It happened that while ¹Jesus was praying in a certain place, when He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.” 2 And He said to them, “^aWhen you pray, say:‘¹Father, ²hallowed be Your name.³Your kingdom come.

5 And He said to them, “¹Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, 6 because a friend of mine has come to me from a journey and I have nothing to serve him’; 7 and from inside he answers and says, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children ¹and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even if he will not get up and give him anything just because he is his friend, yet ^abecause of his ¹shamelessness he will get up and give him as much as he needs.

9 “So I say to you, ^1aask, and it will be given to you; ²seek, and you will find; ³knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, it will be opened. 11 Now ¹which one of you fathers will his son ask for a ²fish, and instead of a fish, he will give him a snake? 12 Or he will even ask for an egg, and his father will give him a scorpion? 13 So ^aif you, despite being ¹evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will ²your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

14 ^aAnd He was casting out a mute demon; when the demon had gone out, the man who was previously unable to speak talked, and the crowds were amazed. 15 But some of them said, “He casts out the demons ^aby ^bBeelzebul, the ruler of the demons.” 16 Others, ¹to test Him, ^awere demanding of Him a ²sign from heaven. 17 ^aBut He knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and a house divided against ¹itself falls. 18 And if ^aSatan also has been divided against himself, how will his kingdom ¹stand? For you claim that I cast out the demons by ^bBeelzebul. 19 Yet if by ^aBeelzebul I cast out the demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they will be your judges. 20 But if I cast out the demons by ¹the ^afinger of God, then ^bthe kingdom of God has come upon you. 21 When ¹a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are ²secure. 22 But when someone stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, that man takes away his armor on which he had relied and distributes his plunder. 23 ^aThe one who is not with Me is against Me; and the one who does not gather with Me scatters.

24 “^aWhen the unclean spirit comes out of ¹a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and not finding any, it then says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ 25 And when it comes, it finds it swept and put in order. 26 Then it goes and brings along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they come in and live there; and the last condition of that person becomes worse than the first.”

27 While ¹Jesus was saying these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “^aBlessed is the womb that carried You, and the breasts at which You nursed!” 28 But He said, “On the contrary, blessed are ^athose who hear the word of God and follow it.”

29 Now as the crowds were increasing, He began to say, “^aThis generation is a wicked generation; it ^bdemands a ¹sign, and so no ²sign will be given to it except the ³sign of Jonah. 30 For just as ^aJonah became a ¹sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. 31 The ^aQueen of the South will rise up with the men of this generation at the judgment and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. 32 The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment and condemn it, because ^athey repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

33 “^aNo one lights a lamp and puts it away in a cellar nor under a basket, but on the lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light. 34 ^aYour eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is ¹clear, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is ²bad, your body also is full of darkness. 35 So watch out that the light in you is not darkness. 36 Therefore if your whole body is full of light, without any dark part, it will be wholly illuminated, as when the lamp illuminates you with its light.”

37 Now when He had spoken, a Pharisee *asked Him to have lunch with him; and He went in and reclined at the table. 38 When the Pharisee saw this, he was surprised that Jesus had not first ^1aceremonially washed before the ²meal. 39 But ^athe Lord said to him, “Now ^byou Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the dish; but your inside is full of greed and wickedness. 40 ^aYou foolish ones, did He who made the outside not make the inside also? 41 But ^agive that which is within as a charitable gift, and ¹then all things are ^bclean for you.

42 “^aBut woe to you Pharisees! For you ^bpay tithes of mint, rue, and every kind of garden herb, and yet you ¹ignore justice and the love of God; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. 43 Woe to you Pharisees! For you ^alove the seat of honor in the synagogues and personal greetings in the marketplaces. 44 ^aWoe to you! For you are like ¹unseen tombs, and the people who walk over them are unaware of it.”

45 One of the ^1alawyers *said to Him in reply, “Teacher, when You say these things, You insult us too.” 46 But He said, “Woe to you ^alawyers as well! For ^byou load people with burdens that are hard to bear, ¹while you yourselves will not even ²touch the burdens with one of your fingers. 47 ^aWoe to you! For you build the ¹tombs of the prophets, and it was your fathers who killed them. 48 So you are witnesses and you approve of the deeds of your fathers; because it was they who killed them, and you build their ¹tombs. 49 For this reason also, ^athe wisdom of God said, ‘^bI will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill, and some they will ¹persecute, 50 so that the blood of all the prophets, shed ^asince the foundation of the world, may be charged ¹against this generation, 51 from ^athe blood of Abel to ^bthe blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the house of God; yes, I tell you, it shall be charged ¹against this generation.’ 52 Woe to you ^1alawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; ^byou yourselves did not enter, and you hindered those who were entering.”

53 When He left that place, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very hostile and to interrogate Him about many subjects, 54 ^aplotting against Him ^bto catch ¹Him in something He might say.

It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples.” 2 He said to them,“^aWhen you pray, ¹say:‘²Father, ³hallowed be Your name.⁴Your kingdom come.

5 Then He said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 for a friend of mine who is on a journey has just come to visit me, and I have nothing to serve him’; 7 and from inside he answers, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything just because he is his friend, yet ^abecause of his persistence and boldness he will get up and give him whatever he needs.

9 “So I say to you, ^aask and keep on asking, and it will be given to you; seek and keep on seeking, and you will find; knock and keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. Matt 7:7-11 10 For everyone who ¹keeps on asking persistently, receives; and he who keeps on seeking persistently, finds; and to him who keeps on knocking persistently, the door will be opened. 11 What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 ^aIf you, then, being evil that is, sinful by nature, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask and continue to ask Him!”

