Luke 11
1 And it came about that he was in prayer in a certain place, and when he came to an end, one of his disciples said to him, Lord, will you give us teaching about prayer, as John did to his disciples?
At one place where He was praying, when He rose from His knees one of His disciples said to Him, "Master, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples."
2 And he said to them, When you say your prayers, say, Father, may your name be kept holy and your kingdom come.
So He said to them, "When you pray, say, 'Father may Thy name be kept holy; let Thy Kingdom come;
3 Give us every day bread for our needs.
give us day after day our bread for the day;
4 May we have forgiveness for our sins, as we make free all those who are in debt to us. And let us not be put to the test.
and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive every one who fails in his duty to us; and bring us not into temptation.'"
5 And he said to them, Which of you, having a friend, would go to him in the middle of the night and say to him, Friend, let me have three cakes of bread;
And He said to them, "Which of you shall have a friend and shall go to him in the middle of the night and say, "'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread;
6 Because a friend of mine has come to me on a journey, and I have nothing to put before him;
for a friend of mine has just come to my house from a distance, and I have nothing for him to eat'?
7 And he, from inside the house, would say in answer, Do not be a trouble to me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; it is not possible for me to get up and give to you?
"And he from indoors shall answer, "'Do not pester me. The door is now barred, and I am here in bed with my children. I cannot get up and give you bread.'
8 I say to you, Though he will not get up and give to him, because he is his friend, still, if he keeps on making his request, he will get up and give him as much as he has need of.
"I tell you that even if he will not rise and give him the loaves because he is his friend, at any rate because of his persistency he will rouse himself and give him as many as he requires.
9 And I say to you, Make requests, and they will be answered; what you are searching for, you will get; when you give the sign, the door will be open to you.
"So I say to you, 'Ask, and what you ask for shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and the door shall be opened to you.'
10 For to everyone who makes a request, it will be given; and he who is searching will get his desire; and to him who gives the sign, the door will be open.
For every one who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, the door shall be opened.
11 And which of you, being a father, will give a stone to his son, who makes request for bread? or for a fish, will give him a snake?
And what father is there among you, who, if his son asks for a slice of bread, will offer him a stone? or if he asks for a fish, will instead of a fish offer him a snake?
12 Or for an egg, will give him a scorpion?
or if he asks for an egg, will offer him a scorpion?
13 If, then, you who are evil are able to give good things to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who make request to him?
If you then, with all your human frailty, know how to give your children gifts that are good for them, how much more certainly will your Father who is in Heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"
14 And he was sending an evil spirit out of a man who was without the power of talking. And it came about that when the spirit had gone the man had the power of talking; and the people were full of wonder.
On once occasion He was expelling a dumb demon; and when the demon was gone out the dumb man could speak, and the people were astonished.
15 But some of them said, He sends out evil spirits by Beelzebul, the ruler of evil spirits.
But some among them said, "It is by the power of Baal-zebul, the Prince of the demons, that he expels the demons."
16 And others, testing him, were looking for a sign from heaven from him.
Others, to put Him to the test, asked Him for a sign in the sky.
17 But he, having knowledge of their thoughts, said to them, Every kingdom in which there is division is made waste; and a house in which there is division comes to destruction.
And, knowing their thoughts, He said to them, "Every kingdom in which civil war rages goes to ruin: family attacks family and is overthrown.
18 If, then, Satan is at war with himself, how will he keep his kingdom? because you say that I send evil spirits out of men by the help of Beelzebul.
And if Satan really has engaged in fierce conflict with himself, how shall his kingdom stand?--because you say that I expel demons by the power of Baal-zebul.
19 And if I, by Beelzebul, send out evil spirits, by whose help do your sons send them out? so let them be your judges.
And if it is by the power of Baal-zebul that I expel the demons, by whom do your disciples expel them? They therefore shall be your judges.
20 But if I, by the finger of God, send out evil spirits, then the kingdom of God has overtaken you.
But if it is by the power of God that I drive out the demons, it is evident that the Kingdom of God has come upon you.
21 When the strong man armed keeps watch over his house, then his goods are safe:
"Whenever a strong man, fully armed and equipped, is guarding his own castle, he enjoys peaceful possession of his property;
22 But when one who is stronger makes an attack on him and overcomes him, he takes away his instruments of war, in which he had put his faith, and makes division of his goods.
but as soon as another stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away that complete armour of his in which he trusted, and distributes the plunder he has collected.
23 He who is not with me is against me, and he who will not give me help in getting people together is driving them away.
Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever is not gathering with me is scattering abroad.
24 The unclean spirit, when he has gone out of a man, goes through dry places, looking for rest; and when he does not get it, he says, I will go back to my house from which I came.
"When a foul spirit has left a man, it roams about in the Desert, seeking a resting-place; but, unable to find any, it says, 'I will return to the house I have left;"
25 And when he comes, he sees that it has been made fair and clean.
and when it comes, it finds the house swept clean and in good order.
26 Then he goes and gets seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they go in, and take their places there: and the last condition of that man is worse than the first.
Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more malignant than itself, and they enter and dwell there; and in the end that man's condition becomes worse than it was at first.
27 And it came about that when he said these things, a certain woman among the people said in a loud voice, Happy is the body which gave you birth, and the breasts from which you took milk.
As He thus spoke a woman in the crowd called out in a loud voice, "Blessed is the mother who carried you, and the breasts that you have sucked."
28 But he said, More happy are they who give hearing to the word of God and keep it.
"Nay rather," He replied, "they are blessed who hear God's Message and carefully keep it."
