[1] And it came about that he was in prayer in a certain place, and when he
came to an end, one of his disciples said to him, Lord, will you give us
teaching about prayer, as John did to his disciples? [2] And he said to
them, When you say your prayers, say, Father, may your name be kept holy
and your kingdom come. [3] Give us every day bread for our needs. [4] May
we have forgiveness for our sins, as we make free all those who are in debt
to us. And let us not be put to the test. [5] And he said to them, Which of
you, having a friend, would go to him in the middle of the night and say to
him, Friend, let me have three cakes of bread; [6] Because a friend of mine
has come to me on a journey, and I have nothing to put before him; [7] And
he, from inside the house, would say in answer, Do not be a trouble to me;
the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; it is not
possible for me to get up and give to you? [8] I say to you, Though he will
not get up and give to him, because he is his friend, still, if he keeps on
making his request, he will get up and give him as much as he has need of.
[9] And I say to you, Make requests, and they will be answered; what you
are searching for, you will get; when you give the sign, the door will be
open to you. [10] For to everyone who makes a request, it will be given;
and he who is searching will get his desire; and to him who gives the sign,
the door will be open. [11] And which of you, being a father, will give a
stone to his son, who makes request for bread? or for a fish, will give him
a snake? [12] Or for an egg, will give him a scorpion? [13] If, then, you
who are evil are able to give good things to your children, how much more
will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who make request
to him? [14] And he was sending an evil spirit out of a man who was without
the power of talking. And it came about that when the spirit had gone the
man had the power of talking; and the people were full of wonder. [15] But
some of them said, He sends out evil spirits by Beelzebul, the ruler of
evil spirits. [16] And others, testing him, were looking for a sign from
heaven from him. [17] But he, having knowledge of their thoughts, said to
them, Every kingdom in which there is division is made waste; and a house
in which there is division comes to destruction. [18] If, then, Satan is at
war with himself, how will he keep his kingdom? because you say that I send
evil spirits out of men by the help of Beelzebul. [19] And if I, by
Beelzebul, send out evil spirits, by whose help do your sons send them out?
so let them be your judges. [20] But if I, by the finger of God, send out
evil spirits, then the kingdom of God has overtaken you. [21] When the
strong man armed keeps watch over his house, then his goods are safe: [22]
But when one who is stronger makes an attack on him and overcomes him, he
takes away his instruments of war, in which he had put his faith, and makes
division of his goods. [23] He who is not with me is against me, and he who
will not give me help in getting people together is driving them away. [24]
The unclean spirit, when he has gone out of a man, goes through dry places,
looking for rest; and when he does not get it, he says, I will go back to
my house from which I came. [25] And when he comes, he sees that it has
been made fair and clean. [26] Then he goes and gets seven other spirits
more evil than himself, and they go in, and take their places there: and
the last condition of that man is worse than the first. [27] And it came
about that when he said these things, a certain woman among the people said
in a loud voice, Happy is the body which gave you birth, and the breasts
from which you took milk. [28] But he said, More happy are they who give
hearing to the word of God and keep it. [29] And when a great number of
people came together to him, he said, This generation is an evil
generation: it is looking for a sign and no sign will be given to it but
the sign of Jonah. [30] For even as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites,
so will the Son of man be to this generation. [31] The queen of the South
will come up on the day of judging and give her decision against the men of
this generation: for she came from the ends of the earth to give ear to the
wisdom of Solomon; and now something greater than Solomon is here. [32] The
men of Nineveh will come up in the day of judging and give their decision
against this generation: for they were turned away from their sins at the
preaching of Jonah; but now something greater than Jonah is here. [33] No
man, when the light has been lighted, puts it in a secret place, or under a
vessel, but on its table, so that those who come in may see the light. [34]
The light of the body is the eye: when your eye is true, all your body is
full of light; but when it is evil, your body is dark. [35] So take care
that the light which is in you is not dark. [36] If, then, all your body is
light, with no part of it dark, it will be completely full of light, as
when a flame with its bright shining gives you light. [37] Now, while he
was talking, a Pharisee made a request that he would come to a meal with
him; and he went in and took his seat at the meal. [38] And when the
Pharisee saw it, he was surprised because he came to the meal without first
washing himself. [39] And the Lord said to him, You Pharisees make the
outside of the cup and the plate clean; but inside you are thieves and full
of evil. [40] O you foolish ones! did not he who made the outside in the
same way make the inside? [41] But if you give to the poor such things as
you are able, then all things are clean to you. [42] But a curse is on you,
Pharisees! for you make men give a tenth of every sort of plant, and give
no thought to right and the love of God; but it is right for you to do
these things, and not let the others be undone. [43] A curse is on you,
Pharisees! for your desires are for the most important seats in the
Synagogues and for words of respect said to you in the market-place. [44] A
curse is on you! for you are like the resting-places of dead men, which are
not seen, and men go walking over them without knowledge of it. [45] And
one of the teachers of the law, answering, said to him, Master, in saying
this, you give a bad name to us as to them. [46] And he said, A curse is on
you, teachers of the law! for while other men are crushed under the weight
of the rules you make for them, you yourselves do not put so much as one
finger to them. [47] A curse is on you! for you make resting-places for the
bodies of the prophets, but your fathers put them to death. [48] So you are
witnesses and give approval to the work of your fathers; for they put them
to death and you make their last resting-places. [49] For this reason the
wisdom of God has said, I will send them prophets and teachers, and to some
of them they will give death and cruel pains; [50] So that punishment may
come on this generation for the blood of all the prophets which was given
from the earliest days; [51] From the blood of Abel to the blood of
Zachariah, who was put to death between the altar and the Temple. Yes, I
say to you, It will come on this generation. [52] A curse is on you,
teachers of the law! for you have taken away the key of knowledge: you did
not go in yourselves, and you got in the way of those who were going in.
[53] And when he had come out of that place, the scribes and the Pharisees
came round him angrily, questioning him about more things; [54] And
watching him, for a chance to get something from his words which might be
used against him.
