Luke 11

And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.

1One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples spoke up. Disciples were the students who followed him. He said, "Lord, teach us how to pray. John taught his followers how."

2And 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 in earth.

2Jesus said to them, "When you pray, say this. Our Father in heaven, may your name be treated as holy. May your kingdom come. May people do what you want here on earth, just like in heaven.

3Give us day by day our daily bread.

3Give us the food we need, day after day.

4And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.

4Forgive the wrong things we have done. We also forgive everyone who has done wrong to us. Do not let us be pulled into doing wrong. Keep us safe from evil."

5And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves;

5Then Jesus said, "Suppose you go to a friend's house in the middle of the night. You say, 'Friend, please lend me three loaves of bread.

6For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him?

6A friend of mine has come to my house from a trip. I have no food to give him.'

7And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee.

7And suppose your friend calls back from inside the house. 'Do not bother me. My door is already locked. My children and I are in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything.'

8I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.

8I tell you, he may not get up just because you are his friend. But you keep asking and will not stop. So he will get up and give you all you need.

NoteThe KJV word "importunity" means asking again and again without giving up.

9And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

9So I tell you this. Ask, and it will be given to you. Look, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened for you.

10For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

10Everyone who asks receives. The one who looks finds. The door is opened for the one who knocks.

11If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?

11You are fathers. If your son asks you for bread, would you hand him a stone? If he asks for a fish, would you hand him a snake?

12Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?

12Or if he asks for an egg, would you hand him a scorpion that stings?

13If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

13You do wrong things, yet you know how to give good gifts to your children. Your Father in heaven will do so much more. He will give the Holy Spirit to everyone who asks him."

14And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered.

14Jesus was sending an evil spirit out of a man. That spirit had kept the man from speaking. When the spirit left, the man talked. The crowd was amazed.

NoteIn the KJV, "dumb" means unable to speak. It does not mean foolish.

15But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils.

15But some of them said, "He sends out evil spirits by the power of Beelzebub, the ruler of evil spirits."

16And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven.

16Others wanted to test Jesus. They asked him to show them a sign from heaven.

17But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth.

17Jesus knew what they were thinking. He said, "A kingdom that fights against itself will be ruined. A house that fights against itself will fall down.

18If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub.

18If Satan fights against himself, how can his kingdom last? You say I send out evil spirits by Beelzebub.

19And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges.

19If I send out evil spirits by Beelzebub, then who helps your own people do it? They themselves will show that you are wrong.

20But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.

20But I send out evil spirits by the finger of God. That means God's kingdom has come to you.

21When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace:

21When a strong man with weapons guards his house, his things stay safe.

22But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils.

22But a stronger man may come and beat him. He takes away the weapons the man trusted in. Then he shares out everything he took.

23He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth.

23Whoever is not with me is against me. Whoever does not help me gather is scattering.

24When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out.

24When an evil spirit comes out of a person, it goes through dry, empty places. It looks for a place to rest and finds none. Then it says, 'I will go back to the house I left.'

25And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished.

25When it gets there, it finds the house swept clean and tidy.

26Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.

26So it goes and brings seven other spirits that are even worse. They all move in and live there. In the end that person is worse off than before."

27And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked.

27While Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out. She said, "How blessed is the mother who gave birth to you and fed you!"

28But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.

28But Jesus said, "It is better to say this. Blessed are the people who hear God's word and obey it."

29And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet.

29More and more people crowded around him. Jesus said, "The people of this time do wrong. They keep asking for a sign. But the only sign they get is the sign of Jonah the prophet. A prophet was someone who told people what God said.

30For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation.

30Jonah was a sign to the people of the city of Nineveh. In the same way, the Son of Man will be a sign to people now. Son of Man was the name Jesus used for himself.

31The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them: for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

31The queen from the south will stand up on the day God judges everyone. She will stand with the people of this time and show they are guilty. She traveled from the far ends of the earth to hear Solomon's wise words. And someone greater than Solomon is here.

32The men of Nineve shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.

32The men of Nineveh will stand up on the day God judges everyone. They will stand with the people of this time and show they are guilty. Those men turned away from their sins when Jonah preached. And someone greater than Jonah is here.

33No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light.

33Nobody lights a lamp and then hides it away. Nobody puts it under a basket. You put it up on a stand. Then people who come in can see the light.

NoteA "candle" here is a small oil lamp. A "bushel" was a large basket used to measure grain.

34The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness.

34Your eye is like a lamp for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is full of light. When your eye is bad, your body is full of darkness.

35Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness.

35So be careful. Make sure the light inside you is not really darkness.

36If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light.

36Suppose your whole body is full of light, with no dark part at all. Then you will shine, like a lamp shining right on you."

37And as he spake, a certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him: and he went in, and sat down to meat.

37While Jesus was talking, a Pharisee asked him to come and eat. The Pharisees were a group who kept the religious rules very carefully. Jesus went in and sat down at the table.

38And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he had not first washed before dinner.

38The Pharisee was surprised at what he saw. Jesus had not washed his hands in the special way before eating.

39And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness.

39The Lord said to him, "You Pharisees wash the outside of the cup and the dish. But inside you are full of greed and evil.

40Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also?

40You fools! God made the outside. He made the inside too.

41But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and, behold, all things are clean unto you.

41Instead, take what is inside and give it to poor people. Then everything will be clean for you.

42But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

42But how sad for you Pharisees! You carefully give God a tenth of tiny plants like mint and rue. But you ignore what is fair, and you ignore loving God. You should do these things and not leave the other things out.

43Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets.

43How sad for you Pharisees! You love the best seats in the meeting places. You love people greeting you in the markets.

44Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them.

44How sad for you! You are like graves that nobody can see. People walk right over them and never know."

45Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto him, Master, thus saying thou reproachest us also.

45Then one of the teachers of the law spoke up. He said, "Teacher, when you say this, you are insulting us too."

46And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers.

46Jesus said, "How sad for you teachers of the law! You pile heavy loads on people. But you will not lift one finger to help carry them.

47Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.

47How sad for you! You build tombs for the prophets. Your own fathers were the ones who killed them.

48Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres.

48So you show that you agree with what your fathers did. They killed the prophets. You build the tombs.

NoteIn the KJV, "ye allow the deeds" means you approve of what they did.

49Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute:

49That is why God's wisdom said this. 'I will send them prophets and apostles. They will kill some of them and hurt others.' Apostles were the special messengers Jesus sent out.

50That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;

50So the people of this time will have to answer for it. They will answer for the blood of every prophet killed since the world began.

51From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.

51That means from the killing of Abel to the killing of Zechariah. He died between the altar and the temple. Yes, I tell you, the people of this time will answer for it.

52Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.

52How sad for you teachers of the law! You took away the key to knowing God. You did not go in yourselves. And you stopped other people who were going in."

53And as he said these things unto them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently, and to provoke him to speak of many things:

53As Jesus said these things, the teachers of the law and the Pharisees grew very angry. They kept pushing him with questions about many things.

54Laying wait for him, and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him.

54They were waiting to trap him. They wanted to catch him saying something they could use against him.