Luke 11
1 When he finished praying in a certain place, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.”
Once Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples asked him, “Lord, please teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
2 He said to them, “When you pray, say, ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
Jesus told them, “When you pray, say, ‘Father, let your name be honored as holy. May your kingdom come.
3 Give us day by day our daily bread.
Give us every day the food we need.
4 Forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’”
Forgive us our sins, just as we forgive everyone who sins against us. Keep us from temptation.’”
5 He said to them, “Which of you, if you go to a friend at midnight and tell him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,
Jesus went on to tell them, “Say you have a friend and you go to him in the middle of the night and ask, ‘My friend, lend me three loaves of bread
6 for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him,’
because a friend of mine has come to visit me, and I don't have any food to give him.’
7 and he from within will answer and say, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I can’t get up and give it to you’?
Your friend in the house might reply, ‘Don't bother me—I've already locked the door, and I and my children have gone to bed. I can't get up to give you anything now.’
8 I tell you, although he will not rise and give it to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence, he will get up and give him as many as he needs.
I tell you, even though he refuses to get up and give you anything, despite you being his friend, if you are persistent, your friend will get up and give you everything you need.
9 “I tell you, keep asking, and it will be given you. Keep seeking, and you will find. Keep knocking, and it will be opened to you.
I tell you: ask, and you shall receive; seek, and you shall find; knock, and the door shall be opened to you.
10 For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened.
For everyone who asks, receives; and everyone who seeks, finds; and to everyone who knocks the door will be opened.
11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he won’t give him a snake instead of a fish, will he?
Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, would give him a snake instead?
12 Or if he asks for an egg, he won’t give him a scorpion, will he?
Or if he asks for an egg, would you give him a scorpion?
13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”
So if you, even though you are evil, still know to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”
14 He was casting out a demon, and it was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke; and the multitudes marveled.
Jesus was driving out a demon that had made a man dumb. When the demon had left, the man who was dumb spoke, and the crowds were amazed.
15 But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons.”
But some of them said, “He is driving out demons using the power of Beelzebub, the ruler of demons.”
16 Others, testing him, sought from him a sign from heaven.
Others were trying to test Jesus by demanding a miraculous sign from heaven.
17 But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation. A house divided against itself falls.
Jesus knew what they were thinking and said, “Any kingdom divided against itself will be destroyed. A family divided against itself will fall.
18 If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul.
If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? You say that I cast out demons using the power of Beelzebub.
19 But if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.
But if I drive out demons by the power of Beelzebub, by whose power do your own people drive them out? They themselves will condemn you as wrong!
20 But if I by God’s finger cast out demons, then God’s Kingdom has come to you.
However, if I am driving out demons by the power of God, then this proves God's kingdom has arrived. It's right here among you!
21 “When the strong man, fully armed, guards his own dwelling, his goods are safe.
When a strong man who is fully armed guards his house, all he owns is safe.
22 But when someone stronger attacks him and overcomes him, he takes from him his whole armor in which he trusted, and divides his plunder.
But if a stronger man comes and defeats him, taking from him all his weapons that he depended on, then he can carry off all his possessions.
23 “He who is not with me is against me. He who doesn’t gather with me scatters.
Anyone who is not with me is against me, and anyone who doesn't build together with me is breaking it all apart.
24 The unclean spirit, when he has gone out of the man, passes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, ‘I will turn back to my house from which I came out.’
When an evil spirit leaves someone, it goes through the desert looking for a place to stay. When it doesn't find anywhere, it says, ‘I'll return to the house I left.’
25 When he returns, he finds it swept and put in order.
When it returns, it finds its old home is swept and tidy.
26 Then he goes and takes seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter in and dwell there. The last state of that man becomes worse than the first.”
So it goes and finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there. In the end that man is worse off than before.”
27 It came to pass, as he said these things, a certain woman out of the multitude lifted up her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts which nursed you!”
As he was speaking, a woman in the crowd called out, “Blessed is the womb from where you came and the breasts that nursed you.”
28 But he said, “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God, and keep it.”
But Jesus said, “Even more blessed are those who hear God's word, and follow what it says.”
