Luke 11
Young's Literal Translation
11 And it came to pass, in his being in a certain place praying, as he ceased, a certain one of his disciples said unto him, `Sir, teach us to pray, as also John taught his disciples.'
2 And he said to them, `When ye may pray, say ye: Our Father who art in the heavens; hallowed be Thy name: Thy reign come; Thy will come to pass, as in heaven also on earth;
3 our appointed bread be giving us daily;
4 and forgive us our sins, for also we ourselves forgive every one indebted to us; and mayest Thou not bring us into temptation; but do Thou deliver us from the evil.'
5 And he said unto them, `Who of you shall have a friend, and shall go on unto him at midnight, and may say to him, Friend, lend me three loaves,
6 seeing a friend of mine came out of the way unto me, and I have not what I shall set before him,
7 and he from within answering may say, Do not give me trouble, already the door hath been shut, and my children with me are in the bed, I am not able, having risen, to give to thee.
8 `I say to you, even if he will not give to him, having risen, because of his being his friend, yet because of his importunity, having risen, he will give him as many as he doth need;
9 and I say to you, Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you;
10 for every one who is asking doth receive; and he who is seeking doth find; and to him who is knocking it shall be opened.
11 `And of which of you -- the father -- if the son shall ask a loaf, a stone will he present to him? and if a fish, will he instead of a fish, a serpent present to him?
12 and if he may ask an egg, will he present to him a scorpion?
13 If, then, ye, being evil, have known good gifts to be giving to your children, how much more shall the Father who is from heaven give the Holy Spirit to those asking Him!'
14 And he was casting forth a demon, and it was dumb, and it came to pass, the demon having gone forth, the dumb man spake, and the multitudes wondered,
15 and certain of them said, `By Beelzeboul, ruler of the demons, he doth cast forth the demons;'
16 and others, tempting, a sign out of heaven from him were asking.
17 And he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, `Every kingdom having been divided against itself is desolated; and house against house doth fall;
18 and if also the Adversary against himself was divided, how shall his kingdom be made to stand? for ye say, by Beelzeboul is my casting forth the demons.
19 `But if I by Beelzeboul cast forth the demons -- your sons, by whom do they cast forth? because of this your judges they shall be;
20 but if by the finger of God I cast forth the demons, then come unawares upon you did the reign of God.
21 `When the strong man armed may keep his hall, in peace are his goods;
22 but when the stronger than he, having come upon [him], may overcome him, his whole-armour he doth take away in which he had trusted, and his spoils he distributeth;
23 he who is not with me is against me, and he who is not gathering with me doth scatter.
24 `When the unclean spirit may go forth from the man it walketh through waterless places seeking rest, and not finding, it saith, I will turn back to my house whence I came forth;
25 and having come, it findeth [it] swept and adorned;
26 then doth it go, and take to it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and having entered, they dwell there, and the last of that man becometh worst than the first.'
27 And it came to pass, in his saying these things, a certain woman having lifted up the voice out of the multitude, said to him, `Happy the womb that carried thee, and the paps that thou didst suck!'
28 And he said, `Yea, rather, happy those hearing the word of God, and keeping [it]!'
29 And the multitudes crowding together upon him, he began to say, `This generation is evil, a sign it doth seek after, and a sign shall not be given to it, except the sign of Jonah the prophet,
30 for as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also shall the Son of Man be to this generation.
31 `A queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and shall condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and lo, greater than Solomon here!
32 `Men of Nineveh shall stand up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it, because they reformed at the proclamation of Jonah; and lo, greater than Jonah here!
33 `And no one having lighted a lamp, doth put [it] in a secret place, nor under the measure, but on the lamp-stand, that those coming in may behold the light.
34 `The lamp of the body is the eye, when then thine eye may be simple, thy whole body also is lightened; and when it may be evil, thy body also is darkened;
35 take heed, then, lest the light that [is] in thee be darkness;
36 if then thy whole body is lightened, not having any part darkened, the whole shall be lightened, as when the lamp by the brightness may give thee light.'
37 And in [his] speaking, a certain Pharisee was asking him that he might dine with him, and having gone in, he reclined (at meat),
38 and the Pharisee having seen, did wonder that he did not first baptize himself before the dinner.
39 And the Lord said unto him, `Now do ye, the Pharisees, the outside of the cup and of the plate make clean, but your inward part is full of rapine and wickedness;
40 unthinking! did not He who made the outside also the inside make?
41 But what ye have give ye [as] alms, and, lo, all things are clean to you.
42 `But wo to you, the Pharisees, because ye tithe the mint, and the rue, and every herb, and ye pass by the judgment, and the love of God; these things it behoveth to do, and those not to be neglecting.
43 `Wo to you, the Pharisees, because ye love the first seats in the synagogues, and the salutations in the market-places.
44 `Wo to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because ye are as the unseen tombs, and the men walking above have not known.'
