1Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” 2So He said to them, “When you pray, say: ⚓Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. 3Give us day by day our daily bread. 4And ⚓forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.”
A Friend Comes at Midnight
5And He said to them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves;6for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him’;7and he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you’?8I say to you, ⚓though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.
Keep Asking, Seeking, Knocking
9⚓“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; ⚓seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.10For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.11⚓If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?12Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?13If you then, being evil, know how to give ⚓good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
A House Divided Cannot Stand
14⚓And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute. So it was, when the demon had gone out, that the mute spoke; and the multitudes marveled. 15But some of them said, ⚓“He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.” 16Others, testing Him,⚓sought from Him a sign from heaven. 17⚓But ⚓He, knowing their thoughts, said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls.18If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? Because you say I cast out demons by Beelzebub.19And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.20But if I cast out demons ⚓with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.21⚓When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace.22But ⚓when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils.23⚓He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
An Unclean Spirit Returns
24⚓“When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’25And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order.26Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and ⚓the last state of that man is worse than the first.”
Keeping the Word
27And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, ⚓“Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!” 28But He said, ⚓“More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”
Seeking a Sign
29⚓And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, “This is an evil generation. It seeks a ⚓sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet.30For as ⚓Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation.31⚓The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a ⚓greater than Solomon is here.32The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for ⚓they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.
The Lamp of the Body
33⚓“No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a ⚓basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light.34⚓The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness.35Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness.36If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light.”
Woe to the Pharisees and Lawyers
37And as He spoke, a certain Pharisee asked Him to dine with him. So He went in and sat down to eat. 38⚓When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that He had not first washed before dinner. 39⚓Then the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but ⚓your inward part is full of greed and wickedness.40Foolish ones! Did not ⚓He who made the outside make the inside also?41⚓But rather give alms of such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you. 42⚓“But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and ⚓pass by justice and the ⚓love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.43⚓Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.44⚓Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!⚓For you are like graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them.” 45Then one of the lawyers answered and said to Him, “Teacher, by saying these things You reproach us also.” 46And He said, “Woe to you also, lawyers! ⚓For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.47⚓Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.48In fact, you bear witness that you approve the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and you build their tombs.49Therefore the wisdom of God also said, ⚓‘I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,’50that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation,51⚓from the blood of Abel to ⚓the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple. Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation. 52⚓“Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered.” 53And as He said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to assail Him vehemently, and to cross-examine Him about many things, 54lying in wait for Him, and ⚓seeking to catch Him in something He might say, that they might accuse Him.