The passage
      v1. Jesus calls on his disciples to pray for God's just and final intervention in the world. Jesus is obviously thinking of his return in the last day. The liturgical version of this prayer is "come Lord Jesus", or simply, "thy kingdom come." So, Jesus encourages his disciples not to weary of praying for God's just intervention, for he will intervene. This is not an exhortation to repetitive prayer, but to constancy in prayer.
      v2-5. Jesus goes on to tell a story, a "how much more" illustration. He tells the story of a powerless widow seeking justice for her cause. Her problem is compounded by the character of the village magistrate; he has no respect toward God, nor toward his fellows. So, the magistrate simply ignores her. If she had the money for a bribe she might be able to secure justice, but she is a poor widow, so she turns to the only means at her disposal, her capacity to nag. She pesters the life out of him and so finally, gets what she wants, justice. As the magistrate observes, "I'd better give her what she wants otherwise her pestering will be the death of me."
      v6. Jesus asks his hearers to observe the response of the magistrate. Although an unlikely result, the magistrate gave the widow what she asked. The description "unjust" judge, possibly means "worldly", but "corrupt" is better.
      v7. Jesus now draws out a "how much more" principle. If an unjust judge will act for a poor widow, how much more will a just God act for his people? "Do you suppose God, patient as he is, will not see justice done for his chosen who appeal to him day and night?", J.B. Phillips.
      v8a. Jesus now applies the parable. The point he makes is that God, the just judge, will not abandon us to a world out of control, he will inevitably intervene and do so justly. As God's people keep praying "thy kingdom come", will he keep delaying his intervention for the sake of those who have yet to repent? The answer is "no", his forbearance toward those who oppose him has its limits. The living God will inevitably act for his people, and will do so "suddenly". God's just intervention for his people, realized in the coming of the Son of Man, in the coming of the kingdom, will occur "unexpectedly".
      v8b. The idea of the sudden return of Christ prompts a warning. In the day of the coming kingdom many of those who pray "thy kingdom come" will find themselves locked outside. So, let those who pray for God's just intervention in this age hold to that one necessary requirement for entry into the kingdom, namely, faith in Jesus Christ. Let us possess "a faith that perseveres in allegiance to Jesus", Darrell Bock.

Perseverance
      The Western democracies are wonderful places to live and breathe, free from persecution. Still, times are changing, and the Christian faith doesn't have the same level of acceptance it once had. Probably a good thing, because nominalism is not necessarily a blessing.
      What we find today is a general apathy toward the Christian faith; it is now just one of the many different spiritual paths. Our privileged position is no more. In the push and shove of the religious market-place we have to compete for market share; a new phenomenon for the Christian church. Of course, we are tending to lose out a bit.
      The sad state of Christianity in Western society can easily lead us to lose heart. We pray for the Lord to stand up for his people, we pray for his just intervention, but little seems to happen. Of course, Christ's "kingdom is not of this world" so we are often unaware of the effectiveness of our prayers. As for the future, we can be sure something will happen at the return of Christ, but all seems so far away. Will our God will act for his people?
      The answer, of course, is "yes indeed!" For our part, let us not lose heart in the waiting. The Lord Jesus has not forgotten us. He requires but one thing of us, that we persevere in faith.

v1
      elegen (legw) imperf. "Jesus told" - he was speaking. Durative.
      autoiV "his disciples" - to them. Presumably the disciples is intended.
      parabolhn (h) "a parable" - parable, proverb, story. Here an illustrative story, not to be confused with a kingdom parable which functions like a marsal, a riddle concerning the coming of the kingdom of God (the gospel).
      proV to acc. "to show" - to, toward. Possibly expressing purpose, although more likely an accusative of reference or respect, "toward the necessity of." So, either "in order to show that it is necessary", or "with reference to the necessity of"
      to dein (dei) pres. inf. "that" - it is necessary. Epexegetic infinitive, the substantive "reference" is assumed; "that it is necessary"
      pantote adv. "always" - duration of time, with reference to a series of occasions*. The "always" begins the "persistence" line which is so dominant in expositions of this passage. Plummer makes the point that "prayer in general is meant", but the context leads us toward prayer for vindication. Drawing a general principle from the exhortation is not unreasonable as long as the idea of "persistence", in the sense of "nagging", is avoided. "Continually", NJB, "keep on praying", REB, still promote the idea of perpetual arm-bending, whereas the idea of "consistency / perseverance", Johnson, is far better, "Jesus told them a story showing that it was necessary for them to pray consistently and never quit", Peterson.
      proseucesqai (prosercomai) pres. inf. "they should [always] pray" - [it is necessary always] to pray. Epexegetic infinitive explaining what is necessary. "They must always keep on praying", Barclay.
      mh egkakein (egkakew) pres. inf. "not give up" - not to be discouraged, not lose heart, weary, tired, give up due to discouragement. Epexegetic infinitive again. The object "prayer" is possibly to be understood, so "not give up praying", although given the context of the consummation of all things in the coming of the kingdom and of the great falling away, 17:22-37, the sense is of not giving up on God's promised "vindication", Nolland.

