Luke 11 · Verse 9

Luke 11:9

And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
Luke 11:9, King James Version

Luke 11:9 in other translations

BSBSo I tell you: Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.
WEB“I tell you, keep asking, and it will be given you. Keep seeking, and you will find. Keep knocking, and it will be opened to you.
ASVAnd I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
YLTand I say to you, Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you;
DARBYAnd I say to you, Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you.
BBEAnd I say to you, Make requests, and they will be answered; what you are searching for, you will get; when you give the sign, the door will be open to you.
WebsterAnd I say to you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and the door shall be opened to you.

What does Luke 11:9 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Luke 11:9-13
9-13. (See on Mt 7:7-11.)

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Barnes' Notes
Verses 9-12. Mt 7:7, Mt 7:8, Mt 7:9, Mt 7:10, Mt 7:11

Verse 9.

(d) "Ask, and it shall" Mt 7:7, 21:22, Jn 15:7, Jas 1:5, Jn 3:22

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 9 And (or, therefore) I say unto you, Ask - Be importunate with God, not so much to prevail on him to save you, as to get yourselves brought into a proper disposition to receive that mercy which he is ever disposed to give. He who is not importunate for the salvation of his soul does not feel the need of being saved; and were God to communicate his mercy to such they could not be expected to be grateful for it, as favors are only prized and esteemed in proportion to the sense men have of their necessity and importance. See this subject explained Mat 7:7, Mat 7:8 (note).

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Luke 11:5-13

Christ encourages fervency and constancy in prayer. We must come for what we need, as a man does to his neighbour or friend, who is kind to him. We must come for bread; for that which is needful. If God does not answer our prayers speedily, yet he will in due time, if we continue to pray. Observe what to pray for; we must ask for the Holy Spirit, not only as necessary in order to our praying well, but as all…

Read the full comment on Luke 11:5-13 →

Luke 11:9 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

κἀγὼkagōAnd I myselfG1473
ὑμῖνhuminto youG4771
λέγω·legōsay;G3004
αἰτεῖτε,aiteitedo askG154
καὶkaiandG2532
δοθήσεταιdothēsetaiit will be givenG1325
ὑμῖν·huminto you;G4771
ζητεῖτε,zēteitedo seekG2212
καὶkaiandG2532
εὑρήσετε·heurēseteyou will find;G2147
κρούετε,krouetedo knockG2925
καὶkaiandG2532
ἀνοιγήσεταιanoigēsetaiit will be openedG455
ὑμῖν.huminto you.G4771

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Luke 11:9

  • Mark 11:24

    Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

  • John 16:23-24

    And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.

  • Matthew 21:22

    And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

  • John 15:16

    Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

  • John 15:7

    If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

  • John 14:13

    And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

  • 1 John 5:14-15

    And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

  • 1 John 3:22

    And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.

  • Matthew 7:7-11

    Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? …

  • James 1:5

    If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

  • Psalms 118:5

    I called upon the Lord in distress: the Lord answered me, and set me in a large place.

  • Jeremiah 29:12

    Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
I say.
13:24; Mt 6:29; 21:31; Mr 13:37; Re 2:24
Ask.
Ps 50:15; 118:5; Jer 33:3; Mt 7:7,8; 21:22; Mr 11:24; Joh 4:10; 14:13
Joh 15:7,16; 16:23,24; 2Co 12:8,9; Heb 4:16; Jas 1:5; 5:15; 1Jo 3:22
1Jo 5:14,15
seek.
13:24; Ps 27:4,8; 34:4,10; 105:3,4; So 3:1-4; 5:6; Isa 45:19; 55:6,7
Jer 29:12; Da 9:3; Am 5:4-6; Joh 1:45-49; Ac 10:4-6; Ro 2:7
Heb 11:6
knock.
13:25; 2Co 6:2

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Luke 11:8

    I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.

  • Luke 11:9

    And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

  • Luke 11:10

    For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

Read all of Luke 11

Luke 11:9 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y yo os digo: Pedid, y se os dará; buscad, y hallaréis; llamad, y os será abierto.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et moi, je vous dis: Demandez, et il vous sera donné; cherchez, et vous trouverez; heurtez, et il vous sera ouvert;
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und ich sage euch: Bittet, und es wird euch gegeben werden; suchet, und ihr werdet finden; klopfet an, und es wird euch aufgetan werden.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Et ego dico vobis: Petite, et dabitur vobis; quærite, et invenietis; pulsate, et aperietur vobis.