It happened that while
1Jesus was praying
in a certain
place
, after
He had finished
, one
of His disciples
said
to Him, "Lord
, teach
us to pray
just
as John
also
taught
his disciples
."
And He said to them, " aWhen
you pray
, say
: ` 1Father
, hallowed
be Your name
. Your kingdom
come
.
`Give us aeach
day
our 1daily
bread
.
`And forgive us our sins
, For we ourselves
also
forgive
everyone
who ais indebted
to us. And lead
us not into temptation
.' "
Then He said
to them, " 1Suppose
one
of you has
a friend
, and goes
to him at midnight
and says
to him, `Friend
, lend
me three
loaves
;
for a friend of mine
has come
to me from a journey
, and I have
nothing
to set
before
him';
and from inside he answers
and says
, `Do not bother
me; the door
has already
been shut
and my children
1and I are in bed
; I cannot
get
up and give
you anything.'
"I tell you, even
though
he will not get
up and give
him anything because
he is his friend
, yet
abecause
of his 1persistence
he will get
up and give
him as much
as he needs
.
"So I say
to you, 1 aask
, and it will be given
to you; 2seek
, and you will find
; 3knock
, and it will be opened
to you.
"For everyone who asks
, receives
; and he who seeks
, finds
; and to him who knocks
, it will be opened
.
"Now 1suppose
one
of you fathers
is asked
by his son
for a 2fish
; he will not give
him a snake
instead
of a fish
, will he?
"Or if he is asked
for an egg
, he will not give
him a scorpion
, will he?
" aIf you then
, being
evil
, know
how
to give
good
gifts
to your children
, how
much
more
will your 1heavenly
Father
give
the Holy
Spirit
to those
who ask
Him?"
aAnd He was casting out a demon
, and it was mute
; when the demon
had gone
out, the mute
man
spoke
; and the crowds
were amazed
.
But some of them said
, "He casts
out demons
aby bBeelzebul
, the ruler
of the demons
."
Others, 1to test
Him, awere demanding
of Him a 2sign
from heaven
.
aBut He knew their thoughts
and said
to them, " 1Any
kingdom
divided
against
itself
is laid
waste
; and a house
divided against
2itself
falls
.
"If aSatan
also
is divided
against
himself
, how
will his kingdom
stand
? For you say
that I cast
out demons
by bBeelzebul
.
"And if I by aBeelzebul
cast
out demons
, by whom
do your sons
cast
them out? So
they will be your judges
.
"But if I cast
out demons
by the afinger
of God
, then
bthe kingdom
of God
has come
upon you.
"When 1a strong
man, fully
armed
, guards
his own
house
, his possessions
are 2undisturbed
.
"But when someone stronger
than he attacks
him and overpowers
him, he takes
away
from him all
his armor
on which
he had relied
and distributes
his plunder
.
" aHe who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather
with Me, scatters
.
" aWhen the unclean
spirit
goes
out of 1a man
, it passes
through
waterless
places
seeking
rest
, and not finding
any, it says
, `I will return
to my house
from which
I came
.'
"And when it comes, it finds
it swept
and put
in order
.
"Then it goes
and takes
along seven
other
spirits
more
evil
than itself
, and they go
in and live
there
; and the last
state of that man
becomes
worse
than the first
."
While 1Jesus was saying
these
things
, one
of the women
in the crowd
raised
her voice
and said
to Him, " aBlessed
is the womb
that bore
You and the breasts
at which
You nursed
."
But He said, "On the contrary
, blessed
are athose
who hear
the word
of God
and observe
it."
As the crowds were increasing
, He began
to say
, " aThis
generation
is a wicked
generation
; it bseeks
for a 1sign
, and yet no
1sign
will be given
to it but the 1sign
of Jonah
.
"For just as aJonah
became
a 1sign
to the Ninevites
, so
will the Son
of Man
be to this
generation
.
"The aQueen of the South
will rise
up with the men
of this
generation
at the judgment
and condemn
them, because
she came
from the ends
of the earth
to hear
the wisdom
of Solomon
; and behold
, something
greater
than Solomon
is here
.
"The men of Nineveh
will stand
up with this
generation
at the judgment
and condemn
it, because
athey repented
at the preaching
of Jonah
; and behold
, something
greater
than Jonah
is here
.
" aNo one
, after lighting
a lamp
, puts
it away
in a cellar
nor
under
a basket
, but on the lampstand
, so
that those
who enter
may see
the light
.
" aThe eye is the lamp
of your body
; when
your eye
is 1clear
, your whole
body
also
is full
of light
; but when
it is 2bad
, your body
also
is full
of darkness
.
"Then watch
out that the light
in you is not darkness
.
"If therefore
your whole
body
is full
of light
, with no
dark
part
in it, it will be wholly
illumined
, as when
the lamp
illumines
you with its rays
."
Now when
He had spoken
, a Pharisee
*asked
Him to have
lunch
with him; and He went
in, and reclined
at the table.
When the Pharisee saw
it, he was surprised
that He had not first
1 aceremonially
washed
before
the 2meal
.
But athe Lord said
to him, "Now
byou Pharisees
clean
the outside
of the cup
and of the platter
; but 1inside
of you, you are full
of robbery
and wickedness
.
" aYou foolish ones
, did not He who made
the outside
make
the inside
also
?
"But agive that which is within
as charity
, and 1then
all
things
are bclean
for you.
" aBut woe to you Pharisees
! For you bpay
tithe
of mint
and rue
and every
kind of garden
herb
, and yet disregard
justice
and the love
of God
; but these
are the things
you should
have done
without
neglecting
the others
.
"Woe to you Pharisees
! For you alove
the chief
seats
in the synagogues
and the respectful greetings
in the market
places
.
" aWoe to you! For you are like
1concealed
tombs
, and the people
who walk
over
them are unaware
of it."
One of the 1 alawyers
*said
to Him in reply
, "Teacher
, when You say
this
, You insult
us too
."
But He said, "Woe
to you alawyers
as well
! For byou weigh
men
down
with burdens
hard
to bear
, 1while
you yourselves
will not even touch
the burdens
with one
of your fingers
.
" aWoe to you! For you build
the 1tombs
of the prophets
, and it was your fathers
who killed
them.
"So you are witnesses
and approve
the deeds
of your fathers
; because
it was they who killed
them, and you build
their tombs.
"For this reason
also
athe wisdom
of God
said
, ` bI will send
to them prophets
and apostles
, and some of them they will kill
and some they will 1persecute
,
so that the blood
of all
the prophets
, shed
asince
the foundation
of the world
, may be 1charged
against
this
generation
,
from athe blood of Abel
to bthe blood
of Zechariah
, who was killed
between
the altar
and the house
of God; yes
, I tell
you, it shall be 1charged
against
this
generation
.'
"Woe to you 1 alawyers
! For you have taken
away
the key
of knowledge
; byou yourselves
did not enter
, and you hindered
those
who were entering
."
When He left there
, the scribes
and the Pharisees
began
to be very
hostile
and to question
Him closely
on many
subjects
,
aplotting against
Him bto catch
1Him in something
He might say
.