^11:5Then¹³ he said to them, “Suppose one of you¹⁴ has a friend, and you go to him¹⁵ at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,¹⁶^11:6because a friend of mine has stopped here while on a journey,¹⁷ and I have nothing to set before¹⁸ him.’ ^11:7Then¹⁹ he will reply²⁰ from inside, ‘Do not bother me. The door is already shut, and my children and I are in bed.²¹ I cannot get up and give you anything.’²²^11:8I tell you, even though the man inside²³ will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of the first man’s²⁴ sheer persistence²⁵ he will get up and give him whatever he needs.

^11:9“So²⁶ I tell you: Ask,²⁷ and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door²⁸ will be opened for you. ^11:10For everyone who asks²⁹ receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door³⁰ will be opened.

Read in Logos

Footnotes

13 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
14 Grk “Who among you will have a friend and go to him.”
15 Grk “he will go to him.”
16 The words “of bread” are not in the Greek text, but are implied by ἄρτους (artous, “loaves”).
17 Grk “has come to me from the road.”
18 The background to the statement I have nothing to set before him is that in ancient Middle Eastern culture it was a matter of cultural honor to be a good host to visitors.
19 Κἀκεῖνος (kakeinos) has been translated “Then he.”
20 Grk “answering, he will say.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “he will reply.”
21 Grk “my children are with me in the bed.” In Jewish homes in the time of Jesus, the beds were often all together in one room; thus the householder may be speaking of individual beds (using a collective singular) rather than a common bed.
22 The syntax of vv. 6–7 is complex. In the Greek text Jesus’ words in v. 6 begin as a question. Some see Jesus’ question ending at v. 6, but the reply starting in v. 8 favors extending the question through the entire illustration. The translation breaks up the long sentence at the beginning of v. 7 and translates Jesus’ words as a statement for reasons of English style.
23 Grk “he”; the referent (the man in bed in the house) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
24 Grk “his”; the referent (the first man mentioned) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
25 The term ἀναίδεια (anaideia) is hard to translate. It refers to a combination of ideas, a boldness that persists over time, or “audacity,” which comes close. It most likely describes the one making the request, since the unit’s teaching is an exhortation about persistence in prayer. Some translate the term “shamelessness” which is the term’s normal meaning, and apply it to the neighbor as an illustration of God responding for the sake of his honor. But the original question was posed in terms of the first man who makes the request, not of the neighbor, so the teaching underscores the action of the one making the request.
26 Here καί (kai, from καγώ [kagō]) has been translated as “so” to indicate the conclusion drawn from the preceding parable.
27 The three present imperatives in this verse (Ask … seek … knock) are probably intended to call for a repeated or continual approach before God.
28 Grk “it”; the referent (a door) is implied by the context and has been specified in the translation for clarity.
29 The actions of asking, seeking, and knocking are repeated here from v. 9 with the encouragement that God does respond.
30 Grk “it”; the referent (a door) is implied by the context and has been specified in the translation for clarity.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs. And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

He also said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I don’t have anything to offer him.’ Then 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.’ I tell you, even though he won’t get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his friend’s shameless boldness, he will get up and give him as much as he needs.

“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

NLTNew Living Translation

Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’ But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.

“And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And he said to them, “Who of you will have a friend, and will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, because a friend of mine has come to me on a journey, and I do not have anything to set before him.’ And that one will answer from inside and say, ‘Do not cause me trouble! The door has already been shut and my children are with me in bed! I am not able to get up to give you anything.’ I tell you, even if he does not give him anything after he gets up because he is his friend, at any rate because of his impudence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.

And I tell you, ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

KJV 1900King James Version

And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

Public Domain