1 When he finished praying in a certain place, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.” 2 He said to them, “When you pray, say, ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. 3 Give us day by day our daily bread. 4◆ Forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’” 5 He said to them, “Which of you, if you go to a friend at midnight and tell him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 6 for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him,’ 7 and he from within will answer and say, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I can’t get up and give it to you’? 8 I tell you, although he will not rise and give it to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence, he will get up and give him as many as he needs. 9 “I tell you, keep asking, and it will be given you. Keep seeking, and you will find. Keep knocking, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened. 11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he won’t give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, he won’t give him a scorpion, will he? 13 If 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?” 14 He was casting out a demon, and it was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke; and the multitudes marvelled. 15 But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons.” 16 Others, 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. A house divided against itself falls. 18 If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. 19 But if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 20 But if I by God’s finger cast out demons, then God’s Kingdom has come to you. 21 “When the strong man, fully armed, guards his own dwelling, his goods are safe. 22 But when someone stronger attacks him and overcomes him, he takes from him his whole armour in which he trusted, and divides his plunder. 23 “He who is not with me is against me. He who doesn’t gather with me scatters. 24 The unclean spirit, when he has gone out of the man, passes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, ‘I will turn back to my house from which I came out.’ 25 When he returns, he finds it swept and put in order. 26 Then he goes and takes seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter in and dwell there. The last state of that man becomes worse than the first.” 27 It came to pass, as he said these things, a certain woman out of the multitude lifted up her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts which nursed you!” 28 But he said, “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God, and keep it.” 29 When the multitudes were gathering together to him, he began to say, “This is an evil generation. It seeks after a sign. No sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet. 30 For even as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so the Son of Man will also be to this generation. 31 The Queen of the South will rise up in the judgement with the men of this generation and will condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, one greater than Solomon is here. 32 The men of Nineveh will stand up in the judgement with this generation, and will condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, one greater than Jonah is here. 33 “No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, 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 is also full of light; but when it is evil, your body also is full of darkness. 35 Therefore see whether the light that is in you isn’t darkness. 36 If therefore your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly full of light, as when the lamp with its bright shining gives you light.” 37 Now as he spoke, a certain Pharisee asked him to dine with him. He went in and sat at the table. 38 When the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he had not first washed himself before dinner. 39 The Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the platter, but your inward part is full of extortion and wickedness. 40 You foolish ones, didn’t he who made the outside make the inside also? 41 But give for gifts to the needy those things which are within, and behold, all things will be clean to you. 42 But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, but you bypass justice and God’s love. You ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone. 43 Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seats in the synagogues and the greetings in the marketplaces. 44 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like hidden graves, and the men who walk over them don’t know it.” 45 One of the lawyers answered him, “Teacher, in saying this you insult us also.” 46 He said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load men with burdens that are difficult to carry, and you yourselves won’t even lift one finger to help carry those burdens. 47 Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. 48 So you testify and consent to the works of your fathers. For they killed them, and you build their tombs. 49 Therefore also the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send to them prophets and apostles; and some of them they will kill and persecute, 50 that 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 Zachariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary.’ Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation. 52 Woe to you lawyers! For you took away the key of knowledge. You didn’t enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in, you hindered.” 53 As he said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be terribly angry, and to draw many things out of him, 54 lying in wait for him, and seeking to catch him in something he might say, that they might accuse him.
Luke · World English Bible British Edition (with Deuterocanon)
Luke 11 World English Bible British Edition (with Deuterocanon)
