THE BOOK OF LUKE

 

Luke Chapter 11

1 ¶ Now it so happened, that, as Jesus was praying in a certain place, one of his disciples said to him, when he finished, Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.

2 And he said to them, When you pray, say, Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be your name. May your kingdom come. May your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

3 Give us this day our daily bread.

4 And forgive us our sins; as we also forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.

5 Then he said to them, Who of you who has a friend, and goes to him at midnight, and says to him, Friend, lend me three loaves;

6 For a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to put before him?

7 And he answers from inside, Do not bother me: the door is now closed, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.

8 I am telling you, Though he will not get up and give him the bread, because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs.

9 And I am telling you, Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

10 For every one who asks receives; and he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks it will be opened.

11 Which of you fathers, will give your son a stone if he asks for bread? or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent instead of a fish?

12 Or if he asks for an egg, will 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?

14 ¶ Now Jesus was casting out a demon that was mute. And it happened, that when the demon left, the man who was mute spoke; and the people were amazed.

15 But some of them said, He casts out demons through Beelzebub the ruler of demons.

16 And others, testing him, sought a sign from heaven from him.

17 But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and a house divided against itself will fall.

18 If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? for you say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub.

19 And if I cast out devils by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore they will be your judges.

20 But if I cast out devils with the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has reached you.

21 When a strong man, who is armed, guards his own home, his possessions are safe:

22 But when someone stronger than he attacks him, and overpowers him, he takes away all the armor in which he trusted, and divides the plunder.

23 He who is not with me is against me: and he who does not gather with me scatters.

24 When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, says, I will return to my house that I left.

25 And when he arrives, he finds it swept and set in order.

26 Then he goes, and takes seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they go in, and live there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.

27 ¶ And as he said these things, a certain woman in the crowd called out, and said to him, Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts that you have sucked.

28 But he replied, Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God, and keep it.

29 ¶ Now as the crowds increased, Jesus said, This is an evil generation: it seeks a sign; and no sign will be given to it, but the sign of Jonah the prophet.

30 For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, the Son of man will be a sign to this generation.

31 The queen of the south will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them: for she came from the distant parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and one greater than Solomon is here.

32 The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and one greater than Jonah is here.

33 No man, who has lit a candle, puts it in a crypt, or under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that those who come in may see the light.

34 The light of the body is the eye: therefore when your eye is clear, your whole body is full of light; but when your eye is bad, your body is full of darkness.

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

36 If your entire body is full of light, having no dark part, all of it will be full of light, like when a bright candle gives you light.

37 ¶ Now as he spoke, a certain Pharisee invited him to eat with him: and he went in, and sat down to eat.

38 And when the Pharisee saw it, he was surprised that he did not first wash before eating.

39 And the Lord said to him, Now then you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and platter; but inside you are full of robbery and wickedness.

40 You fools, did not he who made the outside also make that which is on the inside?

41 But help the poor from your heart; and everything will be clean to you.

42 But woe to you, Pharisees! for you pay tithes of mint and rue and every garden herb, but neglect justice and the love of God: these you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.

43 Woe to you, Pharisees! for you love the foremost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the marketplaces.

44 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like unmarked graves, which men walk over but are not aware of.

45 Then one of the lawyers answered, saying, Master, by saying this you are also reproaching us.

46 And he said, Woe to you also, you lawyers! for you load men down with burdens they can hardly bear, and you yourselves do not touch those burdens with one of your fingers.

47 Woe to you! for you build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.

48 Consequently you bear witness that you approve of the actions of your fathers: for they killed them, and you build their sepulchres.

49 Because of this God in his wisdom said, I will send them prophets and apostles, and they will kill and persecute them:

50 That the blood of all the prophets, that was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;

51 From the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary: I tell you truly, It will be required of this generation.

52 Woe to you, lawyers! for you have taken away the key of knowledge: you did not go in yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.

53 And after he said these things to them, the scribes and Pharisees began to oppose him fiercely, and to question him about many things:

54 Laying in wait for him, plotting to catch him in something he might say, so that they might accuse him.