Luke 11-12

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

The Lord’s Prayer

11 He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.”^{(A) 2} So he said to them, “When you pray, say:

Perseverance in Prayer

⁵ And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, ⁶ for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ ⁷ And he answers from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ ⁸ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything out of friendship, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.^(C)

⁹ “So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.^{(D) 10} For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. ¹¹ Is there anyone among you who, if your child asked for^[e] a fish, would give a snake instead of a fish? ¹² Or if the child asked for an egg, would give a scorpion? ¹³ If you, then, who are 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!”

Jesus and Beelzebul

¹⁴ Now he was casting out a demon that was mute; when the demon had gone out, the one who had been mute spoke, and the crowds were amazed.^{(E) 15} But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.” ¹⁶ Others, to test him, kept demanding from him a sign from heaven.^{(F) 17} But he knew what they were thinking and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls.^{(G) 18} If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?—for you say that I cast out the demons by Beelzebul. ¹⁹ Now if I cast out the demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your exorcists^[g] cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. ²⁰ But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.^{(H) 21} When a strong man, fully armed, guards his castle, his property is safe. ²² But when one stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his plunder. ²³ Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.^(I)

The Return of the Unclean Spirit

²⁴ “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it wanders through waterless regions looking for a resting place, but not finding any it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ ²⁵ When it returns, it finds it swept and put in order. ²⁶ Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and live there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first.”^(J)

True Blessedness

²⁷ While he was saying this, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you!”^{(K) 28} But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it!”^(L)

The Sign of Jonah

²⁹ When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, “This generation is an evil generation; it asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.^{(M) 30} For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so the Son of Man will be to this generation. ³¹ The queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and indeed, something greater than Solomon is here!^{(N) 32} The people of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and indeed, something greater than Jonah is here!^(O)

The Light of the Body

³³ “No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a bushel basket;^[h] rather, one puts it on the lampstand so that those who enter may see the light.^{(P) 34} Your eye is the lamp of your body. If your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but if it is unhealthy, your body is full of darkness.^{(Q) 35} Therefore consider whether the light in you is not darkness. ³⁶ But if your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, it will be as full of light as when a lamp gives you light with its rays.”

Jesus Denounces Pharisees and Experts in the Law

³⁷ While he was speaking, a Pharisee invited him to dine with him, so he went in and took his place at the table.^{(R) 38} The Pharisee was amazed to see that he did not first wash before dinner.^{(S) 39} Then the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.^{(T) 40} You fools! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? ⁴¹ So give as alms those things that are within and then everything will be clean for you.^(U)

⁴² “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and herbs of all kinds and neglect justice and the love of God; it is these you ought to have practiced, without neglecting the others.^{(V) 43} Woe to you Pharisees! For you love to have the seat of honor in the synagogues and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces.^{(W) 44} Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves on which people unknowingly walk.”^(X)

⁴⁵ One of the experts in the law answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us, too.” ⁴⁶ And he said, “Woe also to you experts in the law! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not lift a finger to ease them.^{(Y) 47} Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your ancestors killed.^{(Z) 48} So you are witnesses and approve of the deeds of your ancestors, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. ⁴⁹ For this reason the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’^{(AA) 50} so that this generation may be charged with the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world, ⁵¹ from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be charged against this generation.^{(AB) 52} Woe to you experts in the law! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.”^(AC)

⁵³ When he went outside, the scribes and the Pharisees became hostile to him and began to interrogate him about many things, ⁵⁴ lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say.^(AD)

A Warning against Hypocrisy

12 Meanwhile, when the crowd had gathered by the thousands, so that they trampled on one another, he began to speak first to his disciples, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, that is, their hypocrisy.^{(AE) 2} Nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered and nothing secret that will not become known.^{(AF) 3} Therefore whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed from the housetops.

Exhortation to Fearless Confession

⁴ “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body and after that can do nothing more.^{(AG) 5} But I will show you whom to fear: fear the one who, after killing, has authority^[i] to cast into hell.^[j] Yes, I tell you, fear that one!^{(AH) 6} Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight. ⁷ But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.^(AI)

⁸ “And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God,^{(AJ) 9} but whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God. ¹⁰ And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.^{(AK) 11} When they bring you before the synagogues, the rulers, and the authorities, do not worry about how or what^[k] you will answer or what you are to say,^{(AL) 12} for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what you ought to say.”

The Parable of the Rich Fool

¹³ Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” ¹⁴ But he said to him, “Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?”^{(AM) 15} And he said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.”^{(AN) 16} Then he told them a parable: “The land of a rich man produced abundantly. ¹⁷ And he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’ ¹⁸ Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’^{(AO) 20} But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’^{(AP) 21} So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”^(AQ)

Do Not Worry

²² He said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. ²³ For life is more than food and the body more than clothing. ²⁴ Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!^{(AR) 25} And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to your span of life?^{[l](AS) 26} If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? ²⁷ Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,^[m] yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.^{(AT) 28} But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, you of little faith! ²⁹ And do not keep seeking what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. ³⁰ For it is the nations^[n] of the world that seek all these things, and your Father knows that you need them.^{(AU) 31} Instead, seek his^[o] kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

³² “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.^{(AV) 33} Sell your possessions and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.^{(AW) 34} For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.^(AX)

Watchful Slaves

³⁵ “Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit;^{(AY) 36} be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. ³⁷ Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them.^{(AZ) 38} If he comes during the middle of the night or near dawn and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.

³⁹ “But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he^[p] would not have let his house be broken into.^{(BA) 40} You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”^(BB)

The Faithful or the Unfaithful Slave

⁴¹ Peter said, “Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for everyone?” ⁴² And the Lord said, “Who, then, is the faithful and prudent manager whom his master will put in charge of his slaves, to give them their allowance of food at the proper time?^{(BC) 43} Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives. ⁴⁴ Truly I tell you, he will put that one in charge of all his possessions. ⁴⁵ But if that slave says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the other slaves, men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk, ⁴⁶ the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour that he does not know and will cut him in pieces^[q] and put him with the unfaithful. ⁴⁷ That slave who knew what his master wanted but did not prepare himself or do what was wanted will receive a severe beating.^{(BD) 48} But the one who did not know and did what deserved a beating will receive a light beating. From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required, and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.^(BE)

Jesus the Cause of Division

⁴⁹ “I have come to cast fire upon the earth, and how I wish it were already ablaze! ⁵⁰ I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what constraint I am under until it is completed!^{(BF) 51} Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!^{(BG) 52} From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; ⁵³ they will be divided:

Interpreting the Time

⁵⁴ He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, ‘It is going to rain,’ and so it happens.^{(BI) 55} And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and it happens.^{(BJ) 56} You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?^(BK)

Settling with Your Opponent

⁵⁷ “And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? ⁵⁸ Thus when you go with your accuser before a magistrate, on the way make an effort to reach a settlement,^[r] or you may be dragged before the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer throw you in prison.^{(BL) 59} I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny.”^(BM)