14 ^aAnd at another time Jesus was casting out a demon, and it was controlling a man so as to make him mute; when the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds were awed. Matt 12:22-24 15 But some of them said, “^aHe drives out demons by the power of ^1bBeelzebul (Satan) , the ruler of the demons.” 16 Others, trying to test Him, were ^ademanding of Him a sign from heaven. 17 ^aBut He, well aware of their thoughts and purpose, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is doomed to destruction; and a house divided against itself falls. 18 If ^aSatan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand and continue to survive? For you are saying that I drive out demons by the power of ^bBeelzebul. 19 Now if I drive out the demons by ^aBeelzebul, by whom do your sons the Jewish exorcists drive them out? For this reason they will be your judges. 20 But if I drive out the demons by the ^afinger of God, then ^1bthe kingdom of God has already come upon you. 21 When the strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his belongings are undisturbed and secure. 22 But when someone stronger than he attacks and overpowers him, he robs him of all his armor on which he had relied and divides his goods as spoil. 23 ^aHe who is not with Me believing in Me as Lord and Savior is against Me there is no impartial position; and he who does not gather with Me assisting in My ministry, scatters.

24 “^aWhen the unclean spirit comes out of a person, it roams through waterless places in search of a place of rest; and not finding any, it says, ‘I will go back to my house (person) from which I came.’ 25 And when it comes, it finds the place swept and put in order. 26 Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in the person and live there; and the last state of that person becomes worse than the first.”

27 Now while Jesus was saying these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “^aBlessed (happy, favored by God) is the womb that gave birth to You and the breasts at which You nursed!” 28 But He said, “On the contrary, blessed (happy, favored by God) are ^athose who hear the word of God and continually observe it.”

29 Now as the crowds were increasing in number, He began to say, “^aThis present generation is a wicked generation; it ^bseeks a sign (attesting miracle) , but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. Matt 12:39-42 30 For just as ^1aJonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man also be a sign to this generation. Jon 3:4-10 31 The ^aQueen of the South (the kingdom of Sheba) will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and look, something greater than Solomon is here. 1+@Kin 10:1-13; 2+@Chr 9:1-12 32 The men of Nineveh will stand up as witnesses at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because ^athey repented at the preaching of Jonah, and look, something greater than Jonah is here. Jon 3:5

33 “^aNo one lights a lamp and then puts it in a cellar nor under a basket hiding the light, but instead it is put on the lampstand, so that those who come in may see the light. Matt 5:15; Mark 4:21; Luke 8:16 34 ^aThe eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is clear spiritually perceptive, focused on God, your whole body also is full of light benefiting from God’s precepts. But when it is bad spiritually blind, your body also is full of darkness devoid of God’s word. 35 Be careful, therefore, that the light that is in you is not darkness. 36 So if your whole body is illuminated, with no dark part, it will be entirely bright with light, as when the lamp gives you light with its bright rays.”

37 Now after Jesus had spoken, a Pharisee asked Him to have lunch with him. He went in the Pharisee’s home and reclined at the table without ceremonially washing His hands. 38 The Pharisee noticed this and was surprised that Jesus did not first ^aceremonially wash before the meal. 39 But ^athe Lord said to him, “^bNow you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and plate as required by tradition; but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. 40 ^aYou foolish ones acting without reflection or intelligence! Did not He who made the outside make the inside also? 41 But ^agive that which is within as charity that is, acts of mercy and compassion, not as a public display, but as an expression of your faithfulness to God, and then indeed all things are ^bclean for you.

42 “^aBut woe (judgment is coming) to you Pharisees, because you self-righteously ^1btithe mint and ²rue and every little garden herb tending to all the minutiae, and yet disregard and neglect justice and the love of God; but these are the things you should have done, without neglecting the others. Lev 27:30; Mic 6:8 43 Woe to you Pharisees, because you ^alove the ¹best seats in the synagogues and to be respectfully greeted in the market places. 44 ^aWoe to you! For you are like graves which are unmarked, and people walk over them without being aware of it and are ceremonially unclean.”

45 One of the ^alawyers an expert in the Mosaic Law answered Him, “Teacher, by saying this, You insult us too!” 46 But He said, “Woe to you ^alawyers as well, because ^byou weigh men down with burdens man-made rules, unreasonable requirements which are hard to bear, and you yourselves will not even touch the burdens with one of your fingers to lighten the load. 47 ^aWoe to you! For you repair or build ¹tombs for the prophets, and it was your fathers who killed them. 48 So you are witnesses and approve the deeds of your fathers, because they actually killed them, and you repair or build their tombs. 49 For this reason also ^athe wisdom of God said in the Scriptures, ‘^bI will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will put to death and some they will persecute, 50 so that charges may be brought against this generation holding them responsible for the blood of all the prophets shed ^asince the foundation of the world, 51 from ^athe blood of Abel to ^bthe blood of Zechariah the priest, who was murdered between the altar and the house of God. Yes, I tell you, charges will be brought against this generation.’ Gen 4:8; 2+@Chr 24:20, 21; Zech 1:1; Matt 23:35 52 Woe to you ^alawyers, because you have taken away the key to knowledge (scriptural truth) . ^bYou yourselves did not enter, and you held back those who were entering by your flawed interpretation of God’s word and your man-made tradition.” Matt 23:13

53 When He left there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very hostile toward Him and to interrogate Him on many subjects, 54 ^aplotting against Him ^bto catch Him in something He might say.