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11 What father among you, if your[a] son asks for[b] a fish, will give him a snake[c] instead of a fish? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?[d] 13 If you then, although you are[e] evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit[f] to those who ask him!”

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 11:11 tn Grk “the”; in context the article is used as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).
  2. 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.
  3. Luke 11:11 sn The snake probably refers to a water snake.
  4. Luke 11:12 sn The two questions of vv. 11-12 expect the answer, “No father would do this!”
  5. Luke 11:13 tn The participle ὑπάρχοντες (huparchontes) has been translated as a concessive participle.
  6. 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.

11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he won’t give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, he won’t give him a scorpion, will he? 13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”

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