Luke 11
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
11 Then He was praying in a certain place; and when He stopped, one of His disciples said to Him, Lord, teach us to pray, [just] as John taught his disciples.
2 And He said to them, When you pray, say: Our Father Who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come. Your will be done [held holy and revered] on earth as it is in heaven.
3 Give us daily our bread [[a]food for the morrow].
4 And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us [who has offended us or done us wrong]. And bring us not into temptation but rescue us from evil.
5 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],
6 For a friend of mine who is on a journey has just come, and I have nothing to put before him;
7 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]?
8 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.
9 So I say to you, Ask and [b]keep on asking and it shall be given you; seek and [c]keep on seeking and you shall find; knock and [d]keep on knocking and the door shall be opened to you.
10 For everyone who asks and [e]keeps on asking receives; and he who seeks and [f]keeps on seeking finds; and to him who knocks and [g]keeps on knocking, the door shall be opened.
11 What father among you, if his son asks for [h]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 [i]that are to their advantage] to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask and [j]continue to ask Him!
14 Now Jesus was driving out a demon that was dumb; and it occurred that when the demon had gone out, the dumb man spoke. And the crowds marveled.
15 But some of them said, He drives out demons [because He is in league with and] by Beelzebub, the prince of demons,
16 While others, to try and test and tempt Him, demanded a sign of Him from heaven.
17 But He, [well] aware of their intent and purpose, said to them, Every kingdom split up against itself is doomed and brought to desolation, and so house falls upon house. [The disunited household will collapse.]
18 And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom last? For you say that I expel demons with the help of and by Beelzebub.
19 Now if I expel demons with the help of and by Beelzebub, with whose help and by whom do your sons drive them out? Therefore they shall be your judges.
20 But if I drive out the demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has [already] come upon you.
21 When the strong man, fully armed, [[k]from his courtyard] guards his own dwelling, his belongings are undisturbed [his property is at peace and is secure].
22 But when one stronger than he attacks him and conquers him, he robs him of his whole armor on which he had relied and divides up and distributes all his goods as plunder (spoil).
23 He who is not with Me [siding and believing with Me] is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me [engage in My interest], scatters.
24 When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it roams through waterless places in search [of a place] of rest (release, refreshment, ease); and finding none it says, I will go back to my house from which I came.
25 And when it arrives, it finds [the place] swept and put in order and furnished and decorated.
26 And it goes and brings other spirits, seven [of them], more evil than itself, and they enter in, settle down, and dwell there; and the last state of that person is worse than the first.
27 Now it occurred that as He was saying these things, a certain woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, Blessed (happy and [l]to be envied) is the womb that bore You and the breasts that You sucked!
28 But He said, Blessed (happy and [m]to be envied) rather are those who hear the Word of God and obey and practice it!
29 Now as the crowds were [increasingly] thronging Him, He began to say, This present generation is a wicked one; it seeks and demands a sign (miracle), but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of Jonah [the prophet].(A)
30 For [just] as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will also the Son of Man be [a sign] to this age and generation.(B)
31 The queen of the South will arise in the judgment with the people of this age and generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the [inhabited] earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and notice, [n]here is more than Solomon.(C)
32 The men of Nineveh will appear as witnesses at the judgment with this generation and will condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, [o]here is more than Jonah.(D)
33 No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or crypt or under a bushel measure, but on a lampstand, that those who are coming in may see the light.
34 Your eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye ([p]your conscience) is sound and fulfilling its office, your whole body is full of light; but when it is not sound and is not fulfilling its office, your body is full of darkness.
35 Be careful, therefore, that the light that is in you is not darkness.
36 If then your entire body is illuminated, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright [with light], as when a lamp with its bright rays gives you light.
37 Now while Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee invited Him to take dinner with him, so He entered and reclined at table.
38 The Pharisee noticed and was astonished [to see] that Jesus did not first wash before dinner.
39 But the Lord said to him, Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside you yourselves are full of greed and robbery and extortion and malice and wickedness.
40 You senseless (foolish, stupid) ones [acting without reflection or intelligence]! Did not He Who made the outside make the inside also?
41 But [dedicate your inner self and] give as donations to the poor of those things which are within [of inward righteousness] and behold, everything is purified and clean for you.
42 But woe to you, Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every [little] herb, but disregard and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done without leaving the others undone.(E)
43 Woe to you, Pharisees! For you love the best seats in the synagogues and [you love] to be greeted and bowed down to in the [public] marketplaces.
44 Woe to you! For you are like graves which are not marked or seen, and men walk over them without being aware of it [and are ceremonially defiled].
45 One of the experts in the [Mosaic] Law answered Him, Teacher, in saying this, You reproach and outrage and affront even us!
