Welcome to our website where we explore the Bible! Pleasure to meet you here!
May your journey into the world of the Holy Scriptures be engaging and inspiring!
You can change reading language: uk ru
Parallel
New American Standard Bible
New Living Translation
Instruction about Prayer
It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples.”
It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples.”
Teaching about Prayer
Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
And He said to them, “When you pray, say:
‘Father, hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
‘Father, hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
‘And forgive us our sins,
For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And lead us not into temptation.’”
For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And lead us not into temptation.’”
Then He said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves;
Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him,
for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’;
‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’
and from inside he answers and says, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’
And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’
“I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
“And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.
“For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened.
For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
“Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he?
“Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he?
Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not!
“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”
So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”
Pharisees’ Blasphemy
And 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.
Jesus and the Prince of Demons
One day Jesus cast out a demon from a man who couldn’t speak, and when the demon was gone, the man began to speak. The crowds were amazed,
But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.”
Others, to test Him, were demanding of Him a sign from heaven.
Others, trying to test Jesus, demanded that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority.
But He knew their thoughts and said to them, “Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and a house divided against itself falls.
He knew their thoughts, so he said, “Any kingdom divided by civil war is doomed. A family splintered by feuding will fall apart.
“If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul.
You say I am empowered by Satan. But if Satan is divided and fighting against himself, how can his kingdom survive?
“And if I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? So they will be your judges.
And if I am empowered by Satan, what about your own exorcists? They cast out demons, too, so they will condemn you for what you have said.
“But if I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
“When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are undisturbed.
For when a strong man is fully armed and guards his palace, his possessions are safe —
“But 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.
until someone even stronger attacks and overpowers him, strips him of his weapons, and carries off his belongings.
“He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me, scatters.
“Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me.
“When the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and not finding any, it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’
“And when it comes, it finds it swept and put in order.
So it returns and finds that its former home is all swept and in order.
“Then 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.”
Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before.”
While Jesus was saying these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You and the breasts at which You nursed.”
As he was speaking, a woman in the crowd called out, “God bless your mother — the womb from which you came, and the breasts that nursed you!”
But He said, “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”
Jesus replied, “But even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice.”
The Sign of Jonah
As the crowds were increasing, He began to say, “This generation is a wicked generation; it seeks for a sign, and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah.
The Sign of Jonah
As the crowd pressed in on Jesus, he said, “This evil generation keeps asking me to show them a miraculous sign. But the only sign I will give them is the sign of Jonah.
“For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation.
“The Queen 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.
“The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.
The people of Nineveh will also stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for they repented of their sins at the preaching of Jonah. Now someone greater than Jonah is here — but you refuse to repent.
“No 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.
“The eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is clear, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is bad, your body also is full of darkness.
“Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. But when it is unhealthy, your body is filled with darkness.
“Then watch out that the light in you is not darkness.
Make sure that the light you think you have is not actually darkness.
“If 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.”
If you are filled with light, with no dark corners, then your whole life will be radiant, as though a floodlight were filling you with light.”
Woes upon the Pharisees
Now when He had spoken, a Pharisee asked Him to have lunch with him; and He went in, and reclined at the table.
When the Pharisee saw it, he was surprised that He had not first ceremonially washed before the meal.
His host was amazed to see that he sat down to eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony required by Jewish custom.
But the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the platter; but inside of you, you are full of robbery and wickedness.
Then the Lord said to him, “You Pharisees are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy — full of greed and wickedness!
“You foolish ones, did not He who made the outside make the inside also?
Fools! Didn’t God make the inside as well as the outside?
“But give that which is within as charity, and then all things are clean for you.
So clean the inside by giving gifts to the poor, and you will be clean all over.
“But woe to you Pharisees! For you pay 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.
“Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the chief seats in the synagogues and the respectful greetings in the market places.
“What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you love to sit in the seats of honor in the synagogues and receive respectful greetings as you walk in the marketplaces.
“Woe to you! For you are like concealed tombs, and the people who walk over them are unaware of it.”
Yes, what sorrow awaits you! For you are like hidden graves in a field. People walk over them without knowing the corruption they are stepping on.”
One of the lawyers said to Him in reply, “Teacher, when You say this, You insult us too.”
“Teacher,” said an expert in religious law, “you have insulted us, too, in what you just said.”
But He said, “Woe to you lawyers as well! For you weigh men down with burdens hard to bear, while you yourselves will not even touch the burdens with one of your fingers.
“Yes,” said Jesus, “what sorrow also awaits you experts in religious law! For you crush people with unbearable religious demands, and you never lift a finger to ease the burden.
“Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and it was your fathers who killed them.
What sorrow awaits you! For you build monuments for the prophets your own ancestors killed long ago.
“So you are witnesses and approve the deeds of your fathers; because it was they who killed them, and you build their tombs.
But in fact, you stand as witnesses who agree with what your ancestors did. They killed the prophets, and you join in their crime by building the monuments!
“For this reason also the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send to them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and some they will persecute,
so that the blood of all the prophets, shed since the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation,
“As a result, this generation will be held responsible for the murder of all God’s prophets from the creation of the world —
from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the house of God; yes, I tell you, it shall be charged against this generation.’
from the murder of Abel to the murder of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, it will certainly be charged against this generation.
“Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you yourselves did not enter, and you hindered those who were entering.”
“What sorrow awaits you experts in religious law! For you remove the key to knowledge from the people. You don’t enter the Kingdom yourselves, and you prevent others from entering.”
When He left there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very hostile and to question Him closely on many subjects,
As Jesus was leaving, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees became hostile and tried to provoke him with many questions.