Jesus Teaches About Prayer^(A)

11 One time Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his ·followers [disciples] said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray as John taught his ·followers [disciples].”

² Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say:

Continue to Ask^(B)

⁵ Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose one of you went to your friend’s house at midnight and said to him, ‘Friend, loan me three loaves of bread. ⁶ A friend of mine has come ·into town [^Lfrom the road] to visit me, but I have nothing ·for him to eat [to offer him; ^Lto set before him].’ ⁷ Your friend inside the house answers, ‘Don’t bother me! The door is already ·locked [shut], and my children ·and I are [^Lare with me] in bed [^Ca small Palestinian home where everyone slept in one room]. I cannot get up and give you anything.’ ⁸ I tell you, [^Leven] if friendship is not enough to make him get up to give you the bread, ·your boldness will make him [your shameless persistence will make him; or in order not to be shamed before the community he will] get up and give you whatever you need. ⁹ So I tell you, ·ask [keep on asking], and God will give to you. ·Search [Keep on searching/seeking], and you will find. ·Knock [Keep on knocking], and the door will open for you. ¹⁰ ·Yes, [^LFor; Because] everyone who asks will receive. The one who ·searches [seeks] will find. And everyone who knocks will have the door opened. ¹¹ If your ·children ask [or son asks] for^[b] a fish, which of you fathers would give them a snake instead? ¹² Or, if ·your children ask [or he asks] for an egg, would you give them a scorpion? ¹³ Even though you are ·bad [sinful; evil], you know how to give good ·things [^Lgifts] to your children. How much more your heavenly Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Jesus’ Power Is from God^(C)

¹⁴ One time Jesus was ·sending [driving; casting] out a demon ·who could not talk [or who was making a man mute]. When the demon came out, the man who had been unable to speak, then spoke. The ·people were [crowd was] amazed. ¹⁵ But some of them said, “Jesus uses the power of Beelzebul [^Canother name for Satan], the ruler of demons, to ·force [drive; cast] demons out of people.”

¹⁶ Other people, wanting to test Jesus, asked him to give them a sign from heaven. ¹⁷ But knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom that is ·divided against [at war with] itself ·will be destroyed [is doomed/heading for ruin]. And a ·family [^Lhouse] that is ·divided against [at war with] itself will ·not continue [^Lfall]. ¹⁸ So if Satan is divided against himself, ·his kingdom will not continue [^Lhow will his kingdom stand?]. [^LFor] You say that I use the power of Beelzebul [v. 15] to ·force [drive; cast] out demons. ¹⁹ But if I use the power of Beelzebul to ·force [drive; cast] out demons, what power do your ·people [own exorcists; followers; ^Lsons] use to ·force [drive; cast] demons out? So they will ·be your judges. ²⁰ But if I use the ·power [^Lfinger] of God to ·force [drive; cast] out demons, then the kingdom of God has ·come to [arrived among] you.

²¹ “When a strong person ·with many weapons [fully armed] guards his own ·house [villa; or palace; ^Ca large building with a courtyard], his possessions are safe. ²² But when someone stronger comes and ·defeats [overpowers; conquers] him, the stronger one will take away the ·weapons [armor] ·the first man trusted [on which he relied] and will ·give away the possessions [^Ldivide his plunder].

²³ “Anyone who is not with me is against me, and anyone who does not ·work [^Lgather] with me ·is working against me [scatters; ^Cthe metaphor is probably to gathering or scattering a flock; John 10:12].

The Empty Person^(D)

²⁴ “When an ·evil [defiling; ^Lunclean; 4:33] spirit comes out of a person, it ·travels [wanders] through ·dry [waterless; arid] places, looking for a place to rest. But when it finds no place, it says, ‘I will go back to the house [^Cmeaning the person] I left.’ ²⁵ And when it comes back, it finds that house swept clean and ·made neat [in order; fixed up]. ²⁶ Then ·the evil spirit [^Lit] goes out and brings seven other spirits more evil than it is, and they go in and live there. So ·the person has even more trouble than before [^Lthe last state of that person is worse than the first].”

People Who Are Truly Blessed

²⁷ As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out to Jesus, “Blessed is the ·mother who gave birth to you [^Lthe womb that bore you] and [^Lthe breasts that] nursed you.”

²⁸ But Jesus said, “·No [^LRather; On the contrary], blessed are those who hear the ·teaching [word] of God and ·obey [practice; keep] it.”

