Luke 11:11

11 "If your child asks you, his father, for a fish, would you give him a snake instead?

Luke 11:11 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 11:11

If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father,
&c.] Our Lord illustrates and confirms what he had said before by an instance common among men: the relation between a father and a son is natural, and it is very near; and it is usual for a son, when hungry, and at the proper times of meals, to ask bread of his father: and when he does,

will he give him a stone?
should he do so, he would show that his heart was as hard, or harder than the stone he gives:

or if he ask a fish, will he, for a fish, give him a serpent?
And endeavour to deceive him by the likeness of the one to the other, especially some sort of fish, which would poison or sting him, but not refresh and nourish him: such inhuman brutish parents are not surely to be found; (See Gill on Matthew 7:9), (See Gill on Matthew 7:10).

Luke 11:11 In-Context

9 "So I tell you to ask, and you will receive. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened for you.

10 Everyone who asks will receive. The one who searches will find, and for the person who knocks, the door will be opened.

11 "If your child asks you, his father, for a fish, would you give him a snake instead?

12 Or if your child asks you for an egg, would you give him a scorpion?

13 Even though you're evil, you know how to give good gifts to your children. So how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?"