And while He was in a certain place praying, when He ceased, a certain one of His disciples said to Him, Lord, teach us to pray, even as John also taught his disciples.

And He said to them, When you  ¹pray, say,  ²Father, Your name be sanctified; Your kingdom come.

Give us each day our daily bread.

And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us into temptation.

And He said to them, Who among you will have a friend and will go to him at midnight and say to him, Friend, lend me three loaves,

Since a friend of mine has come to me from a journey and I have nothing to set before him;

And that one, from inside, will answer and say, Do not trouble me; the door is already shut and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise up and give you anything?

I say to you, Even though he will not rise up and give him anything because he is his friend, surely because of his shameless persistence he will rise and give him what he needs.

 ¹And I say to you, Ask and it shall be given to you; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you.

For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened.

But what father among you  ¹whose son shall ask for a fish will instead of a fish hand him a snake?

Or if he shall also ask for an egg will hand him a scorpion?

If you then being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father who is from heaven give the  ¹Holy Spirit to those who  ²ask Him!

 ¹And once He was casting out a demon, and it was dumb. And when the demon had gone out, the dumb man spoke, and the crowds marveled.

But some of them said, By  ¹Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons, He casts out the demons.

And others, tempting Him, sought from Him a sign out of heaven.

 ¹But He, knowing their  ²thoughts, said to them, Every kingdom divided against itself becomes desolate, and a house divided against a house falls.

And if Satan also is divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I cast out the demons.

But if I by Beelzebul cast out the demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges.

But if I by the  ¹finger of God cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

When the strong man, fully armed, guards his own  ¹homestead, his possessions are in peace.

But when one  ¹stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes away his whole armor in which he had trusted and distributes his spoil.

 ¹He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

 ¹When the unclean spirit goes out from the man, it roams through waterless places, seeking rest, and not finding it, it says, I will return to my house from which I came out.

And it comes and finds it swept and decorated.

Then it goes and takes along other spirits more evil than itself, seven of them, and they enter and settle down there. And the last state of that man becomes worse than the first.

And as He said these things, a certain woman out of the crowd lifted up her voice and said to Him, Blessed is the womb that bore You and the breasts at which You nursed.

But He said, Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it.

 ¹And as the crowds were thronging together, He began to say, This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, and a sign shall not be given to it except the sign of Jonah.

For even as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation.

The queen of the south will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and will condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something more than Solomon is here.

Ninevite men will stand up in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something more than Jonah is here.

No one, after lighting a  ¹lamp, puts it in the cellar or under the  ²bushel, but on the  ³lampstand, in order that those who enter in may see the light.

The lamp of the body is your eye. When your eye is  ¹single, your whole body also is  ²full of light; but when it is  ³evil, your body also is dark.

Watch out therefore that the  ¹light which is in you is not darkness.

If therefore your whole body is full of light and does not have any dark part, the whole will be full of light as when the lamp with its rays illuminates you.

Now as He spoke, a Pharisee asked Him to have the  ¹morning meal with him; and He went in and reclined at table.

But the Pharisee, seeing it, marveled that He had not first  ¹washed before the meal.

But the Lord said to him, Again, you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the platter, but your inside is full of extortion and wickedness.

Foolish ones! Did not He who made the outside make the inside also?

But give the things which are  ¹within as alms, and behold, all things are clean to you.

But woe to you, Pharisees! For you give a tenth of the mint and the rue and every herb, and pass by  ¹justice and love for God. But these you should have done and  ²not passed by the others.

Woe to you, Pharisees! For you love the chief seat in the synagogues and the greetings in the marketplaces.

Woe to you! For you are like the unseen tombs, and the men who walk over them do not know it.

And one of the lawyers answered and said to Him, Teacher, by saying these things, you  ¹insult us also.

And He said, Woe to you lawyers also! For you burden men with burdens hard to bear, yet you yourselves do not  ¹touch the burdens with one of your fingers.

Woe to you! For you build up the  ¹tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.

You are witnesses then and fully approve of the works of your fathers, because they killed them, and you build up their tombs.

Therefore the  ¹wisdom of God also has said, I will send to them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,

In order that the blood of all the prophets which has been poured out from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation,

From the blood of Abel to the blood of Zachariah, who perished between the altar and the house. Yes, I tell you, it will be required of  ¹this generation.

Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you yourselves did not enter, and those who were entering, you  ¹hindered.

And when He went out from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very hostile and to provoke Him to speak concerning many things,

Lying in wait for Him in order to  ¹catch something out of His mouth.

 ¹Meanwhile, when the myriads of the crowd were gathered together so that they trampled on one another, He began to say to His disciples first, Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

But there is nothing covered up which will not be revealed, and hidden which will not be known.