The People Want a Miracle^(E)

²⁹ As the crowd grew larger, Jesus ·said [began to say], “·The people who live today are evil [^LThis generation is an evil/wicked generation]. They ·want to see [seek] a ·miracle for a sign [^Lsign], but no sign will be given them, except the sign of Jonah [Matt. 12:39–40]. ³⁰ As Jonah was a sign for those people who lived in Nineveh, the Son of Man will be a sign for ·the people of this time [this generation]. ³¹ ·On the judgment day [At the judgment] the Queen of the South [^Cthe Queen of Sheba] will stand up with the people ·who live now [of this generation]. She will ·show they are guilty [condemn them], because she came from ·far away [^Lthe ends of the earth] to listen to Solomon’s wise teaching [1 Kin. 10:1–13]. And ·I tell you that [^Llook; ^Tbehold] ·someone [or something; ^Ceither Jesus or his message of the Kingdom of God] greater than Solomon is here. ³² ·On the judgment day [At the judgment] the ·people [or men; ^Cthe Greek term usually refers to males] of Nineveh will stand up with ·the people who live now [this generation], and they will ·show that you are guilty [condemn it]. [^LBecause] When Jonah preached to them, they ·were sorry and changed their lives [repented]. And I tell you that ·someone [or something; v. 31] greater than Jonah is here.

Be a Light for the World^(F)

³³ “No one lights a lamp and puts it in a ·secret place [cellar] or under a ·bowl [or basket], but on a lampstand so the people who come in can see [^Lthe light; Matt. 5:15; Mark 4:21]. ³⁴ Your eye is ·a light [^Lthe lamp] for the body. When your eyes are ·good [healthy; clear], your whole body will be full of light. But when your eyes are ·evil [unhealthy; bad], your whole body will be full of darkness. ³⁵ So be careful ·not to let the light in you become [or that the light in you is not actually] darkness. ³⁶ If your whole body is full of light, and none of it is dark, then you will ·shine bright [be radiant; be filled with light], as when a lamp shines [brightly; ^Lwith its rays] on you.”

Jesus Accuses the Pharisees^(G)

³⁷ After Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee asked Jesus to ·eat [dine] with him. So Jesus went in and ·sat at the table [reclined; ^C the posture for a banquet or dinner party; see 7:36]. ³⁸ But the Pharisee was surprised when he saw that Jesus did not wash his hands before the meal [^Ca Jewish ritual for ceremonial purity]. ³⁹ The Lord said to him, “You Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are full of ·greed [extortion; robbery] and ·evil [wickedness]. ⁴⁰ You foolish people! The same one who made what is outside also made what is inside. ⁴¹ So ·give what is in your dishes [or give from your hearts; ^Lgive the inside things] ·to the poor [as alms], and then ·you [everything] will be fully clean. ⁴² ·How terrible for [^LWoe to] you Pharisees! You ·give God one-tenth of [pay tithe on] even your mint, your rue, and every other ·plant [herb] in your garden. But you ·fail to be fair to others [neglect to show justice] and to love God. These are the things you should do ·while continuing [without neglecting] to do those other things. ⁴³ ·How terrible for [^LWoe to] you Pharisees, because you love to have the most ·important [honorable] seats in the synagogues, and you love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces. ⁴⁴ ·How terrible for [^LWoe to] you, because you are like ·hidden [unmarked] graves, which people walk on without knowing.”

Jesus Talks to Experts on the Law^(H)

⁴⁵ One of the experts on the law said to Jesus, “Teacher, when you say these things, you are insulting us, too.”

⁴⁶ Jesus answered, “·How terrible for [^LWoe to] you, you experts on the law! You ·make strict rules that are very hard for people to obey [^Lburden people with burdens hard to carry], but you yourselves don’t even ·try to follow those rules [or lift a finger to ease the burden]. ⁴⁷ ·How terrible for [^LWoe to] you, because you build ·tombs [monuments; memorials] for the prophets whom your ancestors killed! ⁴⁸ And now you ·show [are witnesses; testify] that you approve of what your ancestors did. They killed the prophets, and you build ·tombs [monuments; memorials] for them! ⁴⁹ This is why ·in his wisdom God said [^LGod’s Wisdom said; ^Ca personification of wisdom; Prov. 8], ‘I will send prophets and apostles to them. ·They will kill some, and they will treat others cruelly [or Some they will persecute and kill].’ ⁵⁰ So ·you who live now [this generation] will be ·punished for [charged with; held responsible for] the ·deaths of all the prophets who were killed [^Lblood of all the prophets shed] since the ·beginning [foundation; creation] of the world— ⁵¹ from the ·killing [blood] of Abel to the ·killing [blood] of Zechariah, who died between the altar and the ·Temple [sanctuary; ^Lhouse (of God); ^Cin the arrangement of the Hebrew OT, Abel and Zechariah were the first and last people to be murdered; Gen. 4:4–8; 2 Chr. 24:20–21]. Yes, I tell you that ·you who are alive now [this generation] will be ·punished [charged; held responsible] for them all.

⁵² “·How terrible for [^LWoe to] you, you experts on the law. You have taken away the key to ·learning about God [^Lknowledge]. You yourselves ·would not learn [^Ldid not enter], and you ·stopped [hindered; prevented] others from ·learning [^Lentering], too.”

⁵³ When Jesus left, the ·teachers of the law [scribes] and the Pharisees began to ·give him trouble [fiercely oppose him; act with hostility], ·asking him [provoking/attacking/besieging him with] questions about many things, ⁵⁴ ·trying [lying in wait; plotting an ambush; ^Cmetaphorically] to catch him saying something wrong.