45 And one of the lawyers answering, saith to him, `Teacher, these things saying, us also thou dost insult;'
46 and he said, `And to you, the lawyers, wo! because ye burden men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves with one of your fingers do not touch the burdens.
47 `Wo to you, because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.
48 Then do ye testify, and are well pleased with the works of your fathers, because they indeed killed them, and ye do build their tombs;
49 because of this also the wisdom of God said: I will send to them prophets, and apostles, and some of them they shall kill and persecute,
50 that the blood of all the prophets, that is being poured forth from the foundation of the world, may be required from this generation;
51 from the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, who perished between the altar and the house; yes, I say to you, It shall be required from this generation.
52 `Wo to you, the lawyers, because ye took away the key of the knowledge; yourselves ye did not enter; and those coming in, ye did hinder.'
53 And in his speaking these things unto them, the scribes and the Pharisees began fearfully to urge and to press him to speak about many things,
54 laying wait for him, and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him.
Luke 11
English Standard Version
The Lord's Prayer
11 Now Jesus[a] was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, (A)as John taught his disciples.” 2 And he said to them, (B)“When you pray, say:
(C)“Father, (D)hallowed be (E)your name.
(F)Your kingdom come.
3 (G)Give us (H)each day our daily bread,[b]
4 and (I)forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And (J)lead us not into temptation.”
5 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, 6 for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; 7 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’? 8 I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything (K)because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence[c] he will rise and give him whatever he needs. 9 And I tell you, (L)ask, and (M)it will be given to you; (N)seek, and you will find; (O)knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 11 What father among you, if his son asks for[d] a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; 12 or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, (P)who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father (Q)give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Jesus and Beelzebul
14 (R)Now he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled. 15 But some of them said, “He casts out demons (S)by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,” 16 while others, (T)to test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven. 17 (U)But he, (V)knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls. 18 And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. 19 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, (W)by whom do (X)your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 20 But if it is by (Y)the finger of God that I cast out demons, then (Z)the kingdom of God has come upon you. 21 When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; 22 (AA)but when one stronger than he attacks him and (AB)overcomes him, he takes away his (AC)armor in which he trusted and (AD)divides his spoil. 23 (AE)Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
Return of an Unclean Spirit
24 (AF)“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through (AG)waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ 25 And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. 26 Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And (AH)the last state of that person is worse than the first.”
True Blessedness
27 As he said these things, (AI)a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, (AJ)“Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” 28 But he said, (AK)“Blessed rather are those (AL)who hear the word of God and (AM)keep it!”
The Sign of Jonah
29 (AN)When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, (AO)“This generation is an evil generation. (AP)It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. 30 For as (AQ)Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. 31 (AR)The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and (AS)condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, (AT)something greater than Solomon is here. 32 (AU)The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and (AV)condemn it, for (AW)they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, (AX)something greater than Jonah is here.
The Light in You
33 (AY)“No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. 34 Your eye is (AZ)the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is (BA)bad, your body is full of darkness. 35 (BB)Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness. 36 If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, (BC)as when a lamp with its rays gives you light.”
Woes to the Pharisees and Lawyers
37 While Jesus[e] was speaking, (BD)a Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at table. 38 The Pharisee was astonished to see (BE)that he did not first wash before dinner. 39 And the Lord said to him, (BF)“Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of (BG)greed and wickedness. 40 (BH)You fools! (BI)Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? 41 But (BJ)give as alms those things that are within, and behold, (BK)everything is clean for you.
42 (BL)“But woe to you Pharisees! For (BM)you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect (BN)justice and (BO)the love of God. (BP)These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. 43 Woe to you Pharisees! For (BQ)you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. 44 Woe to you! (BR)For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it.”
45 One of (BS)the lawyers answered him, “Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.” 46 And he said, “Woe to you (BT)lawyers also! For (BU)you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. 47 (BV)Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. 48 (BW)So you are witnesses and you (BX)consent to the deeds of (BY)your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. 49 Therefore also (BZ)the Wisdom of God said, (CA)‘I will send them (CB)prophets and apostles, (CC)some of whom they will (CD)kill and persecute,’ 50 so that (CE)the blood of all the prophets, shed (CF)from the foundation of the world, may be (CG)charged against this generation, 51 from the blood of (CH)Abel to the blood of (CI)Zechariah, who perished between (CJ)the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be (CK)required of this generation. 52 Woe to you (CL)lawyers! (CM)For you have taken away the key of (CN)knowledge. You (CO)did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.”
53 As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things, 54 (CP)lying in wait for him, (CQ)to catch him in something he might say.
Footnotes
- Luke 11:1 Greek he
- Luke 11:3 Or our bread for tomorrow
- Luke 11:8 Or persistence
- Luke 11:11 Some manuscripts insert bread, will give him a stone; or if he asks for
- Luke 11:37 Greek he
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
