁰"Two men went up to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector. ¹¹The Pharisee stood and prayed to himself, 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.' ¹²"I fast twice a week, and I give a tenth of all that I possess." ¹³But the tax collector stood at a distance. He wouldn't even look up toward heaven. Instead, he beat his chest and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' ¹⁴I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.