Luke:11

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* It happened he was praying in a certain place , and when he stopped , one of his disciples said to him , "Master , teach us how to pray , just as Johntaught his disciples ." * So he said to them . "When you pray , say , "Father , hallowed be thy name ; May thy kingdom come , * "Give us day by day our bread for the coming day ; * "Forgive us our sins ; for we also forgive everyone who has offended us ; "And bring us not into temptation ." * He also said to them . "Suppose you have a friend and you go to him , My friend , lend me three loaves of bread , * "for a friend of mine is come to me from a journey , and I have nothing to set before him . * "and he from indoors shall answer . Do not pester me . The door is now closed , and my children are with me in bed . I cannot rise and give to you . * "I tell you that , though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend , yet because of his importunate persistence he will rise and give him whatever he needs . * "So I say to you . "Ask , and it shall be given to you ; seek , and ye shall find ; knock and it shall be opened to you . * "For he that asks receives , and he who seeks finds , and to him who knocks the door shall be opened . * "What father is there among you who , if his son asks for a loaf , will give him a stone ? Or if he asks for a fish will give him instead a serpent ? * "Or if he asks for an egg , will offer him a scorpion ? * "If you give good gifts to your children , how much more shall the Father who is in heaven give the Holy spirit to those that ask him !" * Once he was casting out a dumb demon , and when the demon was gone out , the dumb man spoke , and the people wondered . * But some of them said , "It is by Beelzebub , the prince of demons , that he cast out demons ." * Others , tempting him , kept seeking from him a sign from heaven . * He knew their intentions and said to them . "Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste and house falls upon house . * "And if Satan also is divided against himself , how shall his kingdom stand ? * "Do you say that I am casting out demons by the power of Beelzebub ? If I then am casting out demons by Beelzebub , by whom are your sons casting them out ? They therefore shall be your judges . * "But if it is by the finger of God that I am casting out demons , then the kingdom of God is come upon you . * "When the strong man fully aroused keeps guard over his homestead , his property is undisturbed ; * "but when the stronger man attacks him , he takes away from the strong armor in which he was trusting and divides up the spoil . * "He who is not for me is against me , and he who is not gathering with me is scattering . * "Whenever a foul spirit is gone out of a man , it roams through waterless places , in search of rest ; but when it can find none , it says , I will go back to the house which I have left . * When it comes and finds the house completely swept and garnished . * "Then it goes off and fetches seven other spirits more wicked than itself , and they go in and live there . And the last state of that man is worse than the first ." * It happened while he was saying this , that a certain woman out of the crowd shouted to him , saying , "Blessed is the womb that bore you , and the breast that you have sucked ." * "No , rather ," he answered , "blessed are those who listen to the word of God , and keep it ." * When the crowd were beginning to throng about him he proceeded to say . "This is an evil generation ! It seeks a sign , and there shall be no sign be given to it except the sign of Jonah ; * "for as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites , so shall the Son of man be to this generation . * "The queen of the South shall rise up in Judgement with the men of this generation , and shall condemn them ; because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon , and lo , one greater than Solomon is here ! * "The men of the Nineveh shall stand up in the judgment with his generation and shall condemn it , for they repented at the preaching of Jonah , and lo ! one greater than Jonah is here ! * "When one lights a lamp he does not put it in a cellar nor under the bushel , but on a lamp-stand that those who enter may see the light . * "The lamp of the body is your eye ; when your eye is single then your whole body is full of light ; but when it is evil your whole body is full of darkness . * "Look carefully ! Perhaps that very light of yours is darkness . * "If , however , your whole body is full of light , without having any part dark , it will be wholly radiant with light , as when the lamp illumines you with its bright rays ." * When he had finished speaking a Pharisee asked him to dine with him ; so he went in with him and reclined . * And the Pharisee noticed , to his amazement , that he did not wash his hands before eating , * but the Lord said to him . "You Pharisee do cleanse the outside of your cup or plate , but your secret heart is full of extortion and wickedness . * "Foolish men ! Did not He who made the outside make the inside also ? * "Better cleanse what is within , and nothing will be unclean for you . * "But woe unto you Pharisee ! for you tithe mint and rue and every herb , and disregard justice and the love of God ; but these you ought to have done , and not leave the other undone . * "Woe unto you Pharisee ! for you delight in the best seats in the synagogue , and in the salutation in the market-places . * "Woe unto you ! for you are like the tombs which are hidden , and men walk over them unsuspecting ." * Hereupon one of the lawyers exclaimed , "But teacher , in saying such things you are also reproaching us also ." * "Woe unto you lawyers also !" said Jesus , "for you load men with irksome burdens , and you yourselves will not touch the burdens with one of your fingers . * "Woe to you ! for you are building the tombs of the prophets whom you ancestors killed . * "So you are witnesses , and you consent to the actions of your ancestors . for they killed them , and you build their tombs . * "For this reason also said the Wisdom of God . I will send them prophets and apostles ; some of them they will kill and some they will persecute ; * "so that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required from this generation , * "from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zachariah , who perished between the alter and the sanctuary ; yes ; I tell you , it shall be required of this generation ! * "Woe to you lawyers , for you have taken away the key of knowledge ! You yourselves have not entered , and you have hindered those who are trying to enter ." * After he had gone away , the Scribes and the Pharisee began to set themselves vehemently against him , and to cross-question him upon many points , * laying in wait for him , in order to catch a word from his lips .

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