11:1 Now 1 Jesus 2 was praying in a certain place. When 3 he stopped, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John 4 taught 5 his disciples.” 11:2 So he said to them, “When you pray, 6 say:
Father, 7 may your name be honored; 8
may your kingdom come. 9
11:3 Give us each day our daily bread, 10
11:4 and forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive everyone who sins 11 against us.
And do not lead us into temptation.” 12
11:5 Then 13 he said to them, “Suppose one of you 14 has a friend, and you go to him 15 at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 16 11:6 because a friend of mine has stopped here while on a journey, 17 and I have nothing to set before 18 him.’ 11:7 Then 19 he will reply 20 from inside, ‘Do not bother me. The door is already shut, and my children and I are in bed. 21 I cannot get up and give you anything.’ 22 11:8 I tell you, even though the man inside 23 will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of the first man’s 24 sheer persistence 25 he will get up and give him whatever he needs.
11:9 “So 26 I tell you: Ask, 27 and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door 28 will be opened for you. 11:10 For everyone who asks 29 receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door 30 will be opened. 11:11 What father among you, if your 31 son asks for 32 a fish, will give him a snake 33 instead of a fish? 11:12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 34 11:13 If you then, although you are 35 evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit 36 to those who ask him!”
11:14 Now 37 he was casting out a demon that was mute. 38 When 39 the demon had gone out, the man who had been mute began to speak, 40 and the crowds were amazed. 11:15 But some of them said, “By the power of Beelzebul, 41 the ruler 42 of demons, he casts out demons.” 11:16 Others, to test 43 him, 44 began asking for 45 a sign 46 from heaven. 11:17 But Jesus, 47 realizing their thoughts, said to them, 48 “Every kingdom divided against itself is destroyed, 49 and a divided household falls. 50 11:18 So 51 if 52 Satan too is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? I ask you this because 53 you claim that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. 11:19 Now if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons 54 cast them 55 out? Therefore they will be your judges. 11:20 But if I cast out demons by the finger 56 of God, then the kingdom of God 57 has already overtaken 58 you. 11:21 When a strong man, 59 fully armed, guards his own palace, 60 his possessions are safe. 61 11:22 But 62 when a stronger man 63 attacks 64 and conquers him, he takes away the first man’s 65 armor on which the man relied 66 and divides up 67 his plunder. 68 11:23 Whoever is not with me is against me, 69 and whoever does not gather with me scatters. 70
11:24 “When an unclean spirit 71 goes out of a person, 72 it passes through waterless places 73 looking for rest but 74 not finding any. Then 75 it says, ‘I will return to the home I left.’ 76 11:25 When it returns, 77 it finds the house 78 swept clean and put in order. 79 11:26 Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there, so 80 the last state of that person 81 is worse than the first.” 82
11:27 As 83 he said these things, a woman in the crowd spoke out 84 to him, “Blessed is the womb 85 that bore you and the breasts at which you nursed!” 86 11:28 But he replied, 87 “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey 88 it!”
11:29 As 89 the crowds were increasing, Jesus 90 began to say, “This generation is a wicked generation; it looks for a sign, 91 but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. 92 11:30 For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, 93 so the Son of Man will be a sign 94 to this generation. 95 11:31 The queen of the South 96 will rise up at the judgment 97 with the people 98 of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon – and now, 99 something greater 100 than Solomon is here! 11:32 The people 101 of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented when Jonah preached to them 102 – and now, 103 something greater than Jonah is here!
11:33 “No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a hidden place 104 or under a basket, 105 but on a lampstand, so that those who come in can see the light. 11:34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, 106 your whole body is full of light, but when it is diseased, 107 your body is full of darkness. 11:35 Therefore see to it 108 that the light in you 109 is not darkness. 11:36 If 110 then 111 your whole body is full of light, with no part in the dark, 112 it will be as full of light as when the light of a lamp shines on you.” 113
11:37 As he spoke, 114 a Pharisee 115 invited Jesus 116 to have a meal with him, so he went in and took his place at the table. 117 11:38 The 118 Pharisee was astonished when he saw that Jesus 119 did not first wash his hands 120 before the meal. 11:39 But the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees clean 121 the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. 122 11:40 You fools! 123 Didn’t the one who made the outside make the inside as well? 124 11:41 But give from your heart to those in need, 125 and 126 then everything will be clean for you. 127
11:42 “But woe to you Pharisees! 128 You give a tenth 129 of your mint, 130 rue, 131 and every herb, yet you neglect justice 132 and love for God! But you should have done these things without neglecting the others. 133 11:43 Woe to you Pharisees! You love the best seats 134 in the synagogues 135 and elaborate greetings 136 in the marketplaces! 11:44 Woe to you! 137 You are like unmarked graves, and people 138 walk over them without realizing it!” 139
11:45 One of the experts in religious law 140 answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things you insult 141 us too.” 11:46 But Jesus 142 replied, 143 “Woe to you experts in religious law as well! 144 You load people 145 down with burdens difficult to bear, yet you yourselves refuse to touch 146 the burdens with even one of your fingers!