Luke 11:13

So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Jesus is concluding his teaching on prayer to the disciples, who had just asked him to teach them to pray (v. 1). The verse caps a series of father-and-child illustrations about giving.

The words — πονηροί (ponēroi, "evil") is applied to the disciples themselves, while ἀγαθά (agatha, "good") describes the gifts they already produce. The contrast between their own "evil" and the "good" they give is the hinge of the argument.

The thread — Matthew 7:11 is the parallel Synoptic statement. The "how much more" reasoning appears in Romans 8:32, and the Spirit being poured out connects to Isaiah 44:3.

Why it lands — The reader is asked to hold two facts at once: their own generosity is flawed, and God's is not, and the specific gift named is the Holy Spirit. It treats "asking" as a real transaction, not a ritual.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

Cross-references

Matthew 7:11 So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
Isaiah 44:3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and currents on the dry ground. I will pour out My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring.
Romans 8:32 He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, freely give us all things?
John 4:10 Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God and who is asking you for a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
Proverbs 1:23 If you had repented at my rebuke, then surely I would have poured out my spirit on you; I would have made my words known to you.
Acts 2:38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
John 7:37 On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and called out in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.
Joel 2:28 And afterward, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.
Ezekiel 36:27 And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and to carefully observe My ordinances.
Isaiah 49:15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child, or lack compassion for the son of her womb? Even if she could forget, I will not forget you!