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Luke

Offers a detailed narrative of Jesus' life from birth to ascension, highlighting His compassion and focus on the marginalized.

Chapter 11

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1 And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.

*One day, while Jesus was praying in a specific spot, he finished, and one of his followers asked him, "Lord, teach us how to pray, just like John taught his followers."

2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.

*He told them, "When you pray, say, 'Our Father in heaven, may your name be honored. Your kingdom come. Do what you want, just like in heaven, here on earth.'"

3 Give us day by day our daily bread.

*Provide us with the food we need each day.

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.

*Forgive our mistakes, because we also forgive those who owe us. Don't let us be tempted, but protect us from bad things.

5 And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves;

*He asked them, "Which one of you has a friend they can visit at midnight and ask to borrow three loaves of bread?"

6 For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him?

*My friend has arrived on his trip, and I don't have anything to offer him.

7 And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee.

*He will say from inside, "Don't disturb me. The door is closed, and my kids are in bed. I can't get up and open it for you."

8 I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.

*I tell you, even if he won't get up and give his friend what he asks for, he still will because of his persistence, and he will give him as much as he needs.

9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

*I tell you, ask and you will receive; search and you will find; knock and the door will 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.

*Whoever asks gets; whoever searches finds; and the door will be opened to those who knock.

11 If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?

*If a child asks bread from any of you who are parents, will they give him a rock? Or if he asks for a fish, will they give him a snake instead?

12 Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?

*Or if he asks for an egg, will he give him a scorpion instead?

13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

*If you, who are not perfect, can still give good gifts to your kids, how much more will your loving Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?

14 And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered.

*He drove away a demon, making someone unable to speak. After the demon left, the person could talk again, astonishing the crowd.

15 But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils.

*Some said he expels demons using Beelzebub, the leader of demons.

16 And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven.

*Some people tried to test Jesus by asking for a sign from the sky.

17 But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth.

*But Jesus, understanding what they thought, told them, "Any kingdom that fights itself will be destroyed, and a home that argues with itself will fall down."

18 If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub.

*If Satan is fighting with himself, how can his kingdom last? Because you say that I get rid of demons using Beelzebub.

19 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges.

*If I drive away demons with the help of Beelzebub, then how do your own children do it? So, they will be your judges.

20 But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.

*But if I drive away demons using God's power, it's clear that God's kingdom is here among you.

21 When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace:

*When a powerful armed guard protects his fortress, his possessions are safe and secure.

22 But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils.

*But when someone more powerful attacks him and wins, that person takes away his protective gear and shares the stolen loot.

23 He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth.

*If someone isn't on my side, they are against me. And if someone doesn't help me, they are causing harm.

24 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out.

*When a bad spirit leaves a person, it walks through empty areas looking for peace but can't find any. So, it says, "I'll go back to where I came from."

25 And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished.

*When he arrives, he finds it clean and decorated.

26 Then goeth he, and taketh to 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.

*Then he goes and gets seven more evil spirits. They come in and live there. In the end, this person's situation becomes worse than it was before.

27 And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked.

*As he was talking, a woman in the group suddenly shouted, "Blessed is the person who gave birth to you and the breasts you nursed from."

28 But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.

*He said, "It's even more blessed to hear God's word and follow 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 shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet.

*When lots of people came together, Jesus said that this was a bad generation because they wanted a sign. No sign would be given to them except the one from the prophet Jonah.

30 For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation.

*Just like Jonah was a symbol for the people of Nineveh, the Son of Man will be a symbol for 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.

*The queen from far away will come back to judge this generation along with others. She traveled a long way to listen to Solomon's wisdom. Now she can see that someone even greater than Solomon is here.

32 The men of Nineve shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.

*The people of Nineveh will rise in judgment with this generation and criticize them. They repented when they heard Jonah's message, but now someone even greater is here.

33 No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light.

*A person who lights a candle doesn't hide it in a hidden place or under a large object. Instead, they put it on a stand so that people entering can clearly see the light.

34 The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness.

*The light comes from our eyes, so if your eye focuses on one thing, your whole body will be bright. But if your eye has bad intentions, your body will be filled with darkness.

35 Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness.

*So, make sure the good light within you doesn't turn into darkness.

36 If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light.

*If your entire body is filled with light and has no darkness, it will be completely bright, just like how a shining candle can light up a room.

37 And as he spake, a certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him: and he went in, and sat down to meat.

*As he was talking, a Pharisee asked him to have dinner at his house, so he went and sat down to eat.

38 And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he had not first washed before dinner.

*When the Pharisee saw this, he was amazed that he hadn't cleaned himself before eating.

39 And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness.

*And Jesus told him, "Pharisees, you focus on cleaning the outside of cups and plates, but inside, you are filled with greed and evil."

40 Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also?

*You fools, didn't the one who created what is outside also create what is inside?

41 But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and, behold, all things are clean unto you.

*Instead, generously give away the things you have, and everything will be considered pure for you.

42 But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

*But be careful, Pharisees! You carefully give a tenth of your mint, dill, and other herbs, but you don't focus on showing fairness and loving God. You should do these things and not just focus on the small stuff.

43 Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets.

*Oh no, Pharisees! You prioritize sitting in the best spots in the synagogue and getting noticed in the marketplace.

44 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them.

*Oh no, religious teachers and leaders who pretend! You're like hidden graves that people don't see, and they walk on you without knowing it.

45 Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto him, Master, thus saying thou reproachest us also.

*Then, a lawyer replied, "Teacher, by saying that, you're criticizing us too."

46 And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers.

*He said, "Woe to you too, lawyers! You put heavy loads on others but don't even lift them with your own fingers."

47 Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.

*Oh no! You're building monuments for the prophets, but your ancestors were the ones who killed them.

48 Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres.

*You really say that you accept what your ancestors did because they actually killed others, and now you are building monuments for them.

49 Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute:

*So, God's wise plan is to send prophets and apostles to them, but some will be killed and mistreated.

50 That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;

*So that the blood of all prophets, spilled since the world began, is demanded from this generation.

51 From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.

*From Abel's blood to Zacharias' blood, spilled near the altar and temple, I tell you truly, this generation will be held accountable.

52 Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.

*Oh no, lawyers! You lost the understanding. You didn't learn it yourselves and stopped others from learning too.

53 And as he said these things unto them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently, and to provoke him to speak of many things:

*As he talked, the writers and religious leaders pressed him strongly, trying to get him to talk about many topics.

54 Laying wait for him, and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him.

*Waiting for him and looking for something he said to criticize him.

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