Luke 11

¹⁴May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

²⁶In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how we ought to pray, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words.

²⁷And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

³⁹Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed Him.

⁴⁰When He came to the place, He told them, “Pray that you will not enter into temptation.”

²⁰But you, beloved, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit,

¹²In those days Jesus went out to the mountain to pray, and He spent the night in prayer to God.

¹⁸One day as Jesus was praying in private and the disciples were with Him, He questioned them: “Who do the crowds say I am?”

⁶But when you pray, go into your inner room, shut your door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

⁷And when you pray, do not babble on like pagans, for they think that by their many words they will be heard.

²Do not be quick to speak, and do not be hasty in your heart to utter a word before God. For God is in heaven and you are on earth. So let your words be few.

¹⁸Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds.

¹⁹And blessed be His glorious name forever; may all the earth be filled with His glory. Amen and amen.

⁴Who will not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before You, for Your righteous acts have been revealed.”

⁴The Lord is in His holy temple; the Lord is on His heavenly throne. His eyes are watching closely; they examine the sons of men.

¹¹Now may our God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you.

¹²And may the Lord cause you to increase and overflow with love for one another and for everyone else, just as our love for you overflows,

¹¹Give us this day our daily bread.

³⁴Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.

⁸Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me. Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the bread that is my portion.

¹⁵When the Israelites saw it, they asked one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. So Moses told them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.

¹⁶This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Each one is to gather as much as he needs. You may take an omer for each person in your tent.’”

¹⁶he will dwell on the heights; the mountain fortress will be his refuge; his food will be provided and his water assured.

²⁷Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on Him God the Father has placed His seal of approval.”

²⁸Then they inquired, “What must we do to perform the works of God?”

¹²And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

¹³And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’

⁴¹“Watch and pray so that you will not enter into temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

²⁵I, yes I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake and remembers your sins no more.

²⁶Remind Me, let us argue the matter together. State your case, so that you may be vindicated.

¹³Bear with one another and forgive any complaint you may have against someone else. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

³⁵That is how My heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

³But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.

¹Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray at all times and not lose heart:

²“In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected men.

²⁵After the master of the house gets up and shuts the door, you will stand outside knocking and saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’ But he will reply, ‘I do not know where you are from.’

⁶So Jesus went with them. But when He was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends with the message: “Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy to have You come under my roof.

¹⁷From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.

¹⁰But while they were on their way to buy it, the bridegroom arrived. Those who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet, and the door was shut.

²⁶Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

¹²Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, so that you may stand mature and fully assured in the full will of God.

³⁰Now I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me.

¹Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray at all times and not lose heart:

²“In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected men.

²²And a Canaanite woman from that region came to Him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is miserably possessed by a demon.”

²³But Jesus did not answer a word. So His disciples came and urged Him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”

⁸Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.

²⁴Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

²³In that day you will no longer ask Me anything. Truly, truly, I tell you, whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you.

²⁴Until now you have not asked for anything in My name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.

²²If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

¹⁶You did not choose Me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will remain—so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you.

⁷If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

¹³And I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

³And when you do ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may squander it on your pleasures.

¹⁸So I say, “My strength has perished, along with my hope from the Lord.”

⁵⁴The waters flowed over my head, and I thought I was going to die.

⁵⁵I called on Your name, O Lord, out of the depths of the Pit.

²saying: “In my distress I called to the Lord, and He answered me. From the belly of Sheol I called for help, and You heard my voice.

³For You cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the current swirled about me; all Your breakers and waves swept over me.

²²In my alarm I said, “I am cut off from Your sight!” But You heard my plea for mercy when I called to You for help.

¹Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray at all times and not lose heart:

⁹Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?

¹⁵“Can a woman forget her nursing child, or lack compassion for the son of her womb? Even if she could forget, I will not forget you!

⁶But you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns surround you, and you dwell among scorpions. Do not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their presence, though they are a rebellious house.

¹⁰They had tails with stingers like scorpions, which had the power to injure people for five months.

¹⁹Behold, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. Nothing will harm you.

