Luke 13:1-9

Contemporary English Version

Turn Back to God

13 About this same time Jesus was told that Pilate had given orders for some people from Galilee to be killed while they were offering sacrifices. ² Jesus replied:

Do you think that these people were worse sinners than everyone else in Galilee just because of what happened to them? ³ Not at all! But you can be sure that if you don't turn back to God, every one of you will also be killed. ⁴ What about those 18 people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them? Do you think they were worse than everyone else in Jerusalem? ⁵ Not at all! But you can be sure that if you don't turn back to God, every one of you will also die.

A Story about a Fig Tree

⁶ Jesus then told them this story:

A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard. One day he went out to pick some figs, but he didn't find any. ⁷ So he said to the gardener, “For three years I have come looking for figs on this tree, and I haven't found any yet. Chop it down! Why should it take up space?”

⁸ The gardener answered, “Master, leave it for another year. I'll dig around it and put some manure on it to make it grow. ⁹ Maybe it will have figs on it next year. If it doesn't, you can have it cut down.”