Luke 11:11

11 But what father from among you, [if his] son will ask for a fish, instead of a fish will give him a snake?

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 tell you, ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you.

10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

11 But what father from among you, [if his] son will ask for a fish, instead of a fish will give him a snake?

12 Or also, [if] he will ask for an egg, will give him a scorpion?

13 Therefore if you, [although you] are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father from heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?"

Footnotes

• [a]. *Literally "the"; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun