Luke 10:42-12:48

English Standard Version

⁴² but one thing is necessary.^[a] Mary has chosen ^(A)the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

The Lord's Prayer

11 Now Jesus^[b] was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, ^(B)as John taught his disciples.” ² And he said to them, ^(C)“When you pray, say:

⁵ And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, ⁶ for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; ⁷ and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? ⁸ I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything ^(L)because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence^[d] he will rise and give him whatever he needs. ⁹ And I tell you, ^(M)ask, and ^(N)it will be given to you; ^(O)seek, and you will find; ^(P)knock, and it will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. ¹¹ What father among you, if his son asks for^[e] a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; ¹² or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? ¹³ If you then, ^(Q)who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father ^(R)give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Jesus and Beelzebul

^14 (S)Now he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled. ¹⁵ But some of them said, “He casts out demons ^(T)by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,” ¹⁶ while others, ^(U)to test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven. ^17 (V)But he, ^(W)knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls. ¹⁸ And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. ¹⁹ And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, ^(X)by whom do ^(Y)your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. ²⁰ But if it is by ^(Z)the finger of God that I cast out demons, then ^(AA)the kingdom of God has come upon you. ²¹ When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; ^22 (AB)but when one stronger than he attacks him and ^(AC)overcomes him, he takes away his ^(AD)armor in which he trusted and ^(AE)divides his spoil. ^23 (AF)Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

Return of an Unclean Spirit

^24 (AG)“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through ^(AH)waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ ²⁵ And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. ²⁶ Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And ^(AI)the last state of that person is worse than the first.”

True Blessedness

²⁷ As he said these things, ^(AJ)a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, ^(AK)“Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” ²⁸ But he said, ^(AL)“Blessed rather are those ^(AM)who hear the word of God and ^(AN)keep it!”

The Sign of Jonah

^29 (AO)When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, ^(AP)“This generation is an evil generation. ^(AQ)It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. ³⁰ For as ^(AR)Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. ^31 (AS)The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and ^(AT)condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, ^(AU)something greater than Solomon is here. ^32 (AV)The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and ^(AW)condemn it, for ^(AX)they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, ^(AY)something greater than Jonah is here.

The Light in You

^33 (AZ)“No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. ³⁴ Your eye is ^(BA)the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is ^(BB)bad, your body is full of darkness. ^35 (BC)Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness. ³⁶ If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, ^(BD)as when a lamp with its rays gives you light.”

Woes to the Pharisees and Lawyers

³⁷ While Jesus^[f] was speaking, ^(BE)a Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at table. ³⁸ The Pharisee was astonished to see ^(BF)that he did not first wash before dinner. ³⁹ And the Lord said to him, ^(BG)“Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of ^(BH)greed and wickedness. ^40 (BI)You fools! ^(BJ)Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? ⁴¹ But ^(BK)give as alms those things that are within, and behold, ^(BL)everything is clean for you.

^42 (BM)“But woe to you Pharisees! For ^(BN)you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect ^(BO)justice and ^(BP)the love of God. ^(BQ)These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. ⁴³ Woe to you Pharisees! For ^(BR)you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. ⁴⁴ Woe to you! ^(BS)For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it.”

⁴⁵ One of ^(BT)the lawyers answered him, “Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.” ⁴⁶ And he said, “Woe to you ^(BU)lawyers also! For ^(BV)you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. ^47 (BW)Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. ^48 (BX)So you are witnesses and you ^(BY)consent to the deeds of ^(BZ)your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. ⁴⁹ Therefore also ^(CA)the Wisdom of God said, ^(CB)‘I will send them ^(CC)prophets and apostles, ^(CD)some of whom they will ^(CE)kill and persecute,’ ⁵⁰ so that ^(CF)the blood of all the prophets, shed ^(CG)from the foundation of the world, may be ^(CH)charged against this generation, ⁵¹ from the blood of ^(CI)Abel to the blood of ^(CJ)Zechariah, who perished between ^(CK)the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be ^(CL)required of this generation. ⁵² Woe to you ^(CM)lawyers! ^(CN)For you have taken away the key of ^(CO)knowledge. You ^(CP)did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.”

⁵³ As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things, ^54 (CQ)lying in wait for him, ^(CR)to catch him in something he might say.

