Luke 11:11

11 Therefore who of you asketh his father bread, whether he shall give him a stone? or if he asketh fish, whether he shall give him a serpent for the fish?

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 And I say to you, ask ye, and it shall be given to you; seek ye, and ye shall find; knock ye, and it shall be opened to you.

10 For each that asketh, taketh, and he that seeketh, findeth; and to a man that knocketh, it shall be opened.

11 Therefore who of you asketh his father bread, whether he shall give him a stone? or if he asketh fish, whether he shall give him a serpent for the fish?

12 or if he asketh an egg [or if he shall ask an egg], whether he shall areach him a scorpion?

13 Therefore if ye, when ye be evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more your Father of heaven shall give a good Spirit to men that ask him.