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.

Jesus had been praying. One of His followers said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray as John the Baptist taught his followers.”

2 A nd he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father who art in the heavens, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so also in the earth.

Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say, ‘Our Father in heaven, Your name is holy. May Your holy nation come. What You want done, may it be done on earth as it is in heaven.

3 G ive us day by day our daily bread.

Give us the bread we need everyday.

4 A nd 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 us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Do not let us be tempted.’” A Picture-Story about How to Ask

5 A nd 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;

Jesus said to them, “If one of you has a friend and goes to him in the night and says, ‘Friend, give me three loaves of bread,

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

for a friend of mine is on a trip and has stopped at my house. I have no food to give him.’

7 A nd 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.

The man inside the house will say, ‘Do not trouble me. The door is shut. My children and I are in bed. I cannot get up and give you bread.’

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 needs.

I say to you, he may not get up and give him bread because he is a friend. Yet, if he keeps on asking, he will get up and give him as much as he needs.

9 A nd 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 say to you, ask, and what you ask for will be given to you. Look, and what you are looking for you will find. Knock, and the door you are knocking on will be opened to you.

10 F or every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened.

For everyone who asks, will receive what he asks for. Everyone who looks, will find what he is looking for. Everyone who knocks, will have the door opened to him.

11 I f 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?

“Would any of you fathers give your son a stone if he asked for bread? Or would you give a snake if he asked for a fish?

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

Or if he asked for an egg, would you give him a small animal with a sting of poison?

13 I f 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 those that ask him?

You are sinful and you know how to give good things to your children. How much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” A Nation That Cannot Stand

14 ¶ And he was casting out a demon, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the demon was gone out, the one who had been dumb spoke; and the people marvelled.

Jesus was putting a demon out of a man who could not speak. When the demon was gone, the man could speak. All the people were surprised and wondered about it.

15 B ut some of them said, He casts out devils through Beelzebub the prince of the demons.

Some of them said, “He puts out demons through Satan, the king of demons.”

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

Others tried to trap Jesus. They asked for something special to see from heaven.

17 B ut he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every house or city divided against itself will not remain.

But He knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every nation divided into groups that fight each other will be destroyed. Every family divided into groups that fight each other will not stand.

18 I f Satan also is divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out demons through Beelzebub.

If Satan is divided against himself, how will his nation stand? And yet you say I put out demons through Satan!

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

If I put out demons through Satan, by whose help do your sons put them out? Your own sons will say if you are guilty or not.

20 B ut if I with the finger of God cast out the demons, certainly the kingdom of God is come upon you.

But if I put out demons by the power of God, then the holy nation of God has come to you.

21 W hen an armed strong man keeps his palace, his goods are in peace;

“When a strong man watches his house and is ready to fight, his things are safe.

22 b ut when another stronger than he shall come upon him and overcome him, he takes from him all his arms in which he trusted and divides his spoils.

When a stronger man comes along, he wins the fight. He takes away all the things to fight with that the man of the house had put his trust in. Then the stronger man takes anything he wants from the house.

23 H e that is not with me is against me, and he that does not gather with me scatters.

Whoever is not with Me is against Me. Whoever does not gather with Me is sending them everywhere. A Person Filled with Bad or Good

24 W hen the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walks through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, I will return unto my house from which I came out.

“When a demon is gone out of a man, it goes through dry places to find rest. If it finds none, it says, ‘I will go back to my house I came from.’

25 A nd when he comes, he finds it swept and garnished.

When the demon comes back, it finds the house cleaned and looking good.

26 T hen he goes, and takes unto 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 the demon goes out and comes back bringing seven demons worse than itself. They go in and live there. In the end that man is worse than at the first.”

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

As Jesus was talking, a woman of the group said with a loud voice, “The woman is happy who gave You birth and who fed You.”

