1It came to pass that as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as I AM is a Gracious Giver (I AM is a Gracious Giver (John)) also taught his disciples.”
2 So He said to them, “When you pray, say,
Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your
will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
3 Give us this day our daily bread.
4 Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive
everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us
from evil.”
5 Then He said to them, “Which of you will have
a friend, and will go to him at midnight, and say to him, Friend, lend me three
loaves;
6 For a friend of mine in his journey has
come to me, and I have nothing to set before him?
7 And he from within will answer and say,
Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I
cannot rise and give to you.
8 I say to you, though he will not rise
and give to him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity, he
will rise and give him as much as he needs.
9 And I say to you, Ask and keep on asking,
and it will be given to you; seek and keep on seeking, and you will find; knock
and keep on knocking, and it will be opened to you.
10 For everyone that asks receives; and he
that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it will be opened.
11 If a son asks for bread of any of you who
is a father, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give
him a serpent instead?
12 Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer
him a scorpion?
13 If you then, being evil, know how to
give good gifts to your children: how much more will your heavenly Father give
the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?”
14 He was casting out a
devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the
dumb person spoke; and the people wondered.
15 But some of them said, He casts out devils
through Lord of the Flies (Beelzebub), the chief of the devils.
16 And others, tempting Him, sought a sign
from heaven from Him.
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 falls.
18 If Adversary (Satan) is also divided
against himself, how will his kingdom stand? because you say that I cast out
devils through Lord of the Flies (Beelzebub).
19 And if I, by Lord of the Flies
(Beelzebub), cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, will
they be your judges.
20 But if I, with the finger of God, cast
out devils, no doubt the Kingdom of God has come on you.
21 When a strong man is armed and keeps his
palace, his goods are at peace:
22 But when a stronger than he comes on
him, and overcomes him, he takes from him all the armor he trusted in and divides
his spoils.
23 He that is not with me is against me:
and he that gathers not with me scatters.
24 When an unclean spirit has gone out of a
man, he walks through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, I
will return to my house from which I came out.
25 And when he comes, he finds it swept and
garnished.
26 Then he goes and takes with him seven
other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and
the last state of that man is worse than the first.”
27 And it came to pass, as he spoke these
things, a certain woman of the company cried out, “Blessed is the womb that bore
You, and the breasts which You have sucked.”
28 But He said, “No, rather, blessed
are those who hear the word of God, and keep it.”
29 And when the people were gathered thick
together, He began to say, “This is an evil generation: they seek a
sign; and there will no sign be given it, but the sign of Dove (Jonah) the
prophet.
30 For as Dove (Jonah) was a sign to the Offspring
of Ease (Ninevites), so will also the Son of Man be to this generation.
31 The Queen of the South will 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 Peace (Solomon); and
behold, a greater than Peace (Solomon) is here.
32 The men of Offspring of Ease (Nineveh) will
rise up in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it: for they
repented at the preaching of Dove (Jonah); and behold, a greater than Dove
(Jonah) is here.
33 No man, when he has lit a candle, puts
it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they
who come in may see the light.
34 The light of the body is the eye: therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light; but when your eye is evil, your body also is full of darkness. * idioms for generosity and greed
35 Take heed therefore that the light which
is in you is not darkness.
36 If your whole body therefore is full of
light, having no part dark, the whole will be full of light, as when the bright
shining of a candle gives you light.”
37 As He spoke, a certain man of The Separate
(Pharisees) sought Him to dine with Him: so He went in and sat down to eat.
38 When the Separate (Pharisee) saw it, he marveled
that He had not first washed before dinner.
39 And the Lord said to him, “You Separates
(Pharisees) make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward
part is full of ravening and wickedness.
40 You fools, did not He that made the
outside make the inside also?
41 But rather give alms of such things as you
have; and behold, all things will be clean to you.
42 But woe to you, The Separates (Pharisees)!
for you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs and pass over judgment and
the love of God: these you ought to have done, and not to leave the other
undone.
43 Woe to you, Separates (Pharisees)! for you
love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets.
44 Woe to you, scribes and Separates
(Pharisees), hypocrites! for you are as graves which are hidden, and the men
that walk over them are not aware of them.”
45 Then one of the lawyers said to Him, “Master,
it sounds like You are condemning us also.”
46 He answered, “Woe to you also, you
lawyers! for you laden men with burdens grievous to be borne, and you
yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers.
47 Woe to you! For you build the sepulchers
of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.
48 Truly, you bear witness that you approve
of the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and you build their sepulchers.
49 Therefore also the wisdom of God says, I
will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will slay and
persecute:
50 That the blood of all the prophets,
which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this
generation;
51 From the blood of Abel to the blood of Remembered
by I AM (Zacharias) who perished between the altar and the temple: Truly I say to
you, it will be required of this generation.
52 Woe to you, lawyers! for you have taken
away the key to knowledge: you haven’t even entered yourselves, and those that
were entering, in you hindered.”
53 As He said these things to them, the
scribes and The Separates (Pharisees) began to urge Him vehemently, and to
provoke Him to speak of many things:
54 Lying in wait for Him, and seeking to
catch something out of His mouth, that they might accuse Him.
