A scorpion. See Barnes on Luke 10:19.

Dr. Thomson (The Land and the Book, vol. 1, p. 379) says: "There is no imaginable li…

Or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, kn…

St. Augustine of Hippo: Having set aside the metaphor, our Lord added an exhortation, explicitly urging us to ask, seek, and kno…

The bizarre examples in vv.11–12 reinforce the point that God will respond to our petitions only in kindness. There are two steps in the argument: …

Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a
scorpion
&c.] Of which there are three…

Christ encourages fervency and constancy in prayer. We must come for what we need, as a person does to their neighbor or friend, who is kind to the…