Luke 11:17-54

171But He knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and a house divided against 2itself falls. 18And if 3Satan also has been divided against himself, how will his kingdom 4stand? For you claim that I cast out the demons by 5Beelzebul. 19Yet if by 6Beelzebul I cast out the demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they will be your judges. 20But if I cast out the demons by 7the 8finger of God, then 9the kingdom of God has come upon you. 21When 10a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are 11secure. 22But when someone stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, that man takes away his armor on which he had relied and distributes his plunder. 2312The one who is not with Me is against Me; and the one who does not gather with Me scatters.

24“13When the unclean spirit comes out of 14a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and not finding any, it then 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 brings along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they come in and live there; and the last condition of that person becomes worse than the first.”

27While 15Jesus was saying these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “16Blessed is the womb that carried You, and the breasts at which You nursed!” 28But He said, “On the contrary, blessed are 17those who hear the word of God and follow it.”

29Now as the crowds were increasing, He began to say, “18This generation is a wicked generation; it 19demands a 20sign, and so no 21sign will be given to it except the 22sign of Jonah. 30For just as 23Jonah became a 24sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. 31The 25Queen 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 listen to 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 26they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

33“27No one lights a lamp and puts it away in a cellar nor under a basket, but on the lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light. 3428Your eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is 29clear, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is 30bad, your body also is full of darkness. 35So watch out that the light in you is not darkness. 36Therefore if your whole body is full of light, without any dark part, it will be wholly illuminated, as when the lamp illuminates you with its light.”

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 this, he was surprised that Jesus had not first 3132ceremonially washed before the 33meal. 39But 34the Lord said to him, “Now 35you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the dish; but your inside is full of greed and wickedness. 4036You foolish ones, did He who made the outside not make the inside also? 41But 37give that which is within as a charitable gift, and 38then all things are 39clean for you.

42“40But woe to you Pharisees! For you 41pay tithes of mint, rue, and every kind of garden herb, and yet you 42ignore 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 43love the seat of honor in the synagogues and personal greetings in the marketplaces. 4444Woe to you! For you are like 45unseen tombs, and the people who walk over them are unaware of it.”

45One of the 4647lawyers said to Him in reply, “Teacher, when You say these things, You insult us too.” 46But He said, “Woe to you 48lawyers as well! For 49you load people with burdens that are hard to bear, 50while you yourselves will not even 51touch the burdens with one of your fingers. 4752Woe to you! For you build the 53tombs of the prophets, and it was your fathers who killed them. 48So you are witnesses and you approve of the deeds of your fathers; because it was they who killed them, and you build their 54tombs. 49For this reason also, 55the wisdom of God said, ‘56I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill, and some they will 57persecute, 50so that the blood of all the prophets, shed 58since the foundation of the world, may be charged 59against this generation, 51from 60the blood of Abel to 61the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the house of God; yes, I tell you, it shall be charged 62against this generation.’ 52Woe to you 6364lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; 65you yourselves did not enter, and you hindered those who were entering.”

53When He left that place, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very hostile and to interrogate Him about many subjects, 5466plotting against Him 67to catch 68Him in something He might say.