Luke 11:14-12:34

New King James Version

A House Divided Cannot Stand^(A)

^14 (B)And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute. So it was, when the demon had gone out, that the mute spoke; and the multitudes marveled. ¹⁵ But some of them said, ^(C)“He casts out demons by ^[a]Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”

¹⁶ Others, testing Him, ^(D)sought from Him a sign from heaven. ^17 (E)But ^(F)He, knowing their thoughts, said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls. ¹⁸ If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? Because you say I cast out demons by Beelzebub. ¹⁹ And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. ²⁰ But if I cast out demons ^(G)with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. ^21 (H)When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. ²² But ^(I)when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his ^[b]spoils. ^23 (J)He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

An Unclean Spirit Returns^(K)

^24 (L)“When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ ²⁵ And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order. ²⁶ Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and ^(M)the last state of that man is worse than the first.”

Keeping the Word

²⁷ And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, ^(N)“Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!”

²⁸ But He said, ^(O)“More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

Seeking a Sign^(P)

^29 (Q)And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, “This is an evil generation. It seeks a ^(R)sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah ^[c]the prophet. ³⁰ For as ^(S)Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation. ^31 (T)The queen of the South will rise up in 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 indeed a ^(U)greater than Solomon is here. ³² The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for ^(V)they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.

The Lamp of the Body^(W)

^33 (X)“No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a ^(Y)basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light. ^34 (Z)The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is ^[d]good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is ^[e]bad, your body also is full of darkness. ³⁵ Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness. ³⁶ If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light.”

Woe to the Pharisees and Lawyers

³⁷ And as He spoke, a certain Pharisee asked Him to dine with him. So He went in and sat down to eat. ^38 (AA)When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that He had not first washed before dinner.

^39 (AB)Then the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but ^(AC)your inward part is full of ^[f]greed and wickedness. ⁴⁰ Foolish ones! Did not ^(AD)He who made the outside make the inside also? ^41 (AE)But rather give alms of ^[g]such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you.

^42 (AF)“But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and ^(AG)pass by justice and the ^(AH)love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. ^43 (AI)Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the ^[h]best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. ^44 (AJ)Woe to you, ^[i]scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! ^(AK)For you are like graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them.”

⁴⁵ Then one of the lawyers answered and said to Him, “Teacher, by saying these things You reproach us also.”

⁴⁶ And He said, “Woe to you also, lawyers! ^(AL)For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. ^47 (AM)Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. ⁴⁸ In fact, you bear witness that you approve the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and you build their tombs. ⁴⁹ Therefore the wisdom of God also said, ^(AN)‘I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,’ ⁵⁰ that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, ^51 (AO)from the blood of Abel to ^(AP)the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple. Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation.

^52 (AQ)“Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered.”

^53 [j]And as He said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to assail Him vehemently, and to cross-examine Him about many things, ⁵⁴ lying in wait for Him, ^[k]and ^(AR)seeking to catch Him in something He might say, ^[l]that they might accuse Him.

Beware of Hypocrisy^(AS)

12 In ^(AT)the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together, so that they trampled one another, He began to say to His disciples first of all, ^(AU)“Beware of the ^[m]leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. ^2 (AV)For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. ³ Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.

Jesus Teaches the Fear of God^(AW)

^4 (AX)“And I say to you, ^(AY)My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. ⁵ But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, ^(AZ)fear Him!

⁶ “Are not five sparrows sold for two ^[n]copper coins? And ^(BA)not one of them is forgotten before God. ⁷ But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Confess Christ Before Men^(BB)

^8 (BC)“Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me ^(BD)before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God. ⁹ But he who ^(BE)denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.

¹⁰ “And ^(BF)anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven.

^11 (BG)“Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say. ¹² For the Holy Spirit will ^(BH)teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

The Parable of the Rich Fool

¹³ Then one from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

¹⁴ But He said to him, ^(BI)“Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?” ¹⁵ And He said to them, ^(BJ)“Take heed and beware of ^[o]covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”

¹⁶ Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. ¹⁷ And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ ¹⁸ So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. ¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, ^(BK)“Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; ^(BL)eat, drink, and be merry.” ’ ²⁰ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night ^(BM)your soul will be required of you; ^(BN)then whose will those things be which you have provided?’

²¹ “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, ^(BO)and is not rich toward God.”

Do Not Worry^(BP)

²² Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, ^(BQ)do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. ²³ Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. ²⁴ Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and ^(BR)God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? ²⁵ And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? ²⁶ If you then are not able to do the least, why ^[p]are you anxious for the rest? ²⁷ Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even ^(BS)Solomon in all his glory was not ^[q]arrayed like one of these. ²⁸ If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of ^(BT)little faith?

²⁹ “And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. ³⁰ For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father ^(BU)knows that you need these things. ^31 (BV)But seek ^[r]the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.

³² “Do not fear, little flock, for ^(BW)it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. ^33 (BX)Sell what you have and give ^(BY)alms; ^(BZ)provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. ³⁴ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.