Luke 11

The Lord’s Prayer

1And it happened that while he was praying in a certain place, when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.” 2And he said to 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 ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.

And do not bring us into testing.’”

Ask, Seek, Knock

5And he said to them, “Which of you will have a friend and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, 6since a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; 7and that one inside will answer and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door has already been shut, and my children are with me in bed; I am not able to rise and give to you’?

8I say to you, even if he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him whatever he needs. 9And I say to you: ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

11What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a snake? 12Or also if he asks for an egg, will he give him a scorpion? 13If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father from heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Jesus and Beelzebul

14And he was casting out a demon that was mute; and it happened when the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the crowds marveled. 15But some of them said, “By Beelzebul, the ruler of demons, he casts out demons.” 16And others, testing him, were seeking from him a sign from heaven.

17But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a house divided against a house falls. 18And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. 19And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 20But if by the finger of God I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

21When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own courtyard, his possessions are in peace; 22but when one stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and distributes his spoils. 23The one who is not with me is against me, and the one who does not gather with me scatters.

Return of an Unclean Spirit

24“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and not finding it, it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ 25And coming, it finds it swept and put in order. 26Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more evil than itself, and entering they dwell there; and the last state of that person becomes worse than the first.”

True Blessedness

27And it happened as he was saying these things, a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that you nursed!” 28But he said, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it.”

The Sign of Jonah

29And as the crowds were increasing, he began to say, “This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. 30For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation.

31The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. 32The men of Nineveh will stand up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

The Lamp of the Body

33“No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a hidden place nor under a basket, but on a stand, so that those entering may see the light. 34The lamp of the body is your eye. When your eye is healthy, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is bad, your body also is full of darkness. 35Therefore see that the light that is in you is not darkness. 36If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, as when a lamp with its rays gives you light.”

Woes to the Pharisees and Lawyers

37And while he was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him, and entering he reclined at table. 38And the Pharisee, seeing it, marveled that he had not first washed before the meal. 39But the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, but your inside is full of greed and wickedness. 40Foolish ones! Did not the one who made the outside also make the inside?

41But give what is inside as alms, and behold, everything is clean for you. 42But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and pass over justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. 43Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the first seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. 44Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it.”

45And answering, one of the lawyers said to him, “Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.” 46And he said, “Woe also to you lawyers! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. 47Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. 48So you are witnesses and approve the works of your fathers, because they killed them, and you build their tombs.

49For this reason also the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send to them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,’ 50so that the blood of all the prophets shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, 51from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary; yes, I say to you, it will be required of this generation. 52Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not enter yourselves, and those who were entering you hindered.”

53And as he went out from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things, 54lying in wait for him, to catch something from his mouth.