Passage

Luke 11.17-36

Book: Luke · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"15. But some of them said, By Beelzebub the prince of the demons casteth he out demons. 16. And others, trying him, sought of him a sign from heaven."

"17. But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth. 18. And if Satan also is divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out demons by Beelzebub. 19. And if I by Beelzebub cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges. 20. But if I by the finger of God cast out demons, then is the kingdom of God come upon you. 21. When the strong man fully armed guardeth his own court, his goods are in peace: 22. but when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him his whole armor wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils. 23. He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth. 24. The unclean spirit when he is gone out of the man, passeth through waterless places, seeking rest, and finding none, he saith, I will turn back unto my house whence I came out. 25. And when he is come, he findeth it swept and garnished. 26. Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more evil than himself; and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man becometh worse than the first. 27. And it came to pass, as he said these things, a certain woman out of the multitude lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the breasts which thou didst suck. 28. But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it. 29. And when the multitudes were gathering together unto him, he began to say, This generation is an evil generation: it seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it but the sign of Jonah. 30. For even as Jonah became 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 shall condemn them: for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, a greater than Solomon is here. 32. The men of Nineveh shall stand 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. 33. No man, when he hath lighted a lamp, putteth it in a cellar, neither under the bushel, but on the stand, that they which enter in may see the light. 34. The lamp of thy body is thine eye: when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when it is evil, thy body also is full of darkness. 35. Look therefore whether the light that is in thee be not darkness. 36. If therefore thy whole body be full of light, having no part dark, it shall be wholly full of light, as when the lamp with its bright shining doth give thee light."

"37. Now as he spake, a Pharisee asketh 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 bathed himself before dinner." (Luke 11:15-38, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"15. But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons.” 16. Others, testing him, sought from him a sign from heaven."

"17. But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation. A house divided against itself falls. 18. If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. 19. But if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore will they be your judges. 20. But if I by God’s finger cast out demons, then God’s Kingdom has come to you. 21. “When the strong man, fully armed, guards his own dwelling, his goods are safe. 22. But when someone stronger attacks him and overcomes him, he takes from him his whole armor in which he trusted, and divides his plunder. 23. “He that is not with me is against me. He who doesn’t gather with me scatters. 24. The unclean spirit, when he has gone out of the man, passes through dry places, seeking rest, and finding none, he says, ‘I will turn back to my house from which I came out.’ 25. When he returns, he finds it swept and put in order. 26. Then he goes, and takes seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter in and dwell there. The last state of that man becomes worse than the first.” 27. It came to pass, as he said these things, a certain woman out of the multitude lifted up her voice, and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts which nursed you!” 28. But he said, “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God, and keep it.” 29. When the multitudes were gathering together to him, he began to say, “This is an evil generation. It seeks after a sign. No sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah, the prophet. 30. For even as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will also the Son of Man be to this generation. 31. The Queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and will condemn them: for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, one greater than Solomon is here. 32. The men of Nineveh will stand up in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, one greater than Jonah is here. 33. “No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, that those who come in may see the light. 34. The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore when your eye is good, your whole body is also full of light; but when it is evil, your body also is full of darkness. 35. Therefore see whether the light that is in you isn’t darkness. 36. If therefore your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly full of light, as when the lamp with its bright shining gives you light.”"

"37. Now as he spoke, a certain Pharisee asked him to dine with him. He went in, and sat at the table. 38. When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that he had not first washed himself before dinner." (Luke 11:15-38, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"15. But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils. ^{Beelzebub: Gr. Beelzebul} 16. And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven."

"17. But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth. 18. If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub. 19. And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges. 20. But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you. 21. When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: 22. But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils. 23. He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth. 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. ^{the bright: Gr. a candle by its bright shining}"

"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." (Luke 11:15-38, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"15. and certain of them said, 'By Beelzeboul, ruler of the demons, he doth cast forth the demons;' 16. and others, tempting, a sign out of heaven from him were asking."

"17. And he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, 'Every kingdom having been divided against itself is desolated; and house against house doth fall; 18. and if also the Adversary against himself was divided, how shall his kingdom be made to stand? for ye say, by Beelzeboul is my casting forth the demons. 19. 'But if I by Beelzeboul cast forth the demons, your sons, by whom do they cast forth? because of this your judges they shall be; 20. but if by the finger of God I cast forth the demons, then come unawares upon you did the reign of God. 21. 'When the strong man armed may keep his hall, in peace are his goods; 22. but when the stronger than he, having come upon [him], may overcome him, his whole-armour he doth take away in which he had trusted, and his spoils he distributeth; 23. he who is not with me is against me, and he who is not gathering with me doth scatter. 24. 'When the unclean spirit may go forth from the man it walketh through waterless places seeking rest, and not finding, it saith, I will turn back to my house whence I came forth; 25. and having come, it findeth [it] swept and adorned; 26. then doth it go, and take to it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and having entered, they dwell there, and the last of that man becometh worst than the first.' 27. And it came to pass, in his saying these things, a certain woman having lifted up the voice out of the multitude, said to him, 'Happy the womb that carried thee, and the paps that thou didst suck!' 28. And he said, 'Yea, rather, happy those hearing the word of God, and keeping [it]!' 29. And the multitudes crowding together upon him, he began to say, 'This generation is evil, a sign it doth seek after, and a sign shall not be given to it, except the sign of Jonah the prophet, 30. for as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also shall the Son of Man be to this generation. 31. 'A queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and shall condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and lo, greater than Solomon here! 32. 'Men of Nineveh shall stand up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it, because they reformed at the proclamation of Jonah; and lo, greater than Jonah here! 33. 'And no one having lighted a lamp, doth put [it] in a secret place, nor under the measure, but on the lamp-stand, that those coming in may behold the light. 34. 'The lamp of the body is the eye, when then thine eye may be simple, thy whole body also is lightened; and when it may be evil, thy body also is darkened; 35. take heed, then, lest the light that [is] in thee be darkness; 36. if then thy whole body is lightened, not having any part darkened, the whole shall be lightened, as when the lamp by the brightness may give thee light.'"

"37. And in [his] speaking, a certain Pharisee was asking him that he might dine with him, and having gone in, he reclined (at meat), 38. and the Pharisee having seen, did wonder that he did not first baptize himself before the dinner." (Luke 11:15-38, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

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Quoted in

Jesus Said

Notes

Your annotations.

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.