28 B ut he said, Rather, blessed are those that hear the word of God and keep it.

But He said, “Yes, but those who hear the Word of God and obey it are happy.” Jesus Tells about Jonah

29 ¶ And gathering the people unto him, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign, and no sign shall be given it but the sign of Jonah the prophet.

When the people were gathered near Jesus, He said, “The people of this day are sinful. They are looking for something special to see. They will get nothing special to see, except what Jonah the early preacher did.

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

As Jonah was something special to the people of the city of Nineveh, the Son of Man will be to the people of this day also.

31 T he queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment against 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 of the south will stand up on the day men stand before God. She will say the people of this day are guilty because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wise sayings of Solomon. And look, Someone greater than Solomon is here!

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

The men of Nineveh will stand up on the day men stand before God. They will say the people of this day are guilty because the men of Nineveh were sorry for their sins and turned from them when Jonah preached. And look, Someone greater than Jonah is here! Jesus Teaches about Light

33 N o one, when he has lighted a lamp, puts it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a lampstand that those who come in may see the light.

“No man lights a lamp and then hides it under a pail. He puts the light on a lamp-stand so those who come in can see it.

34 T he lamp of the body is the eye; therefore when thine eye is sincere, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness.

The eye is the light of the body. When your eye is good, your whole body is full of light. When your eye is sinful, your whole body is full of darkness.

35 T ake heed therefore if the light which is in thee is darkness.

Be careful that the light in you is not dark.

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

If your whole body is full of light, with no dark part, then it will shine. It will be as a lamp that gives light.” Jesus Speaks Sharp Words to the Proud Religious Law-Keeper

37 ¶ And as he spoke, a certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him, and he went in and sat down to food.

As Jesus was talking, a proud religious law-keeper asked Him to eat with him. Jesus went to the man’s house and took His place at the table.

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

The proud religious law-keeper was surprised and wondered why Jesus had not washed before He ate.

39 A nd 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.

But the Lord said to him, “You proud religious law-keepers make the outside of the cup and plate clean, but inside you are full of stealing and sinning.

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

You are foolish. Did not He that made the outside make the inside also?

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

Give yourself as a gift and then you will be clean.

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

“It is bad for you, proud religious law-keepers! You give one-tenth part of your spices. But you give no thought to what is right and to the love of God. You should do both of these.

43 W oe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the first seats in the synagogues and greetings in the markets.

“It is bad for you, proud religious law-keepers! For you like to have the important seats in the places of worship. You like to have people speak good-sounding words to you as you are in the center of town where people gather.

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

It is bad for you, teachers of the Law and proud religious law-keepers and you who pretend to be someone you are not! For you are like graves that are hidden. Men walk on graves without knowing they are there.” Jesus Speaks Sharp Words to the Men Who Knew the Law

45 T hen one of the lawyers answered and said unto him, Master, saying these things, thou dost reproach us also.

One of the men who knew the Law said to Jesus, “Teacher, You are making us look bad when You speak like this.”

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

Jesus said, “It is bad for you also, you men who know the Law! For you put heavy loads on the shoulders of men. But you will not even put your finger on one of these loads to help them.

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

It is bad for you! For you make beautiful buildings for the graves of the early preachers your fathers killed.

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

You are saying what your fathers did was good, because they killed the early preachers and you are making their graves.

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

“For this reason the wisdom of God has said, ‘I will send them early preachers and missionaries. Some they will kill and some they will make it very hard for.’

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

The blood of all the early preachers from the beginning of the world is on the people of this day.

51 f rom the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, who perished between the altar and the temple; verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.

It will be from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zacharias, the one who died between the altar and the house of God. For sure, I tell you, the people of this day will be guilty for this.

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

“It is bad for you men who know the Law! For you have locked the door to the house of learning. You are not going in yourselves and you do not allow those to go in who are about to go in.”

53 A nd 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 Jesus went away from there, the teachers of the Law and the proud religious law-keepers were very angry and tried to make Him say many things.

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

They planned against Jesus and tried to trap Him with something He might say.