Luke 11

¹And it came to pass, as he was praying in a certain place, that when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, even as John also taught his disciples.

²And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Father, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come.

³Give us day by day our daily bread.

⁴And forgive us our sins; for we ourselves also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And bring us not into temptation.

⁵And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say to him, Friend, lend me three loaves;

⁶for a friend of mine is come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him;

⁷and he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee?

⁸I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will arise and give him as many as he needeth.

⁹And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

¹⁰For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

¹¹And of which of you that is a father shall his son ask a loaf, and he give him a stone? or a fish, and he for a fish give him a serpent?

¹²Or if he shall ask an egg, will he give him a scorpion?

¹³If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

¹⁴And he was casting out a demon that was dumb. And it came to pass, when the demon was gone out, the dumb man spake; and the multitudes marvelled.

¹⁵But some of them said, By Beelzebub the prince of the demons casteth he out demons.

¹⁶And others, trying him, sought of him a sign from heaven.

¹⁷But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth.

¹⁸And if Satan also is divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out demons by Beelzebub.

¹⁹And if I by Beelzebub cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges.

²⁰But if I by the finger of God cast out demons, then is the kingdom of God come upon you.

²¹When the strong man fully armed guardeth his own court, his goods are in peace:

²²but when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him his whole armor wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils.

²³He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth.

²⁴The unclean spirit when he is gone out of the man, passeth through waterless places, seeking rest, and finding none, he saith, I will turn back unto my house whence I came out.

²⁵And when he is come, he findeth it swept and garnished.

²⁶Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more evil than himself; and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man becometh worse than the first.

²⁷And it came to pass, as he said these things, a certain woman out of the multitude lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the breasts which thou didst suck.

²⁸But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.

²⁹And when the multitudes were gathering together unto him, he began to say, This generation is an evil generation: it seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it but the sign of Jonah.

³⁰For even as Jonah became a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation.

³¹The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and shall condemn them: for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

³²The men of Nineveh shall stand up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, a greater than Jonah is here.

³³No man, when he hath lighted a lamp, putteth it in a cellar, neither under the bushel, but on the stand, that they which enter in may see the light.

³⁴The lamp of thy body is thine eye: when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when it is evil, thy body also is full of darkness.

³⁵Look therefore whether the light that is in thee be not darkness.

³⁶If therefore thy whole body be full of light, having no part dark, it shall be wholly full of light, as when the lamp with its bright shining doth give thee light.

³⁷Now as he spake, a Pharisee asketh him to dine with him: and he went in, and sat down to meat.

³⁸And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he had not first bathed himself before dinner.

³⁹And the Lord said unto him, Now ye the Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the platter; but your inward part is full of extortion and wickedness.

⁴⁰Ye foolish ones, did not he that made the outside make the inside also?

⁴¹But give for alms those things which are within; and behold, all things are clean unto you.

⁴²But woe unto you Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and every herb, and pass over justice and the love of God: but these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

⁴³Woe unto you Pharisees! for ye love the chief seats in the synagogues, and the salutations in the marketplaces.

⁴⁴Woe unto you! for ye are as the tombs which appear not, and the men that walk over them know it not.

⁴⁵And one of the lawyers answering saith unto him, Teacher, in saying this thou reproachest us also.

⁴⁶And he said, Woe unto you lawyers also! for ye load men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers.

⁴⁷Woe unto you! for ye build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.

⁴⁸So ye are witnesses and consent unto the works of your fathers: for they killed them, and ye build their tombs.

⁴⁹Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send unto them prophets and apostles; and some of them they shall kill and persecute;

⁵⁰that the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;

⁵¹from the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zachariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary: yea, I say unto you, it shall be required of this generation.

⁵²Woe unto you lawyers! for ye took away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.

⁵³And when he was come out from thence, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press upon him vehemently, and to provoke him to speak of many things;

⁵⁴laying wait for him, to catch something out of his mouth.

Luke 11

¹One day in a place where Jesus had just finished praying, one of His disciples requested, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

²So Jesus told them, “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come.

³Give us each day our daily bread.

⁴And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’”

⁵Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose one of you goes to his friend at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,

⁶because a friend of mine has come to me on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him.’

⁷And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Do not bother me. My door is already shut, and my children and I are in bed. I cannot get up to give you anything.’

⁸I tell you, even though he will not get up to provide for him because of his friendship, yet because of the man’s persistence, he will get up and give him as much as he needs.

⁹So I tell you: Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.

¹⁰For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

¹¹What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?

¹²Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?

¹³So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

¹⁴One day Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. And when the demon was gone, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowds were amazed,

¹⁵but some of them said, “It is by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons, that He drives out demons.”

¹⁶And others tested Him by demanding a sign from heaven.

¹⁷Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste, and a house divided against a house will fall.

¹⁸If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? After all, you say that I drive out demons by Beelzebul.

¹⁹And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive them out? So then, they will be your judges.

²⁰But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

²¹When a strong man, fully armed, guards his house, his possessions are secure.

²²But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted, and then he divides up his plunder.

²³He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

²⁴When an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it passes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’

²⁵On its return, it finds the house swept clean and put in order.

²⁶Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and dwell there. And the final plight of that man is worse than the first.”

²⁷As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and blessed are the breasts that nursed You!”

²⁸But He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

²⁹As the crowds were increasing, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.

³⁰For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so the Son of Man will be a sign to this generation.

³¹The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and now One greater than Solomon is here.

³²The men of Nineveh will stand at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now One greater than Jonah is here.

³³No one lights a lamp and puts it in a cellar or under a basket. Instead, he sets it on a stand, so those who enter can see the light.

³⁴Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body is full of darkness.

³⁵Be careful, then, that the light within you is not darkness.

³⁶So if your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, you will be radiant, as though a lamp were shining on you.”

³⁷As Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee invited Him to dine with him; so He went in and reclined at the table.

³⁸But the Pharisee was surprised to see that Jesus did not first wash before the meal.

³⁹“Now then,” said the Lord, “you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.

⁴⁰You fools! Did not the One who made the outside make the inside as well?

⁴¹But give as alms the things that are within you, and you will see that everything is clean for you.

⁴²Woe to you Pharisees! You pay tithes of mint, rue, and every herb, but you disregard justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without neglecting the former.

⁴³Woe to you Pharisees! You love the chief seats in the synagogues and the greetings in the marketplaces.

⁴⁴Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, which men walk over without even noticing.”

⁴⁵One of the experts in the law told Him, “Teacher, when You say these things, You insult us as well.”

⁴⁶“Woe to you as well, experts in the law!” He replied. “You weigh men down with heavy burdens, but you yourselves will not lift a finger to lighten their load.

⁴⁷Woe to you! You build tombs for the prophets, but it was your fathers who killed them.

⁴⁸So you are witnesses consenting to the deeds of your fathers: They killed the prophets, and you build their tombs.

⁴⁹Because of this, the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles; some of them they will kill and others they will persecute.’

⁵⁰As a result, this generation will be charged with the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the foundation of the world,

⁵¹from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, all of it will be charged to this generation.

⁵²Woe to you experts in the law! For you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.”

⁵³As Jesus went on from there, the scribes and Pharisees began to oppose Him bitterly and to ply Him with questions about many things,

⁵⁴waiting to catch Him in something He might say.