¹¹So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

³For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and currents on the dry ground. I will pour out My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring.

⁴They will sprout among the grass like willows by flowing streams.

³²He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, freely give us all things?

¹⁰Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God and who is asking you for a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

²³If you had repented at my rebuke, then surely I would have poured out my spirit on you; I would have made my words known to you.

³⁸Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

³²As they were leaving, a demon-possessed man who was mute was brought to Jesus.

³³And when the demon had been driven out, the man began to speak. The crowds were amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel!”

²²Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed the man so that he could speak and see.

²³The crowds were astounded and asked, “Could this be the Son of David?”

³²Some people brought to Him a man who was deaf and hardly able to speak, and they begged Jesus to place His hand on him.

³³So Jesus took him aside privately, away from the crowd, and put His fingers into the man’s ears. Then He spit and touched the man’s tongue.

³⁴But the Pharisees said, “It is by the prince of demons that He drives out demons.”

²⁰Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and insane. Why would you listen to Him?”

⁴⁸The Jews answered Him, “Are we not right to say that You are a Samaritan and You have a demon?”

²⁰“You have a demon,” the crowd replied. “Who is trying to kill You?”

²⁵It is enough for a disciple to be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!

⁵²“Now we know that You have a demon!” declared the Jews. “Abraham died, and so did the prophets, yet You say that anyone who keeps Your word will never taste death.

²²Jews demand signs and Greeks search for wisdom,

¹Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came and tested Jesus by asking Him to show them a sign from heaven.

²But He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘The weather will be fair, for the sky is red,’

³⁰So they asked Him, “What sign then will You perform, so that we may see it and believe You? What will You do?

¹¹Then the Pharisees came and began to argue with Jesus, testing Him by demanding from Him a sign from heaven.

¹²Jesus sighed deeply in His spirit and said, “Why does this generation demand a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.”

³⁸Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”

³⁹Jesus replied, “A wicked and adulterous generation demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.

²³So Jesus called them together and began to speak to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan?

²⁴If a kingdom is divided against itself, it cannot stand.

²⁵Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.

²⁶If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand?

²“So I will incite Egyptian against Egyptian; brother will fight against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.

³Then the spirit of the Egyptians will be emptied out from among them, and I will frustrate their plans, so that they will resort to idols and spirits of the dead, to mediums and spiritists.

²⁵He did not need any testimony about man, for He knew what was in a man.

²⁰They carve out what is on the right, but they are still hungry; they eat what is on the left, but they are still not satisfied. Each one devours the flesh of his own offspring.

²¹Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh; together they turn against Judah. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.

¹⁶So the Israelites fled before Judah, and God delivered them into their hands.

¹⁷Then Abijah and his people struck them with a mighty blow, and 500,000 chosen men of Israel fell slain.

²⁶If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand?

³¹Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.

³²Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the one to come.

¹⁵but some of them said, “It is by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons, that He drives out demons.”

¹⁰“Away from Me, Satan!” Jesus told him. “For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”

⁵In the same way, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it boasts of great things. Consider how small a spark sets a great forest ablaze.

⁶The tongue also is a fire, a world of wickedness among the parts of the body. It pollutes the whole person, sets the course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

⁴⁹“Master,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in Your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not accompany us.”

⁶Your own mouth, not mine, condemns you; your own lips testify against you.

³¹The Queen of the South will rise 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 now One greater than Solomon is here.

³²The men of Nineveh will stand at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now One greater than Jonah is here.

¹⁹Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.

²⁷And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive them out? So then, they will be your judges.

²⁸But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

²²His master replied, ‘You wicked servant, I will judge you by your own words. So you knew that I am a harsh man, withdrawing what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow?

¹⁹“This is the finger of God,” the magicians said to Pharaoh. But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.

²⁸But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

⁹Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’

²and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

¹¹‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off as a testimony against you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near.’

⁵All this is clear evidence of God’s righteous judgment. And so you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.

²⁷Indeed, no one can enter a strong man’s house to steal his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house.

²⁹Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and steal his possessions, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house.

