The Lord’s Prayer
1. And it happened, while he was praying in a certain place, that when he ceased, 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, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Your name be hallowed; Your kingdom come. You will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
3. Give us each day our daily bread.
4. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone their sins against us; and lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.”
Teaching on Persistence in Prayer
5. 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,
6. for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’?
7. And that one from inside shall answer and say, ‘Do not cause me trouble; the door is already shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to thee.’
8. I say to you, even though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his shameless persistence he will rise and give him as much as he needs.
9. And I say to you, ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you.
10. For everyone asking receives, and the one seeking finds, and to the one knocking it shall be opened.
11. And which father among you, if his son shall ask for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent?
12. Or if he shall ask for an egg, will give him a scorpion?
13. If you then, being evil, know to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall the Father from heaven give the Holy Spirit to those asking him?”
Jesus and Beelzebul
14. And he was casting out a demon, and it was mute; and when the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the crowds marvelled.
15. But some of them said, “By Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons, he casts out demons.”
16. And others, testing him, were seeking from 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 divided against a house falls.
18. And if Satan also is divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul.
19. And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges.
20. But if by the finger of God I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
21. When the strong man, fully armed, is guarding his own court, his possessions are in peace.
22. But when one stronger than he shall come upon him and overcome him, he takes away his full armour in which he trusted, and divides his spoils.
23. He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.
Return of the Unclean Spirit
24. “When the unclean spirit has gone out from the man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and not finding any, it 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 takes along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and entering in, they dwell there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first.”
True Blessedness
27. And it happened, as he was saying these things, a certain woman from the crowd lifted her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore thee, and the breasts at which nursed You.”
28. But he said, “Rather, blessed are those hearing the word of God and keeping it.”
The Sign of Jonah
29. And as the crowds were gathering around, he began to say, “This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of Jonah.
30. For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also shall the Son of Man be to this generation.
31. The queen of the south shall rise up at the judgement with the men of this generation and 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.
32. The men of Nineveh shall rise up at the judgement with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.”
The Lamp of the Body
33. “No one, having lit a lamp, puts it in a hidden place nor under the bushel, but on the lampstand, so that those entering may see the light.
34. The lamp of the body is your eye; when your eye is single, your whole body is full of light; but when it is evil, your body also is full of darkness.
35. Therefore take heed lest the light in you is darkness.
36. If therefore your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it shall be wholly bright, as when the lamp with its brightness gives you light.”
Woes to the Pharisees and Lawyers
37. And while he was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him; and he went in and reclined at table.
38. And the Pharisee, seeing it, marvelled that he had not first washed before the meal.
39. But the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but your inward part is full of plunder and wickedness.
40. Fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also?
41. But give what is within as alms, and behold, all things are clean to you.
42. But woe to you Pharisees, because you give tithes of mint and rue and every herb, and pass by justice and the love of God; these things you ought to have done, and not to leave those undone.
43. Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the chief seat in the synagogues and the greetings in the marketplaces.
44. Woe to you, because you are like unseen graves, and the men walking over them do not know it.”
45. And one of the lawyers answering says to him, “Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.”
46. And he said, “Woe also to you lawyers, because you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.
47. Woe to you, because you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.
48. So you bear witness and approve the works of your fathers, because they indeed killed them, and you build their tombs.
49. Therefore also the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send to them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute.’
50. That the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be required from this generation.
51. From the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary; yes, I tell you, it shall be required from this generation.
52. Woe to you lawyers, because you have taken away the key of knowledge; you yourselves did not enter, and those entering you hindered.”
Plotting Against Jesus
53. And when he went out from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him fiercely and to provoke him to speak concerning many things.
54. Lying in wait for him, seeking to catch something out of his mouth so that they might accuse him.
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