v2
      The parable of the Persistent Widow / Unjust Judge (both titles easily lead astray; how about "The parable of the Judge and the Widow", Bock?) is a "how much more" parable"; "if a widow's nagging causes a response in the unrighteous, how much more will the disciple's request be honored by a righteous God", Bock. If a powerless widow finally got an unjust judge to act for her, imagine the response from a righteous God toward his children. Sadly, the idea of "persistence in prayer" seems ingrained in the Christian psyche such that it dominates the exposition of this passage; "persistent, importunate prayer", Marshall. There is also a tendency to ignore the context and apply the principle of "persistence" to prayer in general, yet, "the parable of the Unjust Judge is an answer to the problem of survival in the face of persecution. Hence the point of the parable is not that persistent prayer will guarantee the petitioner anything he wants", Danker. Given the context, we can probably summarize the content of the prayer for which we "need to pray always" as "the coming of God's justice in the kingdom", Bock, or even better, "thy kingdom come." As for praying persistently, how about "faithfully", Tiede, or better, "consistently"? Can "many words" sway an almighty God?
      krithV "judge" - Typical of a village situation, a single "justice of the peace / magistrate" would settle matters of the law apart from the law-courts.
      mh foboumenoV (fobew) pres. pas. part. "neither fearing [God]" - not fearing. "Had no reverence for God", Barclay.
      mh entrepomenoV (entrepw) pres. mid. part. "nor cared about [men]" - not respecting, not regarding, not caring about, having no respect toward. Middle voice expressing "incapable of shame." This judge is unlikely to waste his time acting for a powerless, and probably unfinancial widow, since "neither the laws of God nor public opinion can stir his conscience", Manson, "Sayings".

v3
      hrceto (ercomai) imperf. "kept coming" - she was coming. The imperfect tense is durative so, "she constantly came to him", TH, possibly iterative expressing repeated action, so "she came to the judge over and over again."
      ekdikhson (endikew) aor. imp. "grant [me] justice" - avenge, procure justice for, protect juridically [from my opponent]. Procure justice, probably in the payment of whatever is due her, Plummer. "Protect me from the man who is trying to ruin me", Phillips.

v4
      epi cronon "for some time" - for a time. Referring to an undefined length of time, probably "for a long time", Marshall.
      ouk hqelen (qelw) imperf. "he refused" - he was not willing. Imperfect is durative indicating his continued refusal to act. What he was not willing to do, namely, adjudicate on the widow's legal matter, is assumed. Possibly because the widow had an influential opponent, so "would not dare", Marshall.
      meta tauta "finally" - after these things. Probably referring to "some time", so "after that some time", "later on" = "afterwards", TNT.
      ei kai "even though" - if indeed. Introducing the protasis of a conditional clause, 1st. class, translated as a concessive clause, "despite the fact that ...."; "although I don't fear God", Phillips.

v5
      dia ge "yet because" - Introducing the apodosis of the conditional clause. "Yet because she troubleth me", Plummer.
      to parecein pres. inf. "keeps [bothering me]" - to cause, to bring about [trouble (acc.) to me this widow (acc.)]. An accusative articular infinitive as part of a double accusative construction. Despite word order, "this widow" is probably the subject, "trouble" the direct object (although ref. Matthew Cripe), so "because of the fact that this widow gives me trouble", TH.
      ekdikhsw (edikew) fut. "I will see that [she] gets justice" - I will avenge, protect. "I will help this widow", CEV.
      iJna mh + subj. "so that [she] won't" - lest. Introducing a negated consecutive (consequence, result) clause, "as a result she cannot ...."; "not to have her ever coming and pestering me", Moffatt.
      uJpwpiazh/ (uJpopiazw) subj. "she ..... wear [me] out" - she may wear out [me]. The meaning of "strike severely under the eye / blacken the face" is weakened here to "exhaust / annoy / wear out", but something stronger is possible; "lest her visits end in causing me grave trouble", Creed.

