And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves;

For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him?

And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee.

I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.

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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And He said to them, Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and will say to him, Friend, lend me three loaves [of bread],

For a friend of mine who is on a journey has just come, and I have nothing to put before him;

And he from within will answer, Do not disturb me; the door is now closed, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and supply you [with anything]?

I tell you, although he will not get up and supply him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his shameless persistence and insistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs.

So I say to you, Ask and [a]keep on asking and it shall be given you; seek and [b]keep on seeking and you shall find; knock and [c]keep on knocking and the door shall be opened to you.

10 For everyone who asks and [d]keeps on asking receives; and he who seeks and [e]keeps on seeking finds; and to him who knocks and [f]keeps on knocking, the door shall be opened.

11 What father among you, if his son asks for [g]a loaf of bread, will give him a stone; or if he asks for 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, evil as you are, know how to give good gifts [gifts [h]that are to their advantage] to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask and [i]continue to ask Him!

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 11:9 Charles B. Williams, The New Testament: A Translation: The idea of continuing or repeated action is often carried by the present imperative and present participles in Greek.
  2. Luke 11:9 Charles B. Williams, The New Testament: A Translation: The idea of continuing or repeated action is often carried by the present imperative and present participles in Greek.
  3. Luke 11:9 Charles B. Williams, The New Testament: A Translation: The idea of continuing or repeated action is often carried by the present imperative and present participles in Greek.
  4. Luke 11:10 Charles B. Williams, The New Testament: A Translation: The idea of continuing or repeated action is often carried by the present imperative and present participles in Greek.
  5. Luke 11:10 Charles B. Williams, The New Testament: A Translation: The idea of continuing or repeated action is often carried by the present imperative and present participles in Greek.
  6. Luke 11:10 Charles B. Williams, The New Testament: A Translation: The idea of continuing or repeated action is often carried by the present imperative and present participles in Greek.
  7. Luke 11:11 Some manuscripts contain this portion within verse 11.
  8. Luke 11:13 Hermann Cremer, Biblico-Theological Lexicon.
  9. Luke 11:13 Charles B. Williams, The New Testament: A Translation: The idea of continuing or repeated action is often carried by the present imperative and present participles in Greek.

5-6 Then, teaching them more about prayer,[a] he used this illustration: “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You would shout up to him, ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit and I’ve nothing to give him to eat.’ He would call down from his bedroom, ‘Please don’t ask me to get up. The door is locked for the night and we are all in bed. I just can’t help you this time.’

“But I’ll tell you this—though he won’t do it as a friend, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you everything you want—just because of your persistence. And so it is with prayer—keep on asking and you will keep on getting; keep on looking and you will keep on finding; knock and the door will be opened. 10 Everyone who asks, receives; all who seek, find; and the door is opened to everyone who knocks.

11 “You men who are fathers—if your boy asks for bread, do you give him a stone? If he asks for fish, do you give him a snake? 12 If he asks for an egg, do you give him a scorpion? Of course not![b]

13 “And if even sinful persons like yourselves give children what they need, don’t you realize that your heavenly Father will do at least as much, and give the Holy Spirit to those who ask for him?”

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 11:5 Then, teaching them more about prayer. Some ancient manuscripts add at this point additional portions of the Lord’s Prayer as recorded in Matthew 6:9-13.
  2. Luke 11:12 Of course not, implied.