Luke 11:14–36

A House Divided Cannot Stand

¹⁴And he was expelling a mute demon.^b Now it happened that when^* the demon came out, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowds were astonished. ¹⁵But some of them said, “By Beelzebul the ruler of demons he expels demons!” ¹⁶And others, in order to^* test him,^* were demanding from him a sign from heaven. ¹⁷But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household^c falls. ¹⁸So if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I expel demons by Beelzebul. ¹⁹But if I expel demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons expel them?^* For this reason they will be your judges! ²⁰But if I expel demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you! ²¹When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his possessions are safe.^{d 22}But when a stronger man attacks him and^* conquers him, he takes away his full armor in which he trusted and distributes his plunder. ²³The one who is not with me is against me, and the one who does not gather with me scatters.

An Unclean Spirit Returns

²⁴“Whenever an unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it travels through waterless places searching for rest, and does not find it.^* It says,^e ‘I will return to my house from which I came out.’ ²⁵And when it^* arrives it finds the house^* swept and put in order. ²⁶Then it goes and brings along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and^* live there. And the last state of that person becomes worse than the first!”

²⁷Now it happened that as he said these things, a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and^* said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” ²⁸But he said, “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and follow it!”^*

The Sign of Jonah

²⁹And as^* the crowds were increasing, he began to say, “This generation is an evil generation! It demands a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah! ³⁰For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation. ³¹The queen of the south will rise up at the judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something^* greater than Solomon is here! ³²The people of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and behold, something^* greater than Jonah is here!

Light and Darkness

³³“No one after^* lighting a lamp puts it^* in a cellar or under a bushel basket, but on a lampstand, so that those who come in can see the light. ³⁴Your eye is the lamp of the body. When your eye is sincere, your whole body is full of light also. But when it is evil, your body is dark also. ³⁵Therefore pay careful attention that the light in you is not darkness! ³⁶If therefore your whole body is full of light, not having any part dark, it will be completely full of light, as when the lamp with its light gives light to you.”