29 When the multitudes were gathering together to him, he began to say, “This is an evil generation. It seeks after a sign. No sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet.
As people crowded around him, Jesus began telling them, “This is an evil generation for it's looking for some miraculous sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.
30 For even as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so the Son of Man will also be to this generation.
In the same way that Jonah was a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of man be a sign to this generation.
31 The Queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and will condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, one greater than Solomon is here.
The queen of the south will rise in the judgment together with the people of this generation and will condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear Solomon's wisdom, and now there is someone greater than Solomon here!
32 The men of Nineveh will stand up in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, one greater than Jonah is here.
The people of Nineveh rise in the judgment together with this generation, and will condemn it, for they repented when they heard Jonah's message, and now there's someone greater than Jonah here!
33 “No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, that those who come in may see the light.
No one lights a lamp and then hides it or places it under a bowl. No, you put it on a lamp stand so that those who come into the house can see the light.
34 The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore when your eye is good, your whole body is also full of light; but when it is evil, your body also is full of darkness.
Your eye is the light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body is in the dark.
35 Therefore see whether the light that is in you isn’t darkness.
So make sure the light you have in you is not actually darkness.
36 If therefore your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly full of light, as when the lamp with its bright shining gives you light.”
If your whole body is full of light, with no areas of darkness, then it will be completely illuminated, just as a bright lamp gives you light.”
37 Now as he spoke, a certain Pharisee asked him to dine with him. He went in and sat at the table.
After Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to come and eat with him. So Jesus went and sat down to a meal.
38 When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that he had not first washed himself before dinner.
The Pharisee was surprised that Jesus didn't wash his hands before eating as ceremonially required.
39 The Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the platter, but your inward part is full of extortion and wickedness.
So the Lord told him, “You Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you're full of greed and wickedness.
40 You foolish ones, didn’t he who made the outside make the inside also?
You're so foolish! Don't you think the one who made the outside made the inside as well?
41 But give for gifts to the needy those things which are within, and behold, all things will be clean to you.
If, acting from within, you do acts of kindness to others, then everything will be clean to you.
42 But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, but you bypass justice and God’s love. You ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone.
Shame on you Pharisees! You pay tithe on herbs and plants, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You need to pay attention to the latter, while not leaving the former things undone.
43 Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seats in the synagogues and the greetings in the marketplaces.
Shame on you Pharisees! You love to have the best seats in the synagogues, and to be greeted with respect when you go to the markets.
44 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like hidden graves, and the men who walk over them don’t know it.”
Shame on you! You are like unmarked graves that people walk over without knowing.”
45 One of the lawyers answered him, “Teacher, in saying this you insult us also.”
One of the experts in religious law reacted, saying, “Teacher, when you talk like this, you're insulting us too!”
46 He said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load men with burdens that are difficult to carry, and you yourselves won’t even lift one finger to help carry those burdens.
Jesus replied, “Shame on you lawyers too! You place burdens on people that are too hard to carry, but you don't lift a finger to help them.
47 Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.
Shame on you! You build memorial tombs to honor the prophets, but it was your own fathers who killed them in the first place!
48 So you testify and consent to the works of your fathers. For they killed them, and you build their tombs.
By doing this you are witnesses showing that you agree with what your fathers did. They killed the prophets, and you build their tombs!
49 Therefore also the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send to them prophets and apostles; and some of them they will kill and persecute,
This is why God in his wisdom said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles; some they will kill, and others they will persecute.’
50 that the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation,
Consequently, this generation will be held accountable for the blood of all the prophets shed from the beginning of the world,
51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zachariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary.’ Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation.
from the blood of Abel right up to the blood of Zachariah who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held accountable for all of it.
52 Woe to you lawyers! For you took away the key of knowledge. You didn’t enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in, you hindered.”
Shame on you lawyers! You have removed the key of knowledge. You didn't go in yourselves, and you prevented others from going in too.”
53 As he said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be terribly angry, and to draw many things out of him,
As Jesus was leaving, the religious teachers and the Pharisees began to attack him aggressively, asking questions to provoke him.
54 lying in wait for him, and seeking to catch him in something he might say, that they might accuse him.
They were hoping to catch him out, trying to get him to say something they could use against him.