²⁴Can the plunder be snatched from the mighty, or the captives of a tyrant be delivered?

²⁵Indeed, this is what the Lord says: “Even the captives of the mighty will be taken away, and the plunder of the tyrant will be retrieved; I will contend with those who contend with you, and I will save your children.

¹²Therefore I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the spoils with the strong, because He has poured out His life unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors. Yet He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.

¹⁵And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

⁸The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the very start. This is why the Son of God was revealed, to destroy the works of the devil.

⁴You, little children, are from God and have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.

¹⁵And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

³⁰He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

⁵⁰“Do not stop him,” Jesus replied, “for whoever is not against you is for you.”

¹⁵I know your deeds; you are neither cold nor hot. How I wish you were one or the other!

¹⁶So because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to vomit you out of My mouth!

⁴⁰For whoever is not against us is for us.

⁴³When an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it passes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it.

⁴⁴Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ On its return, it finds the house vacant, swept clean, and put in order.

⁸Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

²“Where have you come from?” said the Lord to Satan. “From roaming through the earth,” he replied, “and walking back and forth in it.”

¹A Psalm of David, when he was in the Wilderness of Judah. O God, You are my God. Earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You. My body yearns for You in a dry and weary land without water.

¹⁰And he begged Jesus repeatedly not to send them out of that region.

⁷“Where have you come from?” said the Lord to Satan. “From roaming through the earth,” he replied, “and walking back and forth in it.”

⁸Yet in the same way these dreamers defile their bodies, reject authority, and slander glorious beings.

⁹But even the archangel Michael, when he disputed with the devil over the body of Moses, did not presume to bring a slanderous charge against him, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

⁹The coming of the lawless one will be accompanied by the working of Satan, with every kind of power, sign, and false wonder,

¹⁰and with every wicked deception directed against those who are perishing, because they refused the love of the truth that would have saved them.

¹⁰Such punishment is specially reserved for those who indulge the corrupt desires of the flesh and despise authority. Bold and self-willed, they are unafraid to slander glorious beings.

¹¹Yet not even angels, though greater in strength and power, dare to bring such slanderous charges against them before the Lord.

⁴⁴Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ On its return, it finds the house vacant, swept clean, and put in order.

⁴⁵Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and dwell there. And the final plight of that man is worse than the first. So will it be with this wicked generation.”

³The words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful; he has ceased to be wise and well-doing.

¹¹But My people would not listen to Me, and Israel would not obey Me.

¹²So I gave them up to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices.

²⁰If indeed they have escaped the corruption of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, only to be entangled and overcome by it again, their final condition is worse than it was at first.

²¹It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than to have known it and then to turn away from the holy commandment passed on to them.

¹⁴Afterward, Jesus found the man at the temple and said to him, “See, you have been made well. Stop sinning, or something worse may happen to you.”

⁶and those who turn back from following the Lord, neither seeking the Lord nor inquiring of Him.”

⁴⁵Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and dwell there. And the final plight of that man is worse than the first. So will it be with this wicked generation.”

⁴It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit,

⁵who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age—

¹⁶If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he should ask God, who will give life to those who commit this kind of sin. There is a sin that leads to death; I am not saying he should ask regarding that sin.

²⁹Look, the days are coming when people will say, ‘Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore, and breasts that never nursed!’

⁴²In a loud voice she exclaimed, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!

⁴⁸For He has looked with favor on the humble state of His servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed.

²⁸The angel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

⁴⁷I will show you what he is like who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them:

⁴⁸He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid his foundation on the rock. When the flood came, the torrent crashed against that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.

²¹But He replied, “My mother and brothers are those who hear the word of God and carry it out.”

¹Hallelujah! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in His commandments.

²¹Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and every expression of evil, and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save your souls.

²²Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves.

¹⁷If you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

¹Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or set foot on the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers.

²But his delight is in the Law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night.

¹⁶And others tested Him by demanding a sign from heaven.

¹¹Then the Pharisees came and began to argue with Jesus, testing Him by demanding from Him a sign from heaven.

¹²Jesus sighed deeply in His spirit and said, “Why does this generation demand a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.”

