Parallel Bible results for "luke 11"

Luke 11

The Message Bible MSG

1 One day he was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said, "Master, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples."

2 So he said, "When you pray, say, Father, Reveal who you are. Set the world right.

3 Keep us alive with three square meals.

4 Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others. Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil."

5 Then he said, "Imagine what would happen if you went to a friend in the middle of the night and said, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread.

6 An old friend traveling through just showed up, and I don't have a thing on hand.'

7 "The friend answers from his bed, 'Don't bother me. The door's locked; my children are all down for the night; I can't get up to give you anything.'

8 "But let me tell you, even if he won't get up because he's a friend, if you stand your ground, knocking and waking all the neighbors, he'll finally get up and get you whatever you need.

9 "Here's what I'm saying: Ask and you'll get; Seek and you'll find; Knock and the door will open.

10 "Don't bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. This is not a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we're in.

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

12 If your little girl asks for an egg, do you trick her with a spider?

13 As bad as you are, you wouldn't think of such a thing - you're at least decent to your own children. And don't you think the Father who conceived you in love will give the Holy Spirit when you ask him?"

14 Jesus delivered a man from a demon that had kept him speechless. The demon gone, the man started talking a blue streak, taking the crowd by complete surprise.

15 But some from the crowd were cynical. "Black magic," they said. "Some devil trick he's pulled from his sleeve."

16 Others were skeptical, waiting around for him to prove himself with a spectacular miracle.

17 Jesus knew what they were thinking and said, "Any country in civil war for very long is wasted. A constantly squabbling family falls to pieces.

18 If Satan cancels Satan, is there any Satan left? You accuse me of ganging up with the Devil, the prince of demons, to cast out demons,

19 but if you're slinging devil mud at me, calling me a devil who kicks out devils, doesn't the same mud stick to your own exorcists?

20 But if it's God's finger I'm pointing that sends the demons on their way, then God's kingdom is here for sure.

21 "When a strong man, armed to the teeth, stands guard in his front yard, his property is safe and sound.

22 But what if a stronger man comes along with superior weapons? Then he's beaten at his own game, the arsenal that gave him such confidence hauled off, and his precious possessions plundered.

23 "This is war, and there is no neutral ground. If you're not on my side, you're the enemy; if you're not helping, you're making things worse.

24 "When a corrupting spirit is expelled from someone, it drifts along through the desert looking for an oasis, some unsuspecting soul it can bedevil. When it doesn't find anyone, it says, 'I'll go back to my old haunt.'

25 On return, it finds the person swept and dusted, but vacant.

26 It then runs out and rounds up seven other spirits dirtier than itself and they all move in, whooping it up. That person ends up far worse than if he'd never gotten cleaned up in the first place."

27 While he was saying these things, some woman lifted her voice above the murmur of the crowd: "Blessed the womb that carried you, and the breasts at which you nursed!"

28 Jesus commented, "Even more blessed are those who hear God's Word and guard it with their lives!"

29 As the crowd swelled, he took a fresh tack: "The mood of this age is all wrong. Everybody's looking for proof, but you're looking for the wrong kind. All you're looking for is something to titillate your curiosity, satisfy your lust for miracles. But the only proof you're going to get is the Jonah-proof given to the Ninevites, which looks like no proof at all.

30 What Jonah was to Nineveh, the Son of Man is to this age.

31 "On Judgment Day the Ninevites will stand up and give evidence that will condemn this generation, because when Jonah preached to them they changed their lives. A far greater preacher than Jonah is here, and you squabble about 'proofs.'

32 On Judgment Day the Queen of Sheba will come forward and bring evidence that condemns this generation, because she traveled from a far corner of the earth to listen to wise Solomon. Wisdom far greater than Solomon's is right in front of you, and you quibble over 'evidence.'

33 "No one lights a lamp, then hides it in a drawer. It's put on a lamp stand so those entering the room have light to see where they're going.

34 Your eye is a lamp, lighting up your whole body. If you live wide-eyed in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dank cellar.

35 Keep your eyes open, your lamp burning, so you don't get musty and murky.

36 Keep your life as well-lighted as your best-lighted room." Frauds!

37 When he finished that talk, a Pharisee asked him to dinner. He entered his house and sat right down at the table.

38 The Pharisee was shocked and somewhat offended when he saw that Jesus didn't wash up before the meal.

39 But the Master said to him, "I know you Pharisees burnish the surface of your cups and plates so they sparkle in the sun, but I also know your insides are maggoty with greed and secret evil.

40 Stupid Pharisees! Didn't the One who made the outside also make the inside?

41 Turn both your pockets and your hearts inside out and give generously to the poor; then your lives will be clean, not just your dishes and your hands.

42 "I've had it with you! You're hopeless, you Pharisees! Frauds! You keep meticulous account books, tithing on every nickel and dime you get, but manage to find loopholes for getting around basic matters of justice and God's love. Careful bookkeeping is commendable, but the basics are required.

43 "You're hopeless, you Pharisees! Frauds! You love sitting at the head table at church dinners, love preening yourselves in the radiance of public flattery.

44 Frauds! You're just like unmarked graves: People walk over that nice, grassy surface, never suspecting the rot and corruption that is six feet under."

45 One of the religion scholars spoke up: "Teacher, do you realize that in saying these things you're insulting us?"

46 He said, "Yes, and I can be even more explicit. You're hopeless, you religion scholars! You load people down with rules and regulations, nearly breaking their backs, but never lift even a finger to help.

47 "You're hopeless! You build tombs for the prophets your ancestors killed.

48 The tombs you build are monuments to your murdering ancestors more than to the murdered prophets.

49 That accounts for God's Wisdom saying, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, but they'll kill them and run them off.'

50 What it means is that every drop of righteous blood ever spilled from the time earth began until now,.

51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was struck down between altar and sanctuary, is on your heads. Yes, it's on the bill of this generation and this generation will pay.

52 "You're hopeless, you religion scholars! You took the key of knowledge, but instead of unlocking doors, you locked them. You won't go in yourself, and won't let anyone else in either."

53 As soon as Jesus left the table, the religion scholars and Pharisees went into a rage. They went over and over everything he said,

54 plotting how they could trap him in something from his own mouth.

English Standard Version ESV

1 Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples. ”

2 And he said to them, “When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come.

3 Give us each day our daily bread,

4 and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation. ”

5 And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves,

6 for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’;

7 and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’?

8 I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs.

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

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

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

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

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

14 Now he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled.

15 But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, ”

16 while others, to test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven.

17 But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls.

18 And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul.

19 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.

20 But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

21 When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe;

22 but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil.

23 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

24 “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came. ’

25 And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order.

26 Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first. ”

27 As he said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed! ”

28 But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it! ”

29 When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, “This generation is an evil generation. It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.

30 For as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation.

31 The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.

32 The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

33 “No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light.

34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness.

35 Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness.

36 If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, as when a lamp with its rays gives you light. ”

37 While Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at table.

38 The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner.

39 And the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.

40 You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also?

41 But give as alms those things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you.

42 “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.

43 Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.

44 Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it. ”

45 One of the lawyers answered him, “Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also. ”

46 And he said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.

47 Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed.

48 So you are witnesses and you consent to the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs.

49 Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute, ’

50 so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation,

51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation.

52 Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering. ”

53 As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things,

54 lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say.