Luke 11:1–54

¹Now on the occasion of his being in a certain place praying, when he stopped, a certain one of his disciples said to him: “Lord, teach us how to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.”

²Then he said to them: “Whenever ​YOU​ pray, say, ‘Father, let your name be sanctified. Let your kingdom come.³Give us our bread for the day according to the day’s requirement.⁴And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone that is in debt to us; and do not bring us into temptation.’”

⁵Further, he said to them: “Who of ​YOU​ will have a friend and will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, loan me three loaves,⁶because a friend of mine has just come to me on a journey and I have nothing to set before him’?⁷And that one from inside says in reply, ‘Quit making me trouble. The door is already locked, and my young children are with me in bed; I cannot rise up and give you anything.’⁸I tell ​YOU, Although he will not rise up and give him anything because of being his friend, certainly because of his bold persistence he will get up and give him what things he needs.⁹Accordingly I say to ​YOU, Keep on asking, and it will be given ​YOU; keep on seeking, and ​YOU​ will find; keep on knocking, and it will be opened to ​YOU.¹⁰For everyone asking receives, and everyone seeking finds, and to everyone knocking it will be opened.¹¹Indeed, which father is there among ​YOU​ who, if his son asks for a fish, will perhaps hand him a serpent instead of a fish?¹²Or if he also asks for an egg, will hand him a scorpion?¹³Therefore, if ​YOU, although being wicked, know how to give good gifts to ​YOUR​ children, how much more so will the Father in heaven give holy spirit to those asking him!”

¹⁴Later he was expelling a dumb demon. After the demon came out, the dumb man spoke. And the crowds marveled.¹⁵But certain ones of them said: “He expels the demons by means of Be‧el′ze‧bub the ruler of the demons.”¹⁶However, others, to tempt him, began seeking a sign out of heaven from him.¹⁷Knowing their imaginations he said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself comes to desolation, and a house [divided] against itself falls.¹⁸So if Satan is also divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? Because ​YOU​ say I expel the demons by means of Be‧el′ze‧bub.¹⁹If it is by means of Be‧el′ze‧bub I expel the demons, by whom do ​YOUR​ sons expel them? Because of this they will be judges of ​YOU.²⁰But if it is by means of God’s finger I expel the demons, the kingdom of God has really overtaken ​YOU.²¹When a strong man, well armed, guards his palace, his belongings continue in peace.²²But when someone stronger than he is comes against him and conquers him, he takes away his full armament in which he was trusting, and he divides out the things he despoiled him of.²³He that is not on my side is against me, and he that does not gather with me scatters.

²⁴“When an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it passes through parched places in search of a resting‐place, and, after finding none, it says, ‘I will return to my house out of which I moved.’²⁵And on arriving it finds it swept clean and adorned.²⁶Then it goes its way and takes along seven different spirits more wicked than itself, and, after getting inside, they dwell there; and the final circumstances of that man become worse than the first.”

²⁷Now as he was saying these things a certain woman out of the crowd raised her voice and said to him: “Happy is the womb that carried you and the breasts that you sucked!”²⁸But he said: “No, rather, Happy are those hearing the word of God and keeping it!”

²⁹When the crowds were massing together, he started to say: “This generation is a wicked generation; it looks for a sign. But no sign will be given it except the sign of Jo′nah.³⁰For just as Jo′nah became a sign to the Nin′e‧vites, in the same way will the Son of man be also to this generation.³¹The queen of the south will be raised up in the judgment with the men of this generation and will condemn them; because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Sol′o‧mon, but, look! something more than Sol′o‧mon is here.³²The men of Nin′e‧veh will rise in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it; because they repented at what Jo′nah preached; but, look! something more than Jo′nah is here.³³After lighting a lamp, a person puts it, not in a vault nor under a measuring basket, but upon the lampstand, that those stepping in may behold the light.³⁴The lamp of the body is your eye. When your eye is simple, your whole body is also bright; but when it is wicked, your body is also dark.³⁵Be alert, therefore. Perhaps the light that is in you is darkness.³⁶Therefore, if your whole body is bright with no part at all dark, it will all be as bright as when a lamp gives you light by its rays.”

³⁷When he had spoken this, a Pharisee requested him to dine with him. So he went in and reclined at the table.³⁸However, the Pharisee was surprised at seeing that he did not first wash before the dinner.³⁹But the Lord said to him: “Now ​YOU​ Pharisees, ​YOU​ cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but the inside of ​YOU​ is full of plunder and wickedness.⁴⁰Unreasonable persons! He that made the outside made also the inside, did he not?⁴¹Nevertheless, give as gifts of mercy the things that are inside, and, look! all [other] things are clean about ​YOU.⁴²But woe to ​YOU​ Pharisees, because ​YOU​ give the tenth of the mint and the rue and of every [other] vegetable, but ​YOU​ pass by the justice and the love of God! These things ​YOU​ were under obligation to do, but those other things not to omit.⁴³Woe to ​YOU​ Pharisees, because ​YOU​ love the front seats in the synagogues and the greetings in the marketplaces!⁴⁴Woe to ​YOU, because ​YOU​ are as those memorial tombs which are not in evidence, so that men walk upon them and do not know [it]!”

⁴⁵In answer a certain one of those versed in the Law said to him: “Teacher, in saying these things you also insult us.”⁴⁶Then he said: “Woe also to ​YOU​ who are versed in the Law, because ​YOU​ load men with loads hard to be borne, but ​YOU​ yourselves do not touch the loads with one of ​YOUR​ fingers!

⁴⁷“Woe to ​YOU, because ​YOU​ build the memorial tombs of the prophets, but ​YOUR​ forefathers killed them!⁴⁸Certainly ​YOU​ are witnesses of the deeds of ​YOUR​ forefathers and yet ​YOU​ give consent to them, because these killed the prophets but ​YOU​ are building [their tombs].⁴⁹On this account the wisdom of God also said, ‘I will send forth to them prophets and apostles, and they will kill and persecute some of them,⁵⁰so that the blood of all the prophets spilled from the founding of the world may be required from this generation,⁵¹from the blood of Abel down to the blood of Zech‧a‧ri′ah, who was slain between the altar and the house.’ Yes, I tell ​YOU, it will be required from this generation.

⁵²“Woe to ​YOU​ who are versed in the Law, because ​YOU​ took away the key of knowledge; ​YOU​ yourselves did not go in, and those going in ​YOU​ hindered!”

⁵³So when he went out from there the scribes and the Pharisees started in to press upon him terribly and to ply him with questions about further things,⁵⁴lying in wait for him, to catch something out of his mouth.