³⁸Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”

³⁹Jesus replied, “A wicked and adulterous generation demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.

²²Jews demand signs and Greeks search for wisdom,

¹In the meantime, a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling one another. Jesus began to speak first to His disciples: “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

⁷But when John saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his place of baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

⁴⁰For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

⁴¹The men of Nineveh will stand at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now One greater than Jonah is here.

²“Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message that I give you.”

³This time Jonah got up and went to Nineveh, in accordance with the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, requiring a three-day journey.

⁴⁶And He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day,

⁴⁷and in His name repentance and forgiveness of sins will be proclaimed to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem.

¹⁷Now the Lord had appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the fish.

¹⁰And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

¹Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon, she came to test him with difficult questions. She arrived in Jerusalem with a very large caravan—with camels bearing spices, gold in abundance, and precious stones. And she came to Solomon and spoke with him about all that was on her mind.

¹Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to test him with difficult questions.

²She arrived in Jerusalem with a very large caravan—with camels bearing spices, gold in great abundance, and precious stones. And she came to Solomon and spoke to him all that was on her mind.

²⁷The one who is physically uncircumcised yet keeps the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.

¹¹And the Lord said to me, “Faithless Israel has shown herself more righteous than unfaithful Judah.

²²and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in a bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”

⁴²The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and now One greater than Solomon is here.

⁵And the Ninevites believed God. They proclaimed a fast and dressed in sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least.

³¹The Queen of the South will rise 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 now One greater than Solomon is here.

⁹Then God asked Jonah, “Have you any right to be angry about the plant?” “I do,” he replied. “I am angry enough to die!”

²“Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before Me.”

³Jonah, however, got up to flee to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship bound for Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went aboard to sail for Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.

²⁶Such a high priest truly befits us—One who is holy, innocent, undefiled, set apart from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.

¹⁶No one lights a lamp and covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he sets it on a stand, so those who enter can see the light.

¹⁷For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be made known and brought to light.

²¹Jesus also said to them, “Does anyone bring in a lamp to put it under a basket or under a bed? Doesn’t he set it on a stand?

²²For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be brought to light.

¹⁵Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they set it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.

¹⁶In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

⁴⁶I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in Me should remain in darkness.

¹⁵so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine as lights in the world

¹⁶as you hold forth the word of life, in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.

⁹Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? If anyone walks in the daytime, he will not stumble, because he sees by the light of this world.

²²The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.

²³But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

¹⁸to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified by faith in Me.’

²¹“Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear.

⁸as it is written: “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that could not see, and ears that could not hear, to this very day.”

⁹And David says: “May their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution to them.

¹⁸Open my eyes that I may see wondrous things from Your law.

⁴The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

²⁵There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.

⁹But whoever lacks these traits is nearsighted to the point of blindness, having forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

¹³Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good conduct, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.

¹⁴But if you harbor bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast in it or deny the truth.

¹⁹For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”

²⁰Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

¹⁷You say, ‘I am rich; I have grown wealthy and need nothing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.

¹⁸Let no one deceive himself. If any of you thinks he is wise in this age, he should become a fool, so that he may become wise.

¹⁹For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness.”

²⁷The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord, searching out his inmost being.

²³For this commandment is a lamp, this teaching is a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way to life,

¹⁸The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday.

¹⁹But the way of the wicked is like the darkest gloom; they do not know what makes them stumble.

⁶For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

¹⁸But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

¹⁵From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

¹⁶All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

³⁶Then one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to eat with him, and He entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table.

¹⁹Though I am free of obligation to anyone, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.

²⁰To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), to win those under the law.

¹One Sabbath, Jesus went to eat in the home of a leading Pharisee, and those in attendance were watching Him closely.

²“Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands before they eat.”

³Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?

²⁵Then a dispute arose between John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the issue of ceremonial washing.

²and they saw some of His disciples eating with hands that were defiled—that is, unwashed.

³Now in holding to the tradition of the elders, the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat until they wash their hands ceremonially.