29 And when a great number of people came together to him, he said, This generation is an evil generation: it is looking for a sign and no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah.
Now when the crowds came thronging upon Him, He proceeded to say, "The present generation is a wicked generation: it requires some sign, but no sign shall be given to it except that of Jonah.
30 For even as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of man be to this generation.
For just as Jonah became a sign to the men of Nineveh, so the Son of Man will be a token to the present generation.
31 The queen of the South will come up on the day of judging and give her decision against the men of this generation: for she came from the ends of the earth to give ear to the wisdom of Solomon; and now something greater than Solomon is here.
The Queen of the South will awake at the Judgement together with the men of the present generation, and will condemn them; because she came from the extremity of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; but mark! One greater than Solomon is here.
32 The men of Nineveh will come up in the day of judging and give their decision against this generation: for they were turned away from their sins at the preaching of Jonah; but now something greater than Jonah is here.
There will stand up men of Nineveh at the Judgement together with the present generation, and will condemn it; because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and mark! One greater than Jonah is here.
33 No man, when the light has been lighted, puts it in a secret place, or under a vessel, but on its table, so that those who come in may see the light.
"When any one lights a lamp, he never puts it in the cellar or under the bushel, but on the lampstand, that people who come in may see the light.
34 The light of the body is the eye: when your eye is true, all your body is full of light; but when it is evil, your body is dark.
The lamp of the body is the eye. When your eyesight is good, your whole body also is lighted up; but when it is defective, your body is darkened.
35 So take care that the light which is in you is not dark.
Consider therefore whether the light that is in you is anything but mere darkness.
36 If, then, all your body is light, with no part of it dark, it will be completely full of light, as when a flame with its bright shining gives you light.
If, however, your whole body is penetrated with light, and has no part dark, it will be so lighted, all of it, as when the lamp with its bright shining gives you light."
37 Now, while he was talking, a Pharisee made a request that he would come to a meal with him; and he went in and took his seat at the meal.
When He had thus spoken, a Pharisee invited Him to breakfast at his house; so He entered and took His place at table.
38 And when the Pharisee saw it, he was surprised because he came to the meal without first washing himself.
Now the Pharisee saw to his surprise that He did not wash His hands before breakfasting.
39 And the Lord said to him, You Pharisees make the outside of the cup and the plate clean; but inside you are thieves and full of evil.
The Master however said to him, "Here we see how you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup or plate, while your secret hearts are full of greed and selfishness.
40 O you foolish ones! did not he who made the outside in the same way make the inside?
Foolish men! Did not He who made the outside make the inside also?
41 But if you give to the poor such things as you are able, then all things are clean to you.
But as to what is within, give alms, and instantly all is clean in you.
42 But a curse is on you, Pharisees! for you make men give a tenth of every sort of plant, and give no thought to right and the love of God; but it is right for you to do these things, and not let the others be undone.
"But alas for you Pharisees! for you pay tithes on your mint and rue and every kind of garden vegetable, and are indifferent to justice and the love of God. These are the things you ought to have attended to, while not neglecting the others.
43 A curse is on you, Pharisees! for your desires are for the most important seats in the Synagogues and for words of respect said to you in the market-place.
Alas for you Pharisees! for you love the best seats in the synagogues, and you like to be bowed to in places of public resort.
44 A curse is on you! for you are like the resting-places of dead men, which are not seen, and men go walking over them without knowledge of it.
Alas for you! for you are like the tombs which lie hidden, and the people who walk over them are not aware of their existence."
45 And one of the teachers of the law, answering, said to him, Master, in saying this, you give a bad name to us as to them.
Hereupon one of the expounders of the Law exclaimed, "Rabbi, in saying such things you reproach us also."
46 And he said, A curse is on you, teachers of the law! for while other men are crushed under the weight of the rules you make for them, you yourselves do not put so much as one finger to them.
"Alas too for you expounders of the Law!" replied Jesus, "for you load men with cumbrous burdens which you yourselves will not touch with one of your fingers.
47 A curse is on you! for you make resting-places for the bodies of the prophets, but your fathers put them to death.
Alas for you! for you repair the tombs of the Prophets, whom your forefathers killed.
48 So you are witnesses and give approval to the work of your fathers; for they put them to death and you make their last resting-places.
It follows that you bear testimony to the actions of your forefathers and that you fully approve thereof. They slew, you build.
49 For this reason the wisdom of God has said, I will send them prophets and teachers, and to some of them they will give death and cruel pains;
"For this reason also the Wisdom of God has said, 'I will send Prophets and Apostles to them, of whom they will kill some and persecute others,'
50 So that punishment may come on this generation for the blood of all the prophets which was given from the earliest days;
so that the blood of all the Prophets, that is being shed from the creation of the world onwards, may be required from the present generation.
51 From the blood of Abel to the blood of Zachariah, who was put to death between the altar and the Temple. Yes, I say to you, It will come on this generation.
Yes, I tell you that, from the blood of Abel down to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the House, it shall all be required from the present generation.
52 A curse is on you, teachers of the law! for you have taken away the key of knowledge: you did not go in yourselves, and you got in the way of those who were going in.
"Alas for you expounders of the Law! for you have taken away the key of knowledge: you yourselves have not entered, and those who wanted to enter you have hindered."
53 And when he had come out of that place, the scribes and the Pharisees came round him angrily, questioning him about more things;
After He had left the house, the Scribes and Pharisees commenced a vehement attempt to entangle Him and make Him give off-hand answers on numerous points,
54 And watching him, for a chance to get something from his words which might be used against him.
lying in wait to catch some unguarded expression from His lips.
