Luke 11:1-36 ▼

1 At one place where He was praying, when He rose from His knees one of His disciples said to Him, "Master, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples."

2 So He said to them, "When you pray, say, 'Father may Thy name be kept holy; let Thy Kingdom come;

3 give us day after day our bread for the day;

4 and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive every one who fails in his duty to us; and bring us not into temptation.'"

5 And He said to them, "Which of you shall have a friend and shall go to him in the middle of the night and say, "'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread;

6 for a friend of mine has just come to my house from a distance, and I have nothing for him to eat'?

7 "And he from indoors shall answer, "'Do not pester me. The door is now barred, and I am here in bed with my children. I cannot get up and give you bread.'

8 "I tell you that even if he will not rise and give him the loaves because he is his friend, at any rate because of his persistency he will rouse himself and give him as many as he requires.

9 "So I say to you, 'Ask, and what you ask for shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and the door shall be opened to you.'

10 For every one who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, the door shall be opened.

11 And what father is there among you, who, if his son asks for a slice of bread, will offer him a stone? or if he asks for a fish, will instead of a fish offer him a snake?

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

13 If you then, with all your human frailty, know how to give your children gifts that are good for them, how much more certainly will your Father who is in Heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"

14 On once occasion He was expelling a dumb demon; and when the demon was gone out the dumb man could speak, and the people were astonished.

15 But some among them said, "It is by the power of Baal-zebul, the Prince of the demons, that he expels the demons."

16 Others, to put Him to the test, asked Him for a sign in the sky.

17 And, knowing their thoughts, He said to them, "Every kingdom in which civil war rages goes to ruin: family attacks family and is overthrown.

18 And if Satan really has engaged in fierce conflict with himself, how shall his kingdom stand?--because you say that I expel demons by the power of Baal-zebul.

19 And if it is by the power of Baal-zebul that I expel the demons, by whom do your disciples expel them? They therefore shall be your judges.

20 But if it is by the power of God that I drive out the demons, it is evident that the Kingdom of God has come upon you.

21 "Whenever a strong man, fully armed and equipped, is guarding his own castle, he enjoys peaceful possession of his property;

22 but as soon as another stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away that complete armour of his in which he trusted, and distributes the plunder he has collected.

23 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever is not gathering with me is scattering abroad.

24 "When a foul spirit has left a man, it roams about in the Desert, seeking a resting-place; but, unable to find any, it says, 'I will return to the house I have left;"

25 and when it comes, it finds the house swept clean and in good order.

26 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more malignant than itself, and they enter and dwell there; and in the end that man's condition becomes worse than it was at first.

27 As He thus spoke a woman in the crowd called out in a loud voice, "Blessed is the mother who carried you, and the breasts that you have sucked."

28 "Nay rather," He replied, "they are blessed who hear God's Message and carefully keep it."

29 Now when the crowds came thronging upon Him, He proceeded to say, "The present generation is a wicked generation: it requires some sign, but no sign shall be given to it except that of Jonah.

30 For just as Jonah became a sign to the men of Nineveh, so the Son of Man will be a token to the present generation.

31 The Queen of the South will awake at the Judgement together with the men of the present generation, and will condemn them; because she came from the extremity of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; but mark! One greater than Solomon is here.

32 There will stand up men of Nineveh at the Judgement together with the present generation, and will condemn it; because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and mark! One greater than Jonah is here.

33 "When any one lights a lamp, he never puts it in the cellar or under the bushel, but on the lampstand, that people who come in may see the light.

34 The lamp of the body is the eye. When your eyesight is good, your whole body also is lighted up; but when it is defective, your body is darkened.

35 Consider therefore whether the light that is in you is anything but mere darkness.

36 If, however, your whole body is penetrated with light, and has no part dark, it will be so lighted, all of it, as when the lamp with its bright shining gives you light."