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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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:

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

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24 (A)[a]When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest: and when he findeth none, he saith, I will return unto mine house whence I came out.

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

26 Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits worse than himself: and they enter in, and dwell there: (B)so the last state of that man is worse than the first.

27 [b]And it came to pass as he said 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.

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

29 (C)[c]And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is a wicked generation: they seek a sign, and there shall no sign be given them, but the sign of (D)Jonah the Prophet.

30 For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites: so shall also the son of man be to this generation.

31 (E)The Queen of the South shall rise in judgment, with the men of this generation, and shall 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.

32 The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they (F)repented at the preaching of Jonah: and behold, a greater than Jonah is here.

33 (G)[d]No man when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a privy place, neither under a bushel: but on a candlestick, that they which come in, may see the light.

34 (H)The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, then is thy whole body light: but if thine eye be evil, then thy body is dark.

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

36 If therefore thy whole body shall be light, having no part dark, then shall all be light, even as when a candle doth light thee with the brightness.

37 [e]And as he spake, a certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him: and he went in, and sat down at the table.

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

39 (I)And the Lord said to him, Indeed ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup, and of the platter: but the inward part is full of ravening and wickedness.

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

41 Therefore, give alms [f]of those things which you have, and behold, all things shall be clean unto you.

42 [g]But woe be to you, Pharisees: for ye [h]tithe the mint and the rue, and [i]all manner herbs, and pass over [j]judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to have left the other undone.

43 (J)[k]Woe be to you, Pharisees: for ye love the uppermost seats in the Synagogues, and greetings in the markets.

44 [l]Woe be to you, Scribes and Pharisees hypocrites: (K)for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them, perceive not.

45 [m]Then answered one of the Lawyers, and said unto him, Master, thus saying thou puttest us to rebuke also.

46 And he said, Woe be to you also, ye Lawyers: (L)for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers.

47 [n]Woe be to you: (M)for ye build the sepulchers of the Prophets, and your fathers killed them.

48 Truly [o]ye bear witness, and allow the deeds of your fathers: for they killed them, and ye build their sepulchers.

49 Therefore said the wisdom of God, I will send them Prophets and Apostles, and of them they shall slay, and [p]persecute away,

50 That the blood of all the Prophets, [q]shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation,

51 From the blood of (N)Abel unto the blood of (O)Zechariah, which was slain between the altar and the Temple: verily I say unto you, it shall be required of this generation.

52 [r]Woe be to you, Lawyers: for ye have [s]taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that came in, ye forbade.

53 [t]And as he said these things unto them, the Scribes and Pharisees began to urge him sore, and to [u]provoke him to speak of many things,

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

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 11:24 He that doth not continue, is in worse case, than he that never began.
  2. Luke 11:27 Christ seeketh not praise in himself, but in our salvation.
  3. Luke 11:29 They that are fond desireres of miracles, instead of miracles shall receive punishment.
  4. Luke 11:33 Our minds are therefore lightened with the knowledge of God, that we should give light unto others, and therefore our chiefest labor ought to be to pray for that light.
  5. Luke 11:37 The service of God consisteth not in outward cleanliness, and devised rites or ceremonies, but in the spiritual righteousness of the heart, and charity.
  6. Luke 11:41 That is, according to your abilities as who would say, instead of your extortions, which hindered you, that you could not eat cleanly, use charity, and accordingly as your ability shall serve you, be good to the poor, and so shall that, that is within the platter, be sanctified though the platter be unwashed.
  7. Luke 11:42 It is the propense of hypocrites, to stand stoutly for little trifles, and let pass greater matters.
  8. Luke 11:42 You decide by God’s Law that the tenth part is due to be paid.
  9. Luke 11:42 Of all kind of herbs some, as Augustine expoundeth it in his Enchiridion to Laurence, chap. 99, where he showeth in like sort how that place of Paul, 1 Tim. 2:4, God will have all men to be saved, is to be expoundeth after the same manner.
  10. Luke 11:42 That is to say, that that is right and reason to do: for this word, Judgment, containeth the commandments of the second table, and the other words, The love of God, contain the first.
  11. Luke 11:43 Hypocrisy and ambition are commonly joined together.
  12. Luke 11:44 Hypocrites deceive men with an outward show.
  13. Luke 11:45 Hypocrites are very severe against other men, but think all things lawful to themselves.
  14. Luke 11:47 Hypocrites honor those saints when they are dead, whom they most cruelly persecute, when they were alive.
  15. Luke 11:48 When you persecute God’s servants, like mad men, even as your fathers did, though you color it with a pretence of godliness, yet notwithstanding, in that you beautify the sepulchers of the Prophets, what do you else, but glory in your fathers’ cruelty, and set up monuments (as it were) in glory and triumph of it?
  16. Luke 11:49 They shall so vex them and trouble them, that at length they shall banish them.
  17. Luke 11:50 That you may be called to an account for it, yea, and be punished, for the shedding of that blood of the Prophet.
  18. Luke 11:52 They have of long time chiefly hindered the people, from entering into the knowledge of God, which ought to be the doorkeepers of the Church.
  19. Luke 11:52 You have hidden and taken away, so that it cannot be found anywhere.
  20. Luke 11:53 The more the world is reprehended, the worse it is, and yet must we not betray the truth.
  21. Luke 11:53 They proposed many questions to him, to draw something out of his mouth, which they might traitorously carp at.