Luke 11

The Model Prayer

11He was praying ^min a certain place, and when He finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.” ⁿ

²He said to them, “Whenever you pray, say: ^o

Father, ^pq

Your name ^rbe honored as holy. ^s

Your kingdom come. ^tu

³Give us each day our daily bread. ^vw

⁴And forgive us our sins, ^x

for we ourselves also forgive everyone

in debt to us. ^yz

And do not bring us into temptation.” ^ab

Keep Asking, Searching, Knocking

⁵He also said to them: “Suppose one of you ^chas a friend and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, ⁶because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I don’t have anything to offer him.’ ^d7Then he will answer from inside and say, ‘Don’t bother me! The door is already locked, and my children and I have gone to bed. I can’t get up to give you anything.’ ⁸I tell you, even though he won’t get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his friend’s persistence, ^ehe will get up and give him as much as he needs. ^f

⁹“So ^gI say to you, keep asking, ^hiand it will be given to you. Keep searching, ^jkand you will find. Keep knocking, ^lmand the door will be opened to you. ¹⁰For everyone who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. ¹¹What father among you, if his son ⁿasks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish? ¹²Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? ¹³If you then, who are evil, ^oknow how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father ^pgive ^qthe Holy Spirit ^rto those who ask Him?”

A House Divided

¹⁴Now ^sHe was driving out a demon ^tthat was mute. ^uvWhen the demon came out, the man who had been mute, spoke, and the crowds were amazed. ¹⁵But some of them said, “He drives out demons by Beelzebul, ^wthe ruler ^xof the demons!” ^y16And others, as a test, ^zwere demanding of Him a sign ^afrom heaven.

¹⁷Knowing their thoughts, ^bHe told them: “Every kingdom divided ^cagainst itself is headed for destruction, and a house divided against itself falls. ¹⁸If Satan ^dalso is divided against himself, how will his kingdom ^estand? For you say I drive out demons by Beelzebul. ¹⁹And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, who is it your sons ^fgdrive them out by? For this reason they will be your judges. ²⁰If I drive out demons by the finger of God, ^hthen the kingdom of God ⁱhas come to you. ²¹When a strong man, fully armed, guards his estate, his possessions are secure. ^j22But when one stronger than he attacks and overpowers ^khim, he takes from him all his weapons ^lmhe trusted ⁿin, and divides up his plunder. ^o23Anyone who is not with Me is against Me, ^pand anyone who does not gather with Me scatters.

An Unclean Spirit’s Return

²⁴“When ^qan ^•unclean spirit ^rcomes out of a man, it roams through waterless places looking for rest, ^sand not finding rest, it then ^tsays, ‘I’ll go back to my house where I came from.’ ²⁵And returning, it finds the house swept and put in order. ²⁶Then it goes and brings seven other spirits ^umore evil than itself, and they enter and settle down there. As a result, that man’s last condition is worse than the first.” ^v

True Blessedness

²⁷As He was saying these things, a woman from the crowd ^wraised her voice and said to Him, “The womb that bore You and the one who nursed You ^xare blessed!”

²⁸He said, “Even more, those who hear the word of God ^yand keep it ^zare blessed!”

The Sign of Jonah

²⁹As the crowds were increasing, He began saying: “This generation ^ais an evil generation. ^bIt demands a sign, ^cbut no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. ^de30For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so also the ^•Son of Man ^fwill be to this generation. ³¹The queen of the south ^gwill rise up at the judgment ^hwith the men of this generation and condemn ⁱthem, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, ^jand look—something greater than Solomon is here! ³²The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at Jonah’s proclamation, and look—something greater than Jonah is here!

The Lamp of the Body

³³“No ^kone lights a lamp ^land puts it in the cellar or under a basket, ^mbut on a lampstand, so that those who come in may see its light. ³⁴Your eye is the lamp of the body. ⁿWhen your eye is good, your whole body is also full of light. But when it is bad, ^oyour body is also full of darkness. ³⁵Take care then, that the light in you is not darkness. ³⁶If, therefore, your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, it will be entirely illuminated, as when a lamp shines its light on you.” ^p

Religious Hypocrisy Denounced

³⁷As He was speaking, a Pharisee ^qasked Him to dine with him. So He went in and reclined at the table. ³⁸When the Pharisee saw this, he was amazed that He did not first perform the ritual washing ^rsbefore dinner. ^t39But the Lord said to him: “Now you Pharisees ^•clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed ^uand evil. ^v40Fools! ^wDidn’t He who made the outside make the inside too? ⁴¹But give from what is within to the poor, ^xyand then everything is clean ^zfor you.

⁴²“But woe ^ato you Pharisees! You give a tenth ^bcof mint, rue, and every kind of herb, and you bypass ^djustice ^eand love for God. ^fgThese things you should have done without neglecting the others.

⁴³“Woe to you Pharisees! You love the front seat ^hin the ^•synagogues ⁱand greetings in the marketplaces.

⁴⁴“Woe to you! ^jYou are like unmarked graves; ^kthe people who walk over them don’t know it.”

⁴⁵One of the experts in the law ^lanswered Him, “Teacher, when You say these things You insult us too.”

⁴⁶Then He said: “Woe also to you experts in the law! You load people with burdens ^mthat are hard to carry, yet you yourselves don’t touch these burdens with one of your fingers. ⁿ

⁴⁷“Woe to you! You build monuments ^oto the prophets, ^pand your fathers killed ^qthem. ⁴⁸Therefore, you are witnesses ^rthat you approve ^stthe deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their monuments. ^u49Because of this, the wisdom of God ^vsaid, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, ^wand some of them they will kill and persecute,’ ^x50so that this generation ^ymay be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world ^za— ⁵¹from the blood of Abel ^bto the blood of Zechariah, ^cwho perished between the altar and the sanctuary.

“Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible. ^d

⁵²“Woe to you experts in the law! You have taken away the key of knowledge! ^eYou didn’t go in yourselves, and you hindered ^fthose who were going in.”

⁵³When He left there, ^gthe scribes and the Pharisees began to oppose ^hHim fiercely and to cross-examine Him about many things; ⁵⁴they were lying in wait ⁱfor Him to trap Him in something He said. ^jk