The Lord's Prayer

¹Now Jesus1 was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, gas John taught his disciples.” ²And he said to them, h“When you pray, say:

i“Father, jhallowed be kyour name.

lYour kingdom come.

³mGive us neach day our daily bread,2

⁴and oforgive us our sins,

for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.

And plead us not into temptation.”

⁵And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, ⁶for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; ⁷and he will answer from within, ‘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’? ⁸I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything qbecause he is his friend, yet because of his impudence3 he will rise and give him whatever he needs. ⁹And I tell you, rask, and sit will be given to you; tseek, and you will find; uknock, and it will be opened to you. ¹⁰For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. ¹¹What father among you, if his son asks for4 a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; ¹²or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? ¹³If you then, wwho are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father xgive the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Jesus and Beelzebul

¹⁴yNow he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled. ¹⁵But some of them said, “He casts out demons zby Beelzebul, the prince of demons,” ¹⁶while others, ato test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven. ¹⁷bBut he, cknowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls. ¹⁸And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. ¹⁹And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, dby whom do eyour sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. ²⁰But if it is by fthe finger of God that I cast out demons, then gthe kingdom of God has come upon you. ²¹When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; ²²hbut when one stronger than he attacks him and iovercomes him, he takes away his jarmor in which he trusted and kdivides his spoil. ²³lWhoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

Return of an Unclean Spirit

²⁴m“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through nwaterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ ²⁵And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. ²⁶Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And othe last state of that person is worse than the first.”

True Blessedness

²⁷As he said these things, pa woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, q“Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” ²⁸But he said, r“Blessed rather are those swho hear the word of God and tkeep it!”

The Sign of Jonah

²⁹uWhen the crowds were increasing, he began to say, v“This generation is an evil generation. wIt seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. ³⁰For as xJonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. ³¹yThe queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and zcondemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, asomething greater than Solomon is here. ³²bThe men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and zcondemn it, for cthey repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, asomething greater than Jonah is here.

The Light in You

³³d“No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. ³⁴Your eye is ethe lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is fbad, your body is full of darkness. ³⁵eTherefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness. ³⁶If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, gas when a lamp with its rays gives you light.”

Woes to the Pharisees and Lawyers

³⁷While Jesus5 was speaking, ha Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at table. ³⁸The Pharisee was astonished to see ithat he did not first wash before dinner. ³⁹And the Lord said to him, j“Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of kgreed and wickedness. ⁴⁰lYou fools! jDid not he who made the outside make the inside also? ⁴¹But mgive as alms those things that are within, and behold, neverything is clean for you.

⁴²o“But woe to you Pharisees! For pyou tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect qjustice and rthe love of God. sThese you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. ⁴³Woe to you Pharisees! For tyou love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. ⁴⁴Woe to you! uFor you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it.”

⁴⁵One of vthe lawyers answered him, “Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.” ⁴⁶And he said, “Woe to you wlawyers also! For xyou load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. ⁴⁷yWoe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. ⁴⁸zSo you are witnesses and you aconsent to the deeds of byour fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. ⁴⁹Therefore also cthe Wisdom of God said, d‘I will send them eprophets and apostles, fsome of whom they will gkill and persecute,’ ⁵⁰so that hthe blood of all the prophets, shed ifrom the foundation of the world, may be jcharged against this generation, ⁵¹from the blood of kAbel to the blood of lZechariah, who perished between mthe altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be jrequired of this generation. ⁵²Woe to you nlawyers! oFor you have taken away the key of pknowledge. You qdid not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.”

⁵³As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things, ⁵⁴rlying in wait for him, sto catch him in something he might say.