Luke 11

The Lord's Prayer

1 [One day] in a place where [Jesus] had just finished praying, one of His disciples requested, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” 2 So [Jesus] told them, “When you pray, say: ‘Father, ▼

▼BYZ and TR Our Father who art in heaven

hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. ▼

▼BYZ and TR include Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven

3 Give us each day our daily bread. 4 And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’” ▼

▼BYZ and TR include but deliver us from evil

"Ask, Seek, Knock"

5 Then [Jesus] said to them, “ [Suppose one] of you goes to [his] friend at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves [of bread] , 6 because [a] friend of mine has come to me on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him.’ 7 And [the one] inside answers, ‘ {Do} not bother me. [My] door {is} already shut and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up to give you [anything] .’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up to provide for him because of his friendship, yet because of [the man’s] persistence, he will get up [and] give him as much as he needs. 9 So I tell you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and [the door] will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, [the door] will be opened. 11 What father among you, [if his] son ▼

▼BYZ and TR include asks for bread, will give him a stone

asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or [if] he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more {will} [your] Father in heaven give [the] Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

A House Divided

14 [One day] [Jesus] was driving out a demon that was mute. And when the demon was gone, the [man who had been] mute spoke. The crowds were amazed, 15 but some of them said, “ [It is] by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons, [that] He drives out demons.” 16 And others tested Him by demanding a sign from heaven. 17 Knowing their thoughts, [Jesus] said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste, and a house divided against a house will fall. 18 If Satan is divided against himself, how {can} his kingdom stand? After all, you say that I drive out demons by Beelzebul. 19 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom {do} your sons drive [them] out? So then, they will be your judges. 20 But if I drive out demons by [the] finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 21 When a strong [man] , fully armed, guards his house, his possessions are secure. 22 But when [someone] stronger attacks [and] overpowers him, he takes away [the] armor on which [the man] relied, and then he divides up his plunder. 23 He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

An Unclean Spirit Returns

24 When an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it passes through arid places seeking rest and does not find [it] . Then it says, ‘I will return to [the] house I left.’ 25 On its return, it finds [the house] swept clean and put in order. 26 Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in [and] dwell there. And the final [plight] of that man is worse than the first.”

True Blessedness

27 As [Jesus] was saying these things, a woman in the crowd raised [her] voice [and] said, “Blessed [is] the womb that bore You, and [blessed are] [the] breasts that nursed You.” 28 But He replied, “Blessed rather [are] those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

The Sign of Jonah

29 As the crowds were increasing, [Jesus] said, “This is a wicked generation. It demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. 30 For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so the Son of Man will be [a sign] to this generation. 31 The Queen of [the] South will rise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and now [One] greater than Solomon [is] here. 32 [The] men of Nineveh will stand at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now [One] greater than Jonah [is] here.

The Lamp of the Body

33 No one lights a lamp [and] puts it in a cellar [or] under a basket. Instead, [he sets it] on a lampstand, so those who enter can see the light. 34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your vision is clear, your whole body also is full of light. But when it is poor, your body [is] full of darkness. 35 Be careful, then, [that] the light within you is not darkness. 36 So if your [whole] body [is] full of light, [and] no part [of it] in darkness, [you] will be radiant, as though a lamp were shining on you.”

Woes to Religious Leaders

37 As [Jesus] was speaking, a Pharisee invited Him to dine with him; [so] He went in [and] reclined at the table. 38 But the Pharisee was surprised to see that [Jesus] did not first wash before the meal. 39 “Now then,” said the Lord, “you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. 40 [You] fools! [Did] not the [One who] made the outside make the inside as well? 41 But give [as] alms the things that are within [you] , and you will see [that] everything is clean for you. 42 Woe to you Pharisees! You pay tithes of mint and rue and every herb, but you disregard justice and the love of God. You should have practiced [the latter] without neglecting [the former] . 43 Woe to you Pharisees! You love the chief seats in the synagogues and the greetings in the marketplaces. 44 Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, [which] men walk across without [even] noticing.” 45 One of the experts in the law told Him, “Teacher, when You say these things, You insult us as well.” 46 “Woe to you as well, experts in the law!” He replied. “ - You weigh men down [with] heavy burdens, but you yourselves will not lift a finger {to lighten} [their] load. 47 Woe to you! You build tombs for the prophets, but [it was] your fathers [who] killed them. 48 So you are witnesses [who] consent to the deeds of your fathers: They killed [the prophets] , and you build [their tombs] . 49 Because of this, the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles; [some] of them they will kill and [others] they will persecute.’ 50 As a result, this generation will be charged with the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since [the] foundation of [the] world, 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, [ all of ] it will be charged to this generation. 52 Woe to you experts in the law! For you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.” 53 As [Jesus] went on from there, the scribes and Pharisees began to oppose [Him] bitterly and to ply Him with questions about many things, 54 waiting to catch Him in something He might say.