Read the Bible

The Lord's Prayer

¹ Now Jesus^[a] was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, ^(a)as John taught his disciples." ² And he said to them, ^(b)"When you pray, say:

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 ^(k)because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence^[c] he will rise and give him whatever he needs. ⁹ And I tell you, ^(l)ask, and ^(m)it will be given to you; ⁽ⁿ⁾seek, and you will find; ^(o)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^[d] 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, ^(p)who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father ^(q)give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

Jesus and Beelzebul

^14 (r)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 ^(s)by Beelzebul, the prince of demons," ¹⁶ while others, ^(t)to test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven. ^17 (u)But he, ^(v)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, ^(w)by whom do ^(x)your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. ²⁰ But if it is by ^(y)the finger of God that I cast out demons, then ^(z)the kingdom of God has come upon you. ²¹ When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; ^22 (aa)but when one stronger than he attacks him and ^(ab)overcomes him, he takes away his ^(ac)armor in which he trusted and ^(ad)divides his spoil. ^23 (ae)Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

Return of an Unclean Spirit

^24 (af)"When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through ^(ag)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 ^(ah)the last state of that person is worse than the first."

True Blessedness

²⁷ As he said these things, ^(ai)a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, ^(aj)"Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!" ²⁸ But he said, ^(ak)"Blessed rather are those ^(al)who hear the word of God and ^(am)keep it!"

The Sign of Jonah

^29 (an)When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, ^(ao)"This generation is an evil generation. ^(ap)It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. ³⁰ For as ^(aq)Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. ^31 (ar)The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and ^(as)condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, ^(at)something greater than Solomon is here. ^32 (au)The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and ^(av)condemn it, for ^(aw)they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, ^(ax)something greater than Jonah is here.

The Light in You

^33 (ay)"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 ^(az)the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is ^(ba)bad, your body is full of darkness. ^35 (bb)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, ^(bc)as when a lamp with its rays gives you light."

Woes to the Pharisees and Lawyers

³⁷ While Jesus^[e] was speaking, ^(bd)a Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at table. ³⁸ The Pharisee was astonished to see ^(be)that he did not first wash before dinner. ³⁹ And the Lord said to him, ^(bf)"Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of ^(bg)greed and wickedness. ^40 (bh)You fools! ^(bi)Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? ⁴¹ But ^(bj)give as alms those things that are within, and behold, ^(bk)everything is clean for you.

^42 (bl)"But woe to you Pharisees! For ^(bm)you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect ^(bn)justice and ^(bo)the love of God. ^(bp)These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. ⁴³ Woe to you Pharisees! For ^(bq)you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. ⁴⁴ Woe to you! ^(br)For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it."

⁴⁵ One of ^(bs)the lawyers answered him, "Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also." ⁴⁶ And he said, "Woe to you ^(bt)lawyers also! For ^(bu)you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. ^47 (bv)Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. ^48 (bw)So you are witnesses and you ^(bx)consent to the deeds of ^(by)your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. ⁴⁹ Therefore also ^(bz)the Wisdom of God said, ^(ca)‘I will send them ^(cb)prophets and apostles, ^(cc)some of whom they will ^(cd)kill and persecute,' ⁵⁰ so that ^(ce)the blood of all the prophets, shed ^(cf)from the foundation of the world, may be ^(cg)charged against this generation, ⁵¹ from the blood of ^(ch)Abel to the blood of ^(ci)Zechariah, who perished between ^(cj)the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be ^(ck)required of this generation. ⁵² Woe to you ^(cl)lawyers! ^(cm)For you have taken away the key of ^(cn)knowledge. You ^(co)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 (cp)lying in wait for him, ^(cq)to catch him in something he might say.