²⁰ And He *came ^[a](A)home, and the ^(B)crowd *gathered again, ^(C)to such an extent that they could not even eat ^[b]a meal. ²¹ And when ^(D)His own ^[c]people heard about this, they came out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, “^(E)He has lost His senses.” ²² The scribes who came down ^(F)from Jerusalem were saying, “He ^[d]is possessed by ^[e](G)Beelzebul,” and “^(H)He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.” ^23 (I)And so He called them to Himself and began speaking to them in ^(J)parables: “How can ^(K)Satan cast out Satan? ²⁴ And if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. ²⁵ If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. ²⁶ And if ^(L)Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but ^[f]he is finished! ^27 (M)But no one can enter the strong man’s house and plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man, and then he will plunder his house.

²⁸ “^(N)Truly I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons and daughters of men, and whatever blasphemies they commit; ²⁹ but ^(O)whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— ³⁰ because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

The Pharisees Rebuked

^22 (A)Then a ^(B)demon-possessed man who was blind and unable to speak was brought to ^[a]Jesus, and He healed him so that the man who was unable to speak talked and ^[b]could see. ²³ And all the crowds were amazed and were saying, “This man cannot be the ^(C)Son of David, can he?” ²⁴ But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man ^(D)casts out demons only by ^[c]Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”

^25 (E)And ^(F)knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and no city or house divided against itself will stand. ²⁶ And if ^(G)Satan is casting out Satan, he ^[d]has become divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? ²⁷ And if ^(H)by ^[e]Beelzebul I cast out the demons, ^(I)by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they will be your judges. ²⁸ But ^(J)if I cast out the demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. ²⁹ Or, how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first ties up the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.

The Unpardonable Sin

^30 (K)The one who is not with Me is against Me; and the one who does not gather with Me scatters.

³¹ “^(L)Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. ^32 (M)And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in ^(N)this age or in the age to come.

Words Reveal Character

³³ “Either ^[f]assume the tree to be good as well as its fruit good, or ^[g]assume the tree to be bad as well as its fruit bad; for ^(O)the tree is known by its fruit. ^34 (P)You ^[h]offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, express any good things? ^(Q)For the mouth speaks from that which fills the heart. ^35 (R)The good person brings out of his good treasure good things; and the evil person brings out of his evil treasure evil things. ³⁶ But I tell you that for every ^[i]careless word that people ^[j]speak, they will give an account of it on the ^(S)day of judgment. ³⁷ For ^[k]by your words you will be justified, and ^[l]by your words you will be condemned.”

The Desire for Signs

³⁸ Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, ^(T)we want to see a ^[m]sign from You.” ³⁹ But He answered and said to them, “^(U)An evil and adulterous generation craves a ^[n]sign; and so no ^[o]sign will be given to it except the ^[p]sign of Jonah the prophet; ⁴⁰ for just as ^(V)Jonah was in the stomach of the sea monster for three days and three nights, so will ^(W)the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for ^(X)three days and three nights. ^41 (Y)The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because ^(Z)they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something ^(AA)greater than Jonah is here. ^42 (AB)The Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something ^(AC)greater than Solomon is here.

⁴³ “^(AD)Now when the unclean spirit comes out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. ⁴⁴ Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. ⁴⁵ Then it goes and brings along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they come in and live there; and ^(AE)the last condition of that person becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”

Pharisees’ Blasphemy

^14 (A)And He was casting out a mute demon; when the demon had gone out, the man who was previously unable to speak talked, and the crowds were amazed. ¹⁵ But some of them said, “He casts out the demons ^(B)by ^(C)Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.” ¹⁶ Others, ^[a]to test Him, ^(D)were demanding of Him a ^[b]sign from heaven. ^17 (E)But He knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and a house divided against ^[c]itself falls. ¹⁸ And if ^(F)Satan also has been divided against himself, how will his kingdom ^[d]stand? For you claim that I cast out the demons by ^(G)Beelzebul. ¹⁹ Yet if by ^(H)Beelzebul I cast out the demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they will be your judges. ²⁰ But if I cast out the demons by ^[e]the ^(I)finger of God, then ^(J)the kingdom of God has come upon you. ²¹ When ^[f]a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are ^[g]secure. ²² But when someone stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, that man takes away his armor on which he had relied and distributes his plunder. ^23 (K)The one who is not with Me is against Me; and the one who does not gather with Me scatters.

²⁴ “^(L)When the unclean spirit comes out of ^[h]a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and not finding any, it then says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ ²⁵ And when it comes, it finds it swept and put in order. ²⁶ Then it goes and brings along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they come in and live there; and the last condition of that person becomes worse than the first.”