Beware of the Leaven of the Pharisees

12 In the meantime, ^(CS)when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, ^(CT)“Beware of ^(CU)the leaven of the Pharisees, ^(CV)which is hypocrisy. ^2 (CW)Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. ³ Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in ^(CX)private rooms shall be proclaimed on ^(CY)the housetops.

Have No Fear

⁴ “I tell you, my friends, ^(CZ)do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. ⁵ But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him ^(DA)who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell.^[g] Yes, I tell you, fear him! ⁶ Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?^[h] And ^(DB)not one of them is forgotten before God. ⁷ Why, ^(DC)even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; ^(DD)you are of more value than many sparrows.

Acknowledge Christ Before Men

⁸ “And I tell you, ^(DE)everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge ^(DF)before the angels of God, ⁹ but ^(DG)the one who denies me before men ^(DH)will be denied ^(DI)before the angels of God. ¹⁰ And ^(DJ)everyone who speaks a word ^(DK)against the Son of Man ^(DL)will be forgiven, but the one who ^(DM)blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. ^11 (DN)And when they ^(DO)bring you before the synagogues and ^(DP)the rulers and ^(DQ)the authorities, ^(DR)do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, ^12 (DS)for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

The Parable of the Rich Fool

^13 (DT)Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” ¹⁴ But he said to him, ^(DU)“Man, ^(DV)who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” ¹⁵ And he said to them, ^(DW)“Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” ¹⁶ And he told them a parable, saying, ^(DX)“The land of a rich man produced plentifully, ¹⁷ and he thought to himself, ^(DY)‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ ¹⁸ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my ^(DZ)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 ^(EA)for many years; relax, ^(EB)eat, drink, be merry.”’ ²⁰ But God said to him, ^(EC)‘Fool! ^(ED)This night ^(EE)your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, ^(EF)whose will they be?’ ²¹ So is the one ^(EG)who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

Do Not Be Anxious

²² And he said to his disciples, ^(EH)“Therefore I tell you, ^(EI)do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. ²³ For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. ^24 (EJ)Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. ^(EK)Of how much more value are you than the birds! ²⁵ And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his ^(EL)span of life?^{[i] 26} If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? ²⁷ Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,^[j] yet I tell you, ^(EM)even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ²⁸ But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, ^(EN)O you of little faith! ²⁹ And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor ^(EO)be worried. ³⁰ For ^(EP)all the nations of the world seek after these things, and ^(EQ)your Father knows that you need them. ³¹ Instead, ^(ER)seek ^(ES)his^[k] kingdom, ^(ET)and these things will be added to you.

^32 (EU)“Fear not, little ^(EV)flock, for ^(EW)it is your Father's good pleasure to give you ^(EX)the kingdom. ^33 (EY)Sell your possessions, and ^(EZ)give to the needy. ^(FA)Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with ^(FB)a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. ^34 (FC)For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

You Must Be Ready

^35 (FD)“Stay dressed for action^[l] and ^(FE)keep your lamps burning, ³⁶ and be like men who are ^(FF)waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and ^(FG)knocks. ^37 (FH)Blessed are those servants^[m] whom the master finds ^(FI)awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, ^(FJ)he will dress himself for service and ^(FK)have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. ³⁸ If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! ^39 (FL)But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour ^(FM)the thief was coming, he^[n] would not have left his house to be broken into. ⁴⁰ You also must be ^(FN)ready, for ^(FO)the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

⁴¹ Peter said, “Lord, ^(FP)are you telling this parable for us or for all?” ⁴² And the Lord said, “Who then is ^(FQ)the faithful and ^(FR)wise ^(FS)manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? ^43 (FT)Blessed is that servant^[o] whom his master will find so doing when he comes. ⁴⁴ Truly, I say to you, ^(FU)he will set him over all his possessions. ⁴⁵ But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master ^(FV)is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and ^(FW)get drunk, ⁴⁶ the master of that servant will come ^(FX)on a day when he does not expect him and ^(FY)at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful. ^47 (FZ)And that servant who ^(GA)knew his master's will but ^(GB)did not get ready ^(GC)or act according to his will, will receive a ^(GD)severe beating. ^48 (GE)But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, ^(GF)will receive a light beating. ^(GG)Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.