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
Notes on this text (1)
- "World English Bible" is a trademark of eBible.org; the text is shown unaltered.
Cross references (53)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Psalm 19:14; Romans 8:26–27; Luke 22:39–45; Jude 20; Luke 6:12
- 2 Matthew 6:6–15; Ecclesiastes 5:2; Psalm 72:18–19; Revelation 15:4; Psalm 11:4
- 3 Matthew 6:11; Matthew 6:34; Proverbs 30:8; Exodus 16:15–22; Isaiah 33:16
- 4 Matthew 6:12–15; Matthew 26:41; Isaiah 43:25–26; Colossians 3:13; Matthew 18:35
- 5 Luke 18:1–8
- 7 Luke 13:25; Luke 7:6; Galatians 6:17; Matthew 25:10
- 8 Genesis 32:26; Colossians 4:12; Romans 15:30; Luke 18:1–8; Matthew 15:22–28
- 9 Mark 11:24; John 16:23–24; Matthew 21:22; John 15:16; John 15:7
- 10 James 4:3; Lamentations 3:18; Lamentations 3:54–58; Jonah 2:2–8; Psalm 31:22
- 11 Matthew 7:9; Isaiah 49:15
- 12 Ezekiel 2:6; Revelation 9:10; Luke 10:19
- 13 Matthew 7:11; Isaiah 44:3–4; Romans 8:32; John 4:10; Proverbs 1:23
- 14 Matthew 9:32–34; Matthew 12:22–24; Mark 7:32–37
- 15 Matthew 9:34; John 10:20; John 8:48; John 7:20; Matthew 10:25
- 16 1 Corinthians 1:22; Matthew 16:1–4; John 6:30; Mark 8:11–12; Matthew 12:38–39
- 17 Mark 3:23–27; Matthew 12:25–29; Isaiah 19:2–3; John 2:25; Isaiah 9:20–21
- 18 Matthew 12:26; Matthew 12:31–34; Luke 11:15; Matthew 4:10; James 3:5–8
- 19 Luke 9:49; Job 15:6; Luke 11:31–32; Romans 3:19; Matthew 12:27–28
- 20 Exodus 8:19; Matthew 12:28; Luke 10:9; Matthew 3:2; Luke 10:11
- 21 Mark 3:27; Matthew 12:29
- 22 Isaiah 49:24–25; Isaiah 53:12; Genesis 3:15; 1 John 3:8; 1 John 4:4
- 23 Matthew 12:30; Luke 9:50; Revelation 3:15–16; Mark 9:40
- 24 Matthew 12:43–45; 1 Peter 5:8; Job 2:2; Psalm 63:1; Mark 5:10
- 25 Jude 8–13; 2 Thessalonians 2:9–12; 2 Peter 2:10–19; Matthew 12:44–45; Psalm 36:3
- 26 2 Peter 2:20–22; John 5:14; Zephaniah 1:6; Matthew 12:45; Hebrews 6:4–8
- 27 Luke 23:29; Luke 1:42; Luke 1:48; Luke 1:28
- 28 Luke 6:47–48; Luke 8:21; Psalm 112:1; James 1:21–25; John 13:17
- 29 Luke 11:16; Mark 8:11–12; Matthew 12:38–42; 1 Corinthians 1:22; Luke 12:1
- 30 Matthew 12:40–42; Jonah 3:2–10; Luke 24:46–47; Jonah 1:17; Jonah 2:10
- 31 2 Chronicles 9:1; 1 Kings 10:1–13; Romans 2:27; Jeremiah 3:11; Luke 3:22
- 32 Jonah 3:5–4:4; Luke 11:31; Jonah 4:9; Jonah 1:2–3; Hebrews 7:26
- 33 Luke 8:16–17; Mark 4:21–22; Matthew 5:15–16; John 12:46; Philippians 2:15–16
- 34 Matthew 6:22–23; Acts 26:18; Jeremiah 5:21; Romans 11:8–10; Psalm 119:18
- 35 Proverbs 16:25; 2 Peter 1:9; James 3:13–17; 1 Corinthians 1:19–21; Revelation 3:17
- 36 Proverbs 20:27; Proverbs 6:23; Proverbs 4:18–19; 2 Corinthians 4:6; 2 Peter 3:18
- 37 Luke 7:36; 1 Corinthians 9:19–23; Luke 14:1
- 38 Matthew 15:2–3; John 3:25; Mark 7:2–5
- 39 Titus 1:15; Luke 16:15; Genesis 6:5; Matthew 7:15; Proverbs 30:12
- 40 Luke 12:20; 1 Corinthians 15:36; Matthew 23:26; Matthew 23:17; Proverbs 1:22
- 41 Luke 12:33; James 1:27; Titus 1:15; Acts 10:15; Luke 16:9
- 42 Matthew 23:23; Proverbs 21:3; Luke 18:12; 1 John 4:20; Deuteronomy 10:12–13
- 43 Luke 20:46; Mark 12:38–39; Matthew 23:6–7; Luke 14:7–11; Proverbs 16:18
- 44 Matthew 23:27–28; Acts 23:3; Psalm 5:9; Numbers 19:16; Hosea 9:8
- 45 Matthew 22:35; John 9:40; 1 Kings 22:8; Jeremiah 20:8; Luke 11:46
- 46 Matthew 23:2–4; Isaiah 10:1; Luke 11:52; Galatians 6:13; Luke 11:45
- 47 Acts 7:51; 1 Thessalonians 2:15; Matthew 23:29–33
- 48 James 5:10; 2 Chronicles 36:16; Matthew 23:31; Matthew 21:35–38; Acts 7:51–52
- 49 1 Corinthians 1:30; Colossians 2:3; Ephesians 4:11; 1 Corinthians 1:24; Acts 8:3
- 50 Genesis 9:5–6; 2 Kings 24:4; Revelation 18:20–24; Numbers 35:33; Isaiah 26:21
- 51 2 Chronicles 24:20–22; Matthew 23:35; Hebrews 11:4; Genesis 4:8–11; Zechariah 1:1
- 52 Matthew 23:13; Malachi 2:7; Acts 4:17–18; Luke 11:45–46; John 9:24–34
- 53 Jeremiah 20:10; Luke 20:20; Luke 20:27; Jeremiah 18:18; 1 Corinthians 13:5
- 54 Mark 12:13; Matthew 22:35; Matthew 22:15; Psalm 37:32–33; Luke 20:20
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
Why does my Bible say something different?
- Matthew 6:13: “For thine is the kingdom…”
The closing doxology of the Lord’s Prayer, “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,” is missing from the oldest Greek manuscripts of Matthew and from most of the Latin tradition, but it is very old: a shorter form already appears in the Didache. The Patriarchal Text includes it, and in the Divine Liturgy the priest sings it in a Trinitarian form. Most scholars see it as an early liturgical response that entered the text.
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
We have heard our Lord, the Heavenly Master, and most faithful Counsellor exhorting us, who at once exhorteth us to ask, and giveth when we ask. We have heard Him in the Gospel exhorting us to ask instantly, and to knock even after the likeness of intrusive importunity.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 6 (1888)
Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation." He thus points out the recapitulation that should take place in his own person of the effusion of blood from the beginning, of all the righteous men and of the prophets, and that by means of Himself there should be a requisition of their blood.
Or if he ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then," saith He, "though ye be evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him?
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 6 (1888)
Whereas, if they were in discord, neither could this have been pointed out, and the doctrine itself had long since been brought to nought: "for every kingdom," saith He, "divided against itself shall not stand." But now even in this shines forth the might of the Spirit, namely, in that it prevailed on these men, engaged as they were in …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)
And that this grace is from the Father, He thus states, How much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)