Luke 11:14-54

141And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute; when the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke; and the crowds were amazed. 15But some of them said, “He casts out demons 2by 3Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.” 16Others, 4to test Him, 5were demanding of Him a 6sign from heaven. 177But He knew their thoughts and said to them, “8Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and a house divided against 9itself falls. 18If 10Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by 11Beelzebul. 19And if I by 12Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? So they will be your judges. 20But if I cast out demons by the 13finger of God, then 14the kingdom of God has come upon you. 21When 15a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are 16undisturbed. 22But when someone stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away from him all his armor on which he had relied and distributes his plunder. 2317He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me, scatters.

24“18When the unclean spirit goes out of 19a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and not finding any, it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ 25And when it comes, it finds it swept and put in order. 26Then it goes and takes along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first.”

27While 20Jesus was saying these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “21Blessed is the womb that bore You and the breasts at which You nursed.” 28But He said, “On the contrary, blessed are 22those who hear the word of God and observe it.”

29As the crowds were increasing, He began to say, “23This generation is a wicked generation; it 24seeks for a 25sign, and yet no 26sign will be given to it but the 27sign of Jonah. 30For just as 28Jonah became a 29sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. 31The 30Queen of the South will rise up with the men of this generation at the judgment and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. 32The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment and condemn it, because 31they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

33“32No one, after lighting a lamp, puts it away in a cellar nor under a basket, but on the lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light. 3433The eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is 34clear, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is 35bad, your body also is full of darkness. 35Then watch out that the light in you is not darkness. 36If therefore your whole body is full of light, with no dark part in it, it will be wholly illumined, as when the lamp illumines you with its rays.”

37Now when He had spoken, a Pharisee asked Him to have lunch with him; and He went in, and reclined at the table. 38When the Pharisee saw it, he was surprised that He had not first 3637ceremonially washed before the 38meal. 39But 39the Lord said to him, “Now 40you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the platter; but 41inside of you, you are full of robbery and wickedness. 4042You foolish ones, did not He who made the outside make the inside also? 41But 43give that which is within as charity, and 44then all things are 45clean for you.

42“46But woe to you Pharisees! For you 47pay tithe of mint and rue and every kind of garden herb, and yet disregard justice and the love of God; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. 43Woe to you Pharisees! For you 48love the chief seats in the synagogues and the respectful greetings in the market places. 4449Woe to you! For you are like 50concealed tombs, and the people who walk over them are unaware of it.”

45One of the 5152lawyers said to Him in reply, “Teacher, when You say this, You insult us too.” 46But He said, “Woe to you 53lawyers as well! For 54you weigh men down with burdens hard to bear, 55while you yourselves will not even touch the burdens with one of your fingers. 4756Woe to you! For you build the 57tombs of the prophets, and it was your fathers who killed them. 48So you are witnesses and approve the deeds of your fathers; because it was they who killed them, and you build their tombs. 49For this reason also 58the wisdom of God said, ‘59I will send to them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and some they will 60persecute, 50so that the blood of all the prophets, shed 61since the foundation of the world, may be 62charged against this generation, 51from 63the blood of Abel to 64the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the house of God; yes, I tell you, it shall be 65charged against this generation.’ 52Woe to you 6667lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; 68you yourselves did not enter, and you hindered those who were entering.”

53When He left there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very hostile and to question Him closely on many subjects, 5469plotting against Him 70to catch 71Him in something He might say.