Luke 11

Chapter 11.

11 ¹He was praying in a place; when he finished, one of his disciples said, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples."

²He said to them, "When you pray, say: Father, may your name be honored as holy. Your kingdom come. ³Give us each day our daily bread. ⁴And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation."

⁵He said to them, "Which of you has a friend and will go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves,'

⁶"because a friend of mine arrived from a journey, and I have nothing to serve him,'

⁷"and he answers from inside, 'Don't trouble me; the door's already shut, and my children are in bed with me. I can't get up and give you anything'?

⁸"I tell you: even though the sleeping friend won't get up and give him anything just because they are friends, the asking friend's shameless persistence will still get the sleeper up to give him whatever he needs."

⁹"I tell you: ask and it'll be given to you; seek and you'll find; knock and it'll be opened to you.

¹⁰"Everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; to the one who knocks it will be opened.

¹¹"What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead;

¹²"or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?

¹³"If you, though evil, know how to give your children good gifts, how much more will the Father from heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

Our Father's Kingdom Has Come

¹⁴He was driving out a demon that was mute. When it left, the mute man spoke, and the crowds were amazed. ¹⁵But some of them said, "By Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons, he casts out demons," ¹⁶while others, testing him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven.

¹⁷But knowing their thoughts, he said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself is ruined, and a house divided against a house falls.

¹⁸"If Satan too is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say I drive out demons by Beelzebul.

¹⁹"If I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive them out? So they will judge you.

²⁰"But if I expel demons by the finger of our Father, the kingdom of our Father has come upon you.

²¹"When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his possessions are safe.

²²"But when someone stronger attacks and overcomes him, the attacker takes away the armor the strong man trusted in and divides up his plunder.

²³"Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

²⁴"When an unclean spirit leaves a person, it goes through dry regions seeking rest. Finding none, it says, 'I'll return to the house I left. ²⁵And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order.

²⁶"Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself; they enter and live there, and that person's final state is worse than the first."

²⁷As he said this, a woman in the crowd called out, "Blessed is the womb that carried you, and the breasts that nursed you!"

²⁸But he said, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of our Father and keep it!"

One Greater Than Jonah Is Here

²⁹As crowds gathered, he began to say, "This generation is an evil generation. It seeks 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 the Son of Man will be to this generation. ³¹The queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation's people and condemn them—she came from earth's ends to hear Solomon's wisdom, and look, something greater than Solomon is here.

³²"Ninevites will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented when Jonah preached, and someone greater than Jonah is here.

The Lamp of the Body

³³"No one lights a lamp and puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so those entering see the light. ³⁴Your eye is your body's lamp: when it's clear, your whole body is full of light; when bad, your body is full of darkness.

³⁵"Therefore be careful that the light in you is not darkness.

³⁶"So if your whole body is full of light, with no dark part, it will be completely bright—like a lamp shining its beam on you."

Woe to Empty Religion

³⁷As he spoke, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; he went in and reclined at the table. ³⁸The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before the meal.

³⁹And the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees clean the cup and dish on the outside, but inside you're full of greed and evil. ⁴⁰You fools! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also?

⁴¹"But give to the poor the things that are within, and everything will be clean for you.

⁴²"But woe to you Pharisees! You bring the tenth of mint, rue, and every herb, yet neglect justice and love of our Father. These you should have done, without neglecting the others.

⁴³"Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the front seat in synagogues and greetings in marketplaces.

⁴⁴"Woe 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, "How terrible for you experts in the law too! You load people with crushing burdens, yet won't touch those burdens with one finger.

⁴⁷"Woe to you! You build the prophets' tombs, but it was your fathers who killed them.

⁴⁸"So you are witnesses and approve your fathers' deeds, for they killed them and you build their tombs.'

⁴⁹"So the wisdom of our Father also said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles; some of them they will kill and persecute.'

⁵⁰"so the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world may be charged against this generation,

⁵¹"from Abel's blood to Zechariah's blood, who died between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be charged to this generation.

⁵²"Woe to you lawyers! For you took away the key of knowledge—you didn't enter, and you blocked those entering."

⁵³When he left there, the scribes and Pharisees began hounding him fiercely, pressing him to speak on many things, ⁵⁴lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say.