¹⁵To the pure, all things are pure; but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure. Indeed, both their minds and their consciences are defiled.

¹⁵So He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is prized among men is detestable before God.

⁵Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was altogether evil all the time.

¹⁵Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

¹²There is a generation of those who are pure in their own eyes and yet unwashed of their filth.

⁸Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

²⁰But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’

³⁶You fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.

²⁶Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside may become clean as well.

¹⁷You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes it sacred?

²²“How long, O simple ones, will you love your simple ways? How long will scoffers delight in their scorn and fools hate knowledge?

⁵O simple ones, learn to be shrewd; O fools, gain understanding.

³³Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide yourselves with purses that will not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.

²⁷Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

¹⁵To the pure, all things are pure; but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure. Indeed, both their minds and their consciences are defiled.

¹⁵The voice spoke to him a second time: “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”

⁹I tell you, use worldly wealth to make friends for yourselves so that when it is gone, they will welcome you into eternal dwellings.

¹⁶And do not neglect to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

²³Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You pay tithes of mint, dill, and cumin. But you have disregarded the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.

³To do righteousness and justice is more desirable to the Lord than sacrifice.

¹²I fast twice a week and pay tithes of all that I acquire.’

²⁰If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.

¹²And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God by walking in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul,

¹³and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord that I am giving you this day for your own good?

⁸He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

⁴⁶“Beware of the scribes. They like to walk around in long robes, and they love the greetings in the marketplaces, the chief seats in the synagogues, and the places of honor at banquets.

³⁸In His teaching Jesus also said, “Watch out for the scribes. They like to walk around in long robes, to receive greetings in the marketplaces,

³⁹and to have the chief seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.

⁶They love the places of honor at banquets, the chief seats in the synagogues,

⁷the greetings in the marketplaces, and the title of ‘Rabbi’ by which they are addressed.

⁷When Jesus noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, He told them a parable:

⁸“When you are invited to a wedding banquet, do not sit in the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited.

¹⁸Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

¹⁰Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Outdo yourselves in honoring one another.

²⁷Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of impurity.

²⁸In the same way, on the outside you appear to be righteous, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

³Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit here to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck.”

⁹For not a word they speak can be trusted; destruction lies within them. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.

¹⁶Anyone in the open field who touches someone who has been killed by the sword or has died of natural causes, or anyone who touches a human bone or a grave, will be unclean for seven days.

⁸The prophet is Ephraim’s watchman, along with my God, yet the snare of the fowler lies on all his paths. Hostility is in the house of his God!

³⁵One of them, an expert in the law, tested Him with a question:

⁴⁰Some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard this, and they asked Him, “Are we blind too?”

⁸The king of Israel answered, “There is still one man through whom we can inquire of the Lord, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good for me, but only bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.” “The king should not say that!” Jehoshaphat replied.

⁸For whenever I speak, I cry out; I proclaim violence and destruction. For the word of the Lord has become to me a reproach and derision all day long.

⁴⁶“Woe to you as well, experts in the law!” He replied. “For you weigh men down with heavy burdens, but you yourselves will not lift a finger to lighten their load.

¹⁰To whom can I give this warning? Who will listen to me? Look, their ears are closed, so they cannot hear. See, the word of the Lord has become offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it.

²“The scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat.

³So practice and observe everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.

¹Woe to those who enact unjust statutes and issue oppressive decrees,

⁵²Woe to you experts in the law! For you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.”

¹³For the circumcised do not even keep the law themselves, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast in your flesh.

⁴⁵One of the experts in the law told Him, “Teacher, when You say these things, You insult us as well.”

⁶Isn’t this the fast that I have chosen: to break the chains of wickedness, to untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and tear off every yoke?

⁵¹You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did.

¹⁵who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets and drove us out as well. They are displeasing to God and hostile to all men,

²⁹Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous.

³⁰And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’

¹⁰Brothers, as an example of patience in affliction, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

¹⁶But they mocked the messengers of God, despising His words and scoffing at His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord against His people was stirred up beyond remedy.

