Luke 11
New Matthew Bible
He teaches his disciples to pray, drives out a devil, and rebukes the blasphemous Pharisees. They require signs and tokens. He eats with the Pharisee, and reproves the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, scribes, and hypocrites.
11 And it happened as he was praying in a certain place that when he ceased, one of his disciples said to him, Master, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples. 2 And he said to them, When you pray, say, Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, even in earth as it is in heaven. 3 Give us our daily bread evermore. 4 And forgive us our sins, for even we forgive every person that trespasses against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
5 And he said to them, If any of you had a friend, and went to him at midnight and said to him, Friend, lend me three loaves, 6 because a friend of mine has come from a journey to me and I have nothing to set before him, 7 and the man inside were to answer and say, Don’t trouble me; the door is now shut, and my servants are with me in the chamber; I cannot rise and give them to you – 8 I say to you, though he would not arise and give him a loaf because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he would rise and give him as many as he needed. 9 And so I say to you: ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
10 For everyone that asks, receives, and he that seeks, finds, and to him who knocks, it will be opened. 11 If the son asks for bread from any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for fish, will he give him a serpent for a fish? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13 If you then who are evil can give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father of heaven give a holy spirit to those who desire it of him?
14 And he was a casting out a devil that was dumb. And it followed, when the devil was gone out, the dumb man spoke. And the people were filled with wonder. 15 But some of them said, He casts out devils by the power of Beelzebub, the chief of the devils. 16 And others challenged him, seeking from him a sign from heaven.
17 But Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, Every kingdom divided within itself will be brought to desolation, and one house will fall upon another. 18 So if Satan is divided within himself, how shall his kingdom endure? For you say that I cast out devils by the power of Beelzebub. 19 If I cast out devils by the power of Beelzebub, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 20 But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, without question the kingdom of God has come upon you.
21 When a strong man armed guards his house, that which he possesses is in peace. 22 But when one stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him his weapons in which he trusted, and divides up his goods. 23 He who is not with me, is against me. And he who does not gather with me, scatters.
24 When the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he walks through waterless places, seeking rest. And when he finds none, he says, I will return again to my house from which I came out. 25 And when he comes back, he finds it swept and set in order. 26 Then he goes and gets seven other spirits worse than himself, and they enter in and dwell there, and the end of that man is worse than the beginning.
27 And it happened, as he spoke those things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice and said to him, Happy is the womb that bore you, and the paps that gave you suck. 28 But he said, Yea, happy are those who hear the word of God and keep it.
29 When the people were gathered thick together, he began and said, This is an evil nation. They seek a sign, but no sign will be given to them except the sign of Jonah the prophet. 30 For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of man be to this nation. 31 The queen of the south will rise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the end of the world to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, one greater than Solomon is here. 32 The men of Nineveh will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn them, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, one greater than Jonah is here.
33 No man lights a candle and puts it in a concealed place, nor under a bushel, but on a candlestick, so that those who come in may see the light. 34 The light of your body is the eye. Therefore when your eye is single, then is all your body full of light. But if your eye is bad, then shall all your body be full of darkness. 35 Take heed therefore that the light which is in you be not darkness. 36 For if all your body is lighted, having no part dark, then shall all be full of light, even as when a candle lights you with its brightness.
37 And as he spoke, a certain Pharisee asked him to dine with him, and Jesus went in and sat down to food. 38 When the Pharisee saw that, he was shocked that he had not first washed before dinner. 39 And the Lord said to him, Now you Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter, but your inward parts are full of greed and wickedness. 40 O foolish men, did not he who made the outside also make that which is within? 41 But rather give alms of what you have, and behold, all is clean to you. 42 But woe is to you Pharisees. For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, but pass over justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, but yet not have left the others undone.
43 Woe to you, Pharisees, for you love the uppermost seats in the synagogues and greetings in the markets. 44 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like graves that are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them.
45 Then one of the wise men of the law answered and said to him, Teacher, by so saying, you put us to rebuke also.
46 Then he said, Woe is to you also, doctors of the law. For you load men with burdens grievous to be borne, and you yourselves do not touch the packs with one of your fingers. 47 Woe to you! You build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them; 48 truly you bear witness that you accept the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their sepulchres. 49 Therefore the wisdom of God spoke: I will send them prophets and apostles, and some they will slay, and some persecute, 50 so that the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the beginning of the world, may be required of this generation, 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the temple. Truly I say to you, it shall be required of this nation.
52 Woe to you, doctors of the law, for you have taken away the key of knowledge. You yourselves did not enter in, and those who came in, you opposed.
53 When he spoke this way to them, the teachers of the law and the Pharisees began to hound him, and to stop his mouth with many questions, 54 laying wait for him, and attempting to catch something out of his mouth that they could use to accuse him.
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 © 2016 by Ruth Magnusson (Davis). Includes emendations to February 2022. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
