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“So[a] I tell you: Ask,[b] and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door[c] will be opened for you. 10 For everyone who asks[d] receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door[e] will be opened. 11 What father among you, if your[f] son asks for[g] a fish, will give him a snake[h] instead of a fish? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?[i] 13 If you then, although you are[j] evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit[k] to those who ask him!”

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 11:9 tn Here καί (kai, from καγώ [kagō]) has been translated as “so” to indicate the conclusion drawn from the preceding parable.
  2. Luke 11:9 sn The three present imperatives in this verse (Ask…seek…knock) are probably intended to call for a repeated or continual approach before God.
  3. Luke 11:9 tn Grk “it”; the referent (a door) is implied by the context and has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  4. Luke 11:10 sn The actions of asking, seeking, and knocking are repeated here from v. 9 with the encouragement that God does respond.
  5. Luke 11:10 tn Grk “it”; the referent (a door) is implied by the context and has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  6. Luke 11:11 tn Grk “the”; in context the article is used as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).
  7. Luke 11:11 tc Most mss (א A C D L W Θ Ψ ƒ1,13 33 M lat syc,p,h bo) have “bread, does not give him a stone instead, or” before “a fish”; the longer reading, however, looks like a harmonization to Matt 7:9. The shorter reading is thus preferred, attested by P45,75 B 1241 sys sa.
  8. Luke 11:11 sn The snake probably refers to a water snake.
  9. Luke 11:12 sn The two questions of vv. 11-12 expect the answer, “No father would do this!”
  10. Luke 11:13 tn The participle ὑπάρχοντες (huparchontes) has been translated as a concessive participle.
  11. Luke 11:13 sn The provision of the Holy Spirit is probably a reference to the wisdom and guidance supplied in response to repeated requests. Some apply it to the general provision of the Spirit, but this would seem to look only at one request in a context that speaks of repeated asking. The teaching as a whole stresses not that God gives everything his children want, but that God gives the good that they need. The parallel account in Matthew (7:11) refers to good things where Luke mentions the Holy Spirit.

“So I say to you, [a](A)ask, and it will be given to you; [b]seek, and you will find; [c]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 Now [d]which one of you fathers will his son ask for a [e]fish, and instead of a fish, he will give him a snake? 12 Or he will even ask for an egg, and his father will give him a scorpion? 13 So (B)if you, despite being [f]evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will [g]your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 11:9 Or keep asking
  2. Luke 11:9 Or keep seeking
  3. Luke 11:9 Or keep knocking
  4. Luke 11:11 Lit which of you, the father, will the son ask
  5. Luke 11:11 One early ms inserts loaf, he will not give him a stone, will he, or for a
  6. Luke 11:13 I.e., as sinful mankind
  7. Luke 11:13 Lit the Father from heaven

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.

10 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

11 If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?

12 Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?

13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

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“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you;(A) seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for[a] a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you 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!”

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 11:11 Some manuscripts for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for