Therefore what you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in the private rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.

And I say to you My friends, Do not fear those who kill the body and afterward have nothing more that they can do.

But I will  ¹show you whom you should fear: fear  ²Him who, after killing, has authority to cast into  ³Gehenna; yes, I tell you, fear this One.

Are not five sparrows sold for two  ¹assaria? And not one of them is forgotten before God.

But even the hairs of your head have all been numbered. Do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Moreover, I tell you, Everyone who confesses  ¹in Me before men, the Son of Man will also confess  ²in him before the angels of God;

But he who denies Me before men will be  ¹denied before the angels of God.

And everyone who will say a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but he who  ¹blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how or what you should reply in defense, or what you should say;

For the Holy  ¹Spirit will teach you in that hour what should be said.

And someone out of the crowd said to Him, Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.

But He said to him, Man, who appointed Me a judge or a divider over you?

And He said to them, Watch and guard yourself from all covetousness, for no one's life is in the abundance of his possessions.

And He told them a parable, saying, The land of a certain rich man brought forth abundantly.

And he reasoned in himself, saying, What shall I do, for I have no place where I may gather my  ¹crops?

And he said, I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and I will gather there all my wheat and my goods.

And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; rest, eat, drink, be merry.

But God said to him, Foolish one, this night  ¹they are requiring your soul from you; and the things which you have prepared, whose will they be?

So is he who stores up treasure for himself and is not  ¹rich toward God.

 ¹And He said to His disciples, Therefore I say to you, Do not be anxious for your  ²life, what you should eat; nor for your body, what you should put on;

For the life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.

Consider the ravens. They neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn; yet God nourishes them. How much more valuable are you than the birds!

And which of you by being anxious can add a cubit to his stature?

If then you cannot do even the least, why are you anxious about the rest?

Consider the lilies, how they grow; they do not toil nor even spin thread; but I tell you, Not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these.

Now if God so arrays the grass in the field, which is here today and tomorrow is cast into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you, you of little faith!

And you, do not seek what you shall eat and what you shall drink, and do not  ¹be unsettled.

For all these things the Gentiles of the world are anxiously seeking, but your Father knows that you need these things.

However, seek His kingdom, and these things shall be added to you.

Do not be afraid, little flock, because your Father has been well pleased to give you the  ¹kingdom.

Sell your possessions and give alms; make for yourselves purses which do not become old, an unfailing  ¹treasure in the heavens, where thief does not come near nor even moth corrupts;

For where your treasure is, there also your  ¹heart will be.

Let your loins be girded and your lamps burning,

And you be like men waiting for their own master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately.

Blessed are those slaves whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Truly I tell you that he will gird himself and will have them recline at table, and he will  ¹come to them and serve them.

And if he comes in the second watch, or if in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.

 ¹But  ²know this, that if the master of the house had  ²known in what hour the thief was coming, he  ³would not have allowed his house to be  ⁴broken into.

You also, be ready, because at an hour when you do not expect it, the Son of Man is coming.

And Peter said, Lord, are You saying this parable to us, or also to all?

And the Lord said, Who then is the faithful and prudent steward, whom the master will set over his service to give them their portion of food at the proper time?

Blessed is that slave whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.

Truly I tell you that he will set him over all his possessions.

But if that slave says in his heart, My master is delaying his coming, and begins to beat the male servants and the female servants and to eat and to drink and become drunk,

The master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, and will cut him asunder, and will appoint his portion with the unbelievers.

And that slave who knew his master's will and did not prepare or do according to his will, will receive many lashes;

But he who did not know, yet did things worthy of stripes, will receive few lashes. But to everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required from him; and to whom much has been  ¹committed, they will ask of him all the more.

I have come to cast  ¹fire on the earth, and  ²how I wish that it were already kindled!

But I have a  ¹baptism to be baptized with, and how I am  ²pressed until it is accomplished!

Do you think that I have come to give peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather  ¹division.

For from now on there will be five in one house divided, three against two and two against three.

They will be divided: father against son and son against father; mother against her daughter and daughter against her mother; mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.

And He said also to the crowds, When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say that a shower is coming, and so it happens.

And when you see a south wind blowing, you say that there will be scorching heat, and it happens.

 ¹Hypocrites, you know how to  ²discern the  ³face of the earth and of the sky.  ⁴How is it then that you do not know how to  ⁵discern this time?

And why do you not judge also of  ¹yourselves what is right?

 ¹For as you are going with your opponent at law to a magistrate,  ²endeavor to be released from him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge; and the judge will deliver you up to the officer, and the officer will throw you into prison.

I tell you, You shall by no means come out from there until you have paid the very last  ¹lepton.