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¹ And as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said to him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.² And he said to them, When ye pray, say, Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come: Thy will be done as in heaven, so on earth.³ Give us day by day our daily bread.⁴ And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.⁵ And he said to them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go to him at midnight and say to him, Friend, lend me three loaves:⁶ For a friend of mine on his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him:⁷ And he from within shall answer, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed: I cannot rise and give thee?⁸ I tell you, though he will not rise and give him,⁹ because he is his friend, yet, because of his importunity, he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. And I say to you, Ask, and it shall be given you, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you.¹⁰ For every one that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened.¹¹ If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone?¹² Or if he ask a fish, for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he give him a scorpion?¹³ If ye then being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

¹⁴ And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb: and when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake, and the people wondered.¹⁵ But some of them said, He casteth out devils by Beelzebub the prince of the devils:¹⁶ And others tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven.¹⁷ But he knowing their thoughts, said to them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falleth.¹⁸ If Satan then be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand?¹⁹ Because ye say, that I cast out devils by Beelzebub. And if I cast out devils by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out?²⁰ Therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out devils by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God is come upon you.²¹ While the strong one armed guardeth his palace, his goods are in peace. But²² when he that is stronger than him cometh upon him and overcometh him, he taketh from him his compleat armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils.²³ He that is not with me is against me, and he that gathereth not with me scattereth.²⁴ When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh thro' dry places, seeking rest: and finding none, he saith, I will return to my house whence I came out.²⁵ And coming he findeth it swept and garnished.²⁶ Then goeth he and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and entering in they dwell there; and the last state of that man becometh worse than the first.

²⁷ As he spake these things, a certain woman lifting up her voice out of the multitude said to him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked!²⁸ But he said, Yea, rather blessed are they, that hear the word of God and keep it.

²⁹ And the multitudes being gathered thick together, he said, This is an evil generation: it seeketh a sign; but no sign shall be given it, save the sign of Jonah.³⁰ For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation.³¹ The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, a greater than Solomon is here.³² The men of Nineveh shall rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, a greater than Jonah is here.³³ No man having lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they who come in may see the light.³⁴ The eye is the lamp of the body: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body is full of light, but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness.³⁵ Take heed therefore, left the light that is in thee be darkness.³⁶ If then thy whole body be full of light, not having any part dark, the whole shall be as full of light, as when a lamp enlightens thee with its bright shining.

³⁷ And as he spake, a certain Pharisee asked him to dine with him.³⁸ And he went in and sat down to table. But the Pharisee seeing it, marvelled, that he had not first washed before dinner. And the Lord said to him,³⁹ Now ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the dish; but your inward part is full of rapine and wickedness.⁴⁰ Ye unthinking men, did not he that made the outside, make the inside also?⁴¹ But give what is in them in alms, and behold all things are clean to you.⁴² But wo to you, Pharisees; for ye tythe mint and rue and all herbs; and pass by justice and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.⁴³ Wo to you, Pharisees; for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues,⁴⁴ and salutations in the markets. Wo to you; for ye are as graves which appear not, and men that walk over them are not aware.⁴⁵ And one of the lawyers answering said to him, Master, thus saying, thou reproachest us also.⁴⁶ And he said, Wo to you lawyers also; for ye load men with burthens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burthens with one of your fingers.⁴⁷ Wo to you; for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets; whom your fathers killed.⁴⁸ Truly ye bear witness that ye approve the deeds of your fathers: for whom they killed, ye build their sepulchres.⁴⁹ Therefore also the wisdom of God hath said, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will slay, and persecute the rest.⁵⁰ So that the blood of all the prophets shed from the foundation of the world, shall be required of this generation.⁵¹ From the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was destroyed between the temple and the altar: verily I say to you, it shall be required of this generation.⁵² Woe to you, lawyers; for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye have not entered in yourselves; and them that were entering in, ye have hindered.⁵³ And as he said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began fiercely to fasten upon him, and to urge him to speak of many things,⁵⁴ Laying wait for him, and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him.