³¹So you testify against yourselves that you are the sons of those who murdered the prophets.

³⁵But the tenants seized his servants. They beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.

³⁶Again, he sent other servants, more than the first group. But the tenants did the same to them.

⁵¹You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did.

⁵²Which of the prophets did your fathers fail to persecute? They even killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One. And now you are His betrayers and murderers—

³⁵Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused their release, so that they might gain a better resurrection.

³⁶Still others endured mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.

³⁰It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God: our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.

³in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

¹¹And it was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,

²⁴but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

³But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.

¹Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord. He approached the high priest

²and requested letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any men or women belonging to the Way, he could bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem.

⁵And surely I will require the life of any man or beast by whose hand your lifeblood is shed. I will demand an accounting from anyone who takes the life of his fellow man:

⁶Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man his blood will be shed; for in His own image God has made mankind.

⁴and also for the innocent blood he had shed. For he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord was unwilling to forgive.

²⁰Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced for you His judgment against her.

²¹Then a mighty angel picked up a stone the size of a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying: “With such violence the great city of Babylon will be cast down, never to be seen again.

³³Do not pollute the land where you live, for bloodshed pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land on which the blood is shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it.

²¹For behold, the Lord is coming out of His dwelling to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. The earth will reveal her bloodshed and will no longer conceal her slain.

⁵⁶For a destroyer is coming against her—against Babylon. Her warriors will be captured, and their bows will be broken, for the Lord is a God of retribution; He will repay in full.

²⁰Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest, who stood up before the people and said to them, “This is what God says: ‘Why do you transgress the commandments of the Lord so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the Lord, He has forsaken you.’”

²¹But they conspired against Zechariah, and by order of the king, they stoned him in the courtyard of the house of the Lord.

³⁵And so upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.

⁴By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous when God gave approval to his gifts. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.

⁸Then Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let us go out to the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.

⁹And the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I do not know!” he answered. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

¹In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, saying:

¹²Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did Cain slay him? Because his own deeds were evil, while those of his brother were righteous.

¹³Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter.

⁷For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the Lord of Hosts.

¹⁷But to keep this message from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them not to speak to anyone in this name.”

¹⁸Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.

⁴⁵One of the experts in the law told Him, “Teacher, when You say these things, You insult us as well.”

⁴⁶“Woe to you as well, experts in the law!” He replied. “For you weigh men down with heavy burdens, but you yourselves will not lift a finger to lighten their load.

²⁴So a second time they called for the man who had been blind and said, “Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.”

²⁵He answered, “Whether He is a sinner I do not know. There is one thing I do know: I was blind, but now I see!”

⁴⁷“Have you also been deceived?” replied the Pharisees.

⁴⁸“Have any of the rulers or Pharisees believed in Him?

¹⁰For I have heard the whispering of many: “Terror is on every side! Report him; let us report him!” All my trusted friends watch for my fall: “Perhaps he will be deceived so that we may prevail against him and take our vengeance upon him.”

²⁰So they watched Him closely and sent spies who pretended to be sincere. They were hoping to catch Him in His words in order to hand Him over to the rule and authority of the governor.

²⁷Then some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to question Him.

¹⁸Then some said, “Come, let us make plans against Jeremiah, for the law will never be lost to the priest, nor counsel to the wise, nor an oracle to the prophet. Come, let us denounce him and pay no heed to any of his words.”

⁵It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no account of wrongs.

¹²Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.

¹³They open their jaws against me like lions that roar and maul.

¹³Later, they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to catch Jesus in His words.

³⁵One of them, an expert in the law, tested Him with a question:

¹⁵Then the Pharisees went out and conspired to trap Jesus in His words.

³²Though the wicked lie in wait for the righteous, and seek to slay them,

³³the Lord will not leave them in their power or let them be condemned under judgment.

²⁰So they watched Him closely and sent spies who pretended to be sincere. They were hoping to catch Him in His words in order to hand Him over to the rule and authority of the governor.

⁵All day long they twist my words; all their thoughts are on my demise.

⁶They conspire, they lurk, they watch my steps while they wait to take my life.