Luke 11:11

11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for^[a] a fish, will give him a snake instead?

Luke 11:11 in Other Translations

11 If 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?

11 What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent;

11 “You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead?

11 If your little boy asks for a serving of fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate?

11 And of which of you that is a father shall his son ask a loaf, and he give him a stone? or a fish, and he for a fish give him a serpent?

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

11 What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish?

11 "Fathers, suppose your son asks for a fish. Which of you will 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 say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

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

11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks fora fish, will give him a snake instead?

12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?

13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Footnotes

• [a]. Some manuscripts "for bread, will give him a stone?" "Or if he asks for"