Luke - Chapter 11

Passage

And it happened that as he was praying in a certain place, when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him: Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. And he said to them: When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation. And 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, Because a friend of mine has come to me from his journey and I have nothing to set before him. And he from within should answer and say: 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. Yet if he keeps on knocking, I say to you, although he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as many as he needs. And I say to you: Ask, and it shall be given you: seek, and you shall find: knock, and it shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives: and whoever seeks finds: and to him who knocks it shall be opened. And which of you, if he asks his father for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will hand him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father from heaven give the good Spirit to those who ask him? And he was casting out a devil, and it was mute. And when he had cast out the devil, the mute man spoke: and the crowds were amazed at it. But some of them said: He casts out devils by Beelzebub, the prince of devils. And others, testing him, asked him for a sign from heaven. But he, seeing their thoughts, said to them: Every kingdom divided against itself shall be brought to ruin; and house upon house shall fall. And if Satan also is divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub. Now if I cast out devils by Beelzebub, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore, they shall be your judges. But if I cast out devils by the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man, armed, guards his courtyard, the things he possesses are in peace. But if one stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he will take away all his armor in which he trusted and will divide up his spoils. Whoever is not with me is against me; and whoever does not gather with me scatters. When the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he walks through places without water, seeking rest: and not finding any, he says: I will return to my house from where I came out. And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself: and entering in they dwell there. And the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. And it happened, as he spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd, lifting up her voice, said to him: Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you. But he said: Yes, rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it. And as the crowds were gathering, he began to say: This generation is a wicked generation. It asks for a sign: and no sign shall be given it, except the sign of Jonas the prophet. For as Jonas was a sign to the Ninivites; so shall the Son of man also be to this generation. The queen of the south shall rise in the judgment with the men of this generation and shall 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 Ninive shall rise in the judgment with this generation and shall condemn it, because they did penance at the preaching of Jonas. And behold, something greater than Jonas is here. No one lights a candle and puts it in a hidden place, nor under a bushel: but upon a candlestick, so that those who come in may see the light. The light of your body is your eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light: but if it is evil, your body also will be full of darkness. Take care, therefore, that the light which is in you is not darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when a bright lamp gives you light. And as he was speaking, a certain Pharisee asked him to dine with him. And he went in and sat down to eat. And the Pharisee began to wonder within himself why he had not washed before dinner. And the Lord said to him: Now you Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and of the dish: but your inside is full of greed and wickedness. You fools, did not he who made the outside make the inside also? But as for what is within, give alms: and behold, all things are clean to you. But woe to you, Pharisees, because you tithe mint and rue and every herb and pass over judgment and the charity of God. Now these things you ought to have done, and not leave the others undone. Woe to you, Pharisees, because you love the first seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplace. Woe to you, because you are like hidden tombs: and men who walk over them are not aware of it. And one of the lawyers answered and said to him: Master, in saying these things, you insult us also. But he said: Woe to you lawyers also, because you load men with burdens which they cannot bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. Woe to you who build the tombs of the prophets: and your fathers killed them. Truly you bear witness that you approve of the deeds of your fathers. For they indeed killed them: and you build their tombs. For this reason also the wisdom of God said: I will send them prophets and apostles: and some of them they will kill and persecute, That the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, From the blood of Abel to the blood of Zacharias, who was slain between the altar and the temple. Yes, I say to 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 in: and those who were entering in, you have hindered. And as he was saying these things to them, the Pharisees and the lawyers began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things, Lying in wait for him and trying to catch something from his mouth, so that they might accuse him.