Luke 11

1One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When He finished, one of His disciples said to Him: Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.

2He said to them: When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come.

3Give us each day our daily bread.

4Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.

5Then he said to them: Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say: Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,

6Because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.

7And suppose the one inside answers: Do not bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything.

8I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless persistence he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.

9So I say to you: Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you.

10For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

11Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?

12Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?

13If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!

14Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon left, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowds were amazed.

15But some of them said: By Beelzebul, the prince of demons, He is driving out demons.

16Others tested Him by asking for a sign from heaven.

17Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall.

18If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebul.

19Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges.

20But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

21When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe.

22But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor the man relied on and divides up his plunder.

23Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

24When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through dry places seeking rest, and not finding any, it says: I will return to the house I left.

25When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order.

26Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.

27As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out: Blessed is the mother who gave You birth and nursed You.

28He replied: Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.

29As the crowds increased, Jesus said: This is a wicked generation. It asks for a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah.

30For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation.

31The queen of the south will rise at the judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom, and now something greater than Solomon is here.

32The people of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here.

33No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead, they put it on a stand, so that those who come in may see the light.

34Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy, your body also is full of darkness.

35See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness.

36Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of light as when a lamp shines its light on you.

37When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited Him to eat with him, so He went in and reclined at the table.

38The Pharisee noticed that Jesus did not first wash before the meal, and he was surprised.

39The Lord said to him: Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.

40You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also?

41But now as for what is inside, give to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.

42How terrible for you Pharisees! You give a tenth of your mint, rue, and every other herb, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.

43How terrible for you Pharisees! You love the most important seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the marketplaces.

44How terrible for you! You are like unmarked graves, which people walk over without knowing it.

45One of the experts in the law answered Him: Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also.

46Jesus replied: And how terrible for you experts in the law! You load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.

47How terrible for you! You build tombs for the prophets, and it was your ancestors who killed them.

48So you testify that you approve of what your ancestors did. They killed the prophets, and you build their tombs.

49Because of this, God in His wisdom said: I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute.

50Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world,

51From the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all.

52How terrible for you experts in the law! You have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.

53When Jesus went outside, the teachers of the law and the Pharisees began to oppose Him fiercely and to besiege Him with questions,

54Waiting to catch Him in something He might say.