AND it came to pass, as he was in a certain place praying, when he had
done, one of his disciples said to him, Lord, teach us to pray, even as
John also taught his disciples. (2)And he said unto them, When ye pray
say, Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name: thy kingdom
come: thy will be done as in heaven so upon earth. (3)Give us our
necessary food, day by day: (4)and forgive us our sins, for we also
forgive every one who is indebted to us. And bring us not into
temptation; but deliver us from the wicked one.
(5)And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and he
shall go to him at midnight, and say to him, Friend, lend me three
loaves; (6)for a friend of mine is come to me off a journey, and I have
nothing to set before him. (7)And he from within answering, shall say,
Give me no farther trouble: my door is already locked, and my children
are with me in bed; I am unable to rise and give thee. (8)I tell you,
though even he would not rise and give him because he is his friend;
yet because of his importunity, roused up, he will give him as many as
he needeth. (9)And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you;
seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
(10)For every one who asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth;
and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. (11)For what father of
you, if his son ask a loaf, will he give him a stone? or if a fish,
will he for a fish give him a serpent? (12)or if he ask also an egg,
will he give him a scorpion? (13)If ye then, evil as ye are, know how
to give good gifts to your children; how much more shall your Father,
who is in heaven, give his Holy Spirit to those who ask him?
(14)And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to
pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb person spake, and the
people marvelled. (15)But some of them said, He casteth out devils by
Beelzebub the prince of the devils. (16)But others, tempting him,
sought of him a sign from heaven. (17)But he, knowing their thoughts,
said to them, Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and a
house against a house, falleth. (18)And if Satan also be divided
against himself, how shall his kingdom be established? because ye say,
that I cast out devils by Beelzebub. (19)But if I by Beelzebub cast out
devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore they shall be
your judges. (20)But if with the finger of God I cast out devils, then,
verily the kingdom of God is come unto you. (21)When a strong man, in
complete armour, guards his palace, his goods are in peace. (22)But
when a stronger person than he coming, vanquisheth him, he takes away
his suit of armour in which he confided, and distributes the spoils.
(23)He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not
with me, scattereth abroad.
(24)When the unclean spirit goeth out of a man, he passes through
places destitute of water, seeking repose; and not finding it, saith, I
will go back to my habitation from whence I came out: (25)and coming,
he findeth it swept and furnished. (26)Then goeth he, and taketh seven
other spirits, more wicked than himself; and they entering in, take up
their abode there: and the last state of that man is worse than the
first.
(27)And it came to pass as he was speaking these words, a certain woman
from among the multitude lift up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed
is the womb that bare thee, and the breasts which thou hast sucked.
(28)But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God
and observe it.
(29)Then the multitudes thronging around him, he began to say, This is
a wicked generation: it seeketh a sign, and no sign shall be given it,
but the sign of Jonah the prophet. (30)For as Jonas was a sign to the
Ninevites, so shall the Son of man also be to this generation. (31)The
queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment against the men of
this generation, and shall condemn them: for she came from the ends of
the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and, behold, a greater than
Solomon is here. (32)The men of Nineveh shall rise up in judgment
against this generation, and shall condemn it, for they repented on the
preaching of Jonah, and, behold, a greater than Jonah is here.
(33)But no man lighting a lamp putteth it in a concealed place, or
under a bushel, but on a stand, that they who are coming in, may see
the light. (34)The lamp of the body is the eye: when therefore thine
eye is clear, thy whole body will be luminous, but if it be vitiated,
thy whole body will be darkened. (35)Let it be thy aim then, that the
light which is in thee do not become darkness. (36)If then thy whole
body be illuminated, not having any dark part, it will be wholly
luminous, as a lamp by its brightness diffuseth light.
(37)Now as he was speaking, a certain Pharisee invited him to dine with
him; and going in with him, he sat down. (38)But the Pharisee seeing
it, marvelled, that he had not washed before dinner. (39)Then said the
Lord unto him, Now ye Pharisees make the outside of the cup and of the
dish clean, but your inward parts are full of extortion and wickedness.
(40)Ye senseless men! did not he who made that which is without, make
also that which is within? (41)But give what is within them for alms;
and, lo! all will be pure unto you. (42)But wo to you, Pharisees,
because ye tithe mint, and rue, and every herb, and pass by judgment
and the love of God. These ought ye to have done, and not to have
omitted the other. (43)Wo unto you, Pharisees, for ye love the first
seats in the synagogues, and salutations in the places of public
concourse. (44)Wo unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye
are as graves concealed, which men, while walking over them, see not.
(45)Then one of the doctors of the law addressing him, said, Master,
thus speaking, thou reproachest us also. (46)And he said, Wo also to
you, teachers of the law! for ye load men with burdens hardly bearable,
and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers.
(47)Wo unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your
fathers killed them. (48)Ye do indeed bear witness to, and with
pleasure concur in your fathers' deeds; for they truly killed them, and
ye build their sepulchres. (49)Therefore also the wisdom of God hath
said, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they
shall kill, and shall persecute: (50)that the blood of all the
prophets, which hath been shed since the foundation of the world, may
be required of this generation: (51)from the blood of Abel to the blood
of Zachariah, who was slain between the altar and the temple: verily I
tell you, It shall be required of this generation. (52)Wo unto you,
teachers of the law! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge; ye
yourselves enter not in, and those who were entering ye have hindered.
(53)And as he was saying these things unto them, the scribes and
Pharisees began to urge him vehemently, and to extort answers from him
respecting many things; (54)laying snares for him, and seeking to catch
hold of something from his mouth, that they might accuse him.