5And He said unto them, “Which of you, who has a friend, shall go to him at midnight, and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread. 6A friend of mine on his journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.’ 7And suppose that he, from within, answers, ‘Do not bother me now; the door is locked, and my children are in bed with me; I cannot rise and give you anything’. 8I say to you: though he will not rise and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity (persistence), he will get up and give him as much as he needs. 9And I say to you, ‘Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you.’ 10For everyone who asks shall receive; and he that seeks, shall find; and to him that knocks, it shall be opened. 11If a son should ask any of you who are fathers for bread, would you give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, would you give him a serpent? 12Or if he should ask for an egg, would you offer him a scorpion? 13If you, then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children; how much more shall your heavenly Father give of the Holy Spirit to those that ask Him?”

14And He was casting out a demon that was dumb (mute). And when the demon had gone out, the dumb (mute) spoke; and the people marveled. 15But some of them said, “He drives out demons by (the power or authority of) Beelzebul (Beelzebub), the head of the demons.” 16And others tested Him, by asking Him for a miraculous sign from heaven. 17But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them, “Any kingdom divided against itself is brought to ruin; and a house divided against itself will fall. 18If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you say that I drive out demons by Beelzebub. 19A Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons (followers) drive them out? Therefore, they shall judge and condemn you for what you said. 20But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you. 21When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe. 22But when someone stronger than he comes against him, and overpowers him, he takes from him all his armor and weapons in which he trusted, and carries off his possessions. 23Whoever is not with Me is against Me; and whoever does not gather with Me scatters. 24When an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, it says, ‘I will return to my house (man) out of which I came’. 25And when it returns, it finds it swept and put in good order. 26Then it goes, and takes to it seven other spirits more wicked than itself; and they go in, and occupy that house (man); and the last state of that man is worse than the first.”

27And as He spoke these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice, and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You. 28He replied, “Rather, blessed are those that hear the word of God, and obey it”.

29And when the assembly of people had gathered and increased, He said “This evil generation keeps asking Me for a miraculous sign; but and there shall be no sign given to it, except the sign of Jonah, the prophet: 30As Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so shall the Son of man also be to this generation. 31The queen of the south (Queen of Sheba) shall rise up at the judgment with the people of this generation, and condemn them; for she came from the far ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, One greater than Solomon is here. 32The men of Nineveh shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and, behold, One greater than Jonah is here. 33No one lights a lamp, and then hides it in an obscure place, or under a clay jar, but on a lampstand, so that all who come in may benefit from the light. 34The eye is the lamp of your body; so when your eye is healthy, your whole body also is filled with light; but when your eye is bad, your body is left in of darkness. 35So see to it that the light within you is not actually darkness. 36If your whole body, therefore, is full of light, with no part in the dark, the whole life shall be radiant, as when the bright shining lamp gives you light.”

37And as He spoke, a certain Pharisee invited Him to dine with him; and so He went in, and reclined at the table to eat. 38But the Pharisee was appalled that He had not first washed before eating, as per the Jewish custom. 39And then Jesus said to him, “You Pharisees are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and dish; but inside you are full of greed and extortion. 40You foolish people, did He that made the outside not make what is within, as well? 41But cleanse the inside by giving alms of what you have to the poor; and you all things are clean for you. 42But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe (give to God) mint, rue (a culinary and medicinal herb) and all kinds of garden herbs, and neglect justice and the love of God; these ought you to have done, and still not have left the others undone. 43Woe to you Pharisees! Because you love the seats of honor in the synagogues, and men’s greetings in the market places. 44Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like unmarked graves which people walk over unaware.” 45Then one of the lawyers replied to Him, “Master (Teacher), when You say that, You also reproach (insult) us”. 46And Jesus replied, “Woe to you lawyers, as well! For you load people down with burdens difficult to be borne, while you, yourselves, do not lift a finger to help them. 47Woe to you! You build the sepulchers (tomb monuments) for the prophets, and it was your fathers who killed them. 48Truly you bear witness (testify) to the fact that you allow (condone) the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and you build their sepulchers (tomb monuments). 49Because of this, in His wisdom, God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay, and some others they shall persecute’; 50Therefore, this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets, which has been shed from the foundation (since the beginning) of the world - 51From the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was slain between the altar and the temple. Truly I tell you, it shall be required of this generation. 52Woe to you, law experts! For you have carried the key to the door to knowledge of God. You, yourselves, have not entered in; and you hindered those that were trying to enter.” 53And as He said these things and began to leave, the scribes and the Pharisees began to oppose Him vehemently, and to provoke Him with many questions; 54Looking for Him to say something for which they might accuse Him.