Luke 11

₁Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” ₂And he said to them, “When you pray, say:

₅And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, ₆for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; ₇and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? ₈I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudencehe will rise and give him whatever he needs. ₉And I tell 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 fora fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; ₁₂or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? ₁₃If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

₁₄Now he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled. ₁₅But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,” ₁₆while others, to test him, kept 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 divided household 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 it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. ₂₁When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; ₂₂but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil. ₂₃Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

₂₄“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ ₂₅And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. ₂₆Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first.”

₂₇As he said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” ₂₈But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

₂₉When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, “This generation is an evil generation. It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. ₃₀For as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. ₃₁The queen of the South will rise up 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 behold, something greater than Solomon is here. ₃₂The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

₃₃“No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. ₃₄Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. ₃₅Therefore be careful lest the light in you be 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.”

₃₇While Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at table. ₃₈The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner. ₃₉And the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. ₄₀You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? ₄₁But give as alms those things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you.

₄₂“But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. ₄₃Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best 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.”

₄₅One of the lawyers answered him, “Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.” ₄₆And he said, “Woe to you lawyers also! 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 whom your fathers killed. ₄₈So you are witnesses and you consent to the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. ₄₉Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’ ₅₀so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, ₅₁from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell 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 you hindered those who were entering.”

₅₃As he went away 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 him in something he might say.