v6
      eipen de "and [the Lord] said" - Indicating a break and so identifying the end of the parable.
      akousate (akouw) aor. imp. "listen" - hear. Possibly "listen" has a similar weight to "he who has ears to hear let him hear", although it is more likely that this phrase functions to invite the seeker to respond to the gospel (usually hidden within a kingdom parable). "Take note / listen now."
      thV adikiaV (a) gen. "[the] unjust [judge]" - unrighteous. The genitive noun is descriptive, "judge of unrighteousness", so functioning as an adjective modifying "judge"; "crooked judge", CEV.
      legei (legw) pres. "says" - Do we take Jesus literally and draw our application from what the judge said (and did) rather than from the story as a whole? Fitzmyer, for example, argues that the lesson must be drawn from the judge and his words and not the widow. Most others argue for a wider application, which is why we end up with the parable being used to promote the idea of "persistence in prayer." "This conclusion of the parable shifts the attention somewhat from the widow to the judge's conduct and way of thinking", Fitzmyer. "Notice how this dishonest magistrate behaved", Phillips.

v7
      ou mh poihsh/ (poiew) subj. "will not [God] bring about" - never may do. A subjunctive of emphatic negation in a interrogative clause expecting a strong positive "yes indeed" answer.
      thn ekdikhsin (iV ewV) "justice" - vengeance, punishment. Here, with the verb "do" expressing the sense of the punishment of persecutors etc., so "vindication", although as no specific offenders are identified, a more general sense is possibly better; "see justice done", TNT. None-the-less, given the context, "eschatological vindication" is probably intended, referring to "one of the days of the Son of Man", 17:22, "the day that the Son of Man is revealed", 17:30.
      twn eklektwn gen. adj. "for [his] chosen ones" - elect, chosen. Adjective used as a substantive; genitive expressing possession. The "elect / chosen" is the term used for God's special people, his children. Although the word "elect" identifies his special people, inclusion in this community is not necessarily by Divine election, that is, inclusion in God's elect people may well be by faith in Christ rather than by God's effectual call. This issue is constantly debated and the reader will need to arrive at their own conclusion.
      twn bowntwn pres. part. gen. "who cry out" - the ones crying out, screaming, shouting. Genitive, agreeing with "the chosen ones", it is they who cry out. The strength of this word takes us back to chapter 17 and the tribulation faced by God's elect as they await the coming of the Son of Man. Again supporting the specific nature of the prayer, a prayer for "vindication", "thy kingdom come."
      autw/ dat. "to him" - "To cry out to God" = "to cry out in prayer", TH.
      hJmeraV kai nuktoV "day and night" - Genitive of time. Pray "consistently", better than "persistently".
      kai - and. Here introducing a qualification. Still part of the original interrogative clause, so often translated as a separate interrogative clause expecting a positive answer, as NIV, yet probably better treated as introducing a concessive clause, "even though ....", NJB.
      makroqumei (makroqumew) pres. ind. "will he keep putting [them] off" - [and] his patience [with them]. The word is often used of God showing "forbearance / patience" with sinners, but here the "them" seems to refer to the "chosen ones." This, with the difficult syntax caused by the change in mood from subjunctive to indicative, has prompted numerous translations of the two clauses which make up this verse; see Marshall 674-675, also Bock 1450-1454. It does seem that the verse works better if "them" refers to "this generation", the sinful generation for whom the "chosen ones" "cry out" for "eschatological vindication." God's patience for this generation, his willingness to give time for repentance, will not hold indefinitely. The plight of God's people, as they face the tribulations of this present age, is of concern to God, such that their prayers for eschatological vindication will not fall on deaf ears; God will inevitably act for his people. "Do you suppose God, patient as he is ("indulgent with the opponents", Berkeley; "tolerant to their opponents", Moffatt), will not see justice done for his chosen who appeal to him day and night?", Phillips.
      epi + dat. "-" - over, on, at, to, toward. The sense here is ambiguous: "with reference/regard to", Manson, "Sayings"; "against", Cranfield.
      autoiV "them" - Probably not "the chosen ones", as noted above, but the chosen ones' "opponents", Manson, "Sayings"; "persecutors", Cranfield.

v8a
      legw uJmin "I tell you" - I say to you. Probably serving to underline what Jesus is about to say, similar to "truly, truly I say unto you."
      en taxei (oV) "quickly" - with/in speed. Often translated as "speedily", "quickly", "soon", although this sense probably gives too much weight to the delay for justice experienced by the widow in the parable. Jesus asks us to note the actions (words) of the unjust judge, not the persistence of the widow and her long wait for justice. It is more than likely that the intended sense reflects the unexpected return of the Son of Man, so "suddenly", Jeremias.