46 But He said, Woe to you, the lawyers, also! For you load men with oppressive burdens hard to bear, and you do not personally [even [q]gently] touch the burdens with one of your fingers.
47 Woe to you! For you are [r]rebuilding and repairing the tombs of the prophets, whom your fathers killed (destroyed).
48 So you bear witness and give your full approval and consent to the deeds of your fathers; for they actually killed them, and you rebuild and repair monuments to them.
49 For this reason also the wisdom of God said, I will send them prophets and apostles, [some] of whom they will put to death and persecute,
50 So that the blood of all the prophets shed from the foundation of the world may be charged against and required of this age and generation,
51 From the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was slain between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it shall be charged against and required of this age and generation.(F)
52 Woe to you, lawyers (experts in the Mosaic Law)! For you have taken away the key to knowledge; you did not go in yourselves, and you hindered and prevented those who were entering.
53 As He left there, the scribes and the Pharisees [followed Him closely, and they] began [s]to be enraged with and set themselves violently against Him and to draw Him out and provoke Him to speak of many things,
54 Secretly watching and plotting and lying in wait for Him, to seize upon something He might say [that they might accuse Him].
Footnotes
- Luke 11:3 James Moulton and George Milligan, The Vocabulary.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Luke 11:11 Some manuscripts contain this portion within verse 11.
- Luke 11:13 Hermann Cremer, Biblico-Theological Lexicon.
- 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.
- Luke 11:21 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
- Luke 11:27 Alexander Souter, Pocket Lexicon.
- Luke 11:28 Alexander Souter, Pocket Lexicon.
- Luke 11:31 John Wycliffe, The Wycliffe Bible.
- Luke 11:32 John Wycliffe, The Wycliffe Bible.
- Luke 11:34 Hermann Cremer, Biblico-Theological Lexicon.
- Luke 11:46 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
- Luke 11:47 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
- Luke 11:53 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
Luke 11
New King James Version
The Model Prayer(A)
11 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”
2 So He said to them, “When you pray, say:
(B)Our[a] Father [b]in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
[c]Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
3 Give us day by day our daily bread.
4 And (C)forgive us our sins,
For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And do not lead us into temptation,
[d]But deliver us from the evil one.”
A Friend Comes at Midnight
5 And He said to them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; 6 for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; 7 and he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you’? 8 I say to you, (D)though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.
Keep Asking, Seeking, Knocking(E)
9 (F)“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; (G)seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 11 (H)If a son asks for [e]bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13 If you then, being evil, know how to give (I)good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
A House Divided Cannot Stand(J)
14 (K)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, (L)“He casts out demons by [f]Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”
16 Others, testing Him, (M)sought from Him a sign from heaven. 17 (N)But (O)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 (P)with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. 21 (Q)When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. 22 But (R)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 [g]spoils. 23 (S)He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
An Unclean Spirit Returns(T)
24 (U)“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 (V)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, (W)“Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!”
28 But He said, (X)“More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”
Seeking a Sign(Y)
29 (Z)And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, “This is an evil generation. It seeks a (AA)sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah [h]the prophet. 30 For as (AB)Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation. 31 (AC)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 (AD)greater than Solomon is here. 32 The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for (AE)they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.
The Lamp of the Body(AF)
33 (AG)“No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a (AH)basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light. 34 (AI)The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is [i]good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is [j]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 (AJ)When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that He had not first washed before dinner.
39 (AK)Then the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but (AL)your inward part is full of [k]greed and wickedness. 40 Foolish ones! Did not (AM)He who made the outside make the inside also? 41 (AN)But rather give alms of [l]such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you.
42 (AO)“But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and (AP)pass by justice and the (AQ)love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. 43 (AR)Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the [m]best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. 44 (AS)Woe to you, [n]scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! (AT)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! (AU)For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. 47 (AV)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, (AW)‘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 (AX)from the blood of Abel to (AY)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 (AZ)“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 [o]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, [p]and (BA)seeking to catch Him in something He might say, [q]that they might accuse Him.
Footnotes
- Luke 11:2 NU omits Our
- Luke 11:2 NU omits in heaven
- Luke 11:2 NU omits the rest of v. 2.
- Luke 11:4 NU omits But deliver us from the evil one
- Luke 11:11 NU omits bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for
- Luke 11:15 NU, M Beelzebul
- Luke 11:22 plunder
- Luke 11:29 NU omits the prophet
- Luke 11:34 Clear, or healthy
- Luke 11:34 Evil, or unhealthy
- Luke 11:39 Lit. eager grasping or robbery
- Luke 11:41 Or what is inside
- Luke 11:43 Or places of honor
- Luke 11:44 NU omits scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites
- Luke 11:53 NU And when He left there
- Luke 11:54 NU omits and seeking
- Luke 11:54 NU omits that they might accuse Him
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
