Matthew 12

Modern English Version

The Question About the Sabbath^(A)

12 At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry and began to pluck the heads of grain and to eat. ² But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing that which is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!”

³ But He said to them, “Have you not read what David and those who were with him did when he was hungry, ⁴ how he entered the house of God and ate the ritual bread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for those who were with him, but only for the priests? ⁵ Or have you not read in the law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, but are blameless? ⁶ I say to you, in this place there is One who is greater than the temple. ⁷ If you had known what this meant, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. ⁸ For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

The Healing of the Withered Hand^(B)

⁹ When He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue. ¹⁰ And there was a man whose hand had withered. They asked Him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” that they might accuse Him.

¹¹ He said to them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? ¹² Then how much better is a man than a sheep? Therefore, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

¹³ Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and it was restored whole like the other. ¹⁴ Then the Pharisees went out and took counsel against Him, how they might kill Him.

The Chosen Servant

¹⁵ But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. And great crowds followed Him, and He healed them all, ¹⁶ and warned them that they should not make Him known, ¹⁷ to fulfill what was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:

Jesus and Beelzebub^(C)

²² Then one possessed with a demon was brought to Him, blind and mute, and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. ²³ All the people were amazed and said, “Is He not the Son of David?”

²⁴ But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “This Man does not cast out demons, except by Beelzebub the ruler of the demons.”

²⁵ Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation. And every city or house divided against itself will not stand. ²⁶ If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. Then how will his kingdom stand? ²⁷ And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they shall be your judges. ²⁸ But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

²⁹ “Or else how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.

³⁰ “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad. ³¹ Therefore I say to you, all kinds of sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven men. ³² Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, neither in this world, nor in the world to come.

A Tree and Its Fruit^(D)

³³ “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree corrupt and its fruit corrupt. For the tree is known by its fruit. ³⁴ O generation of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. ³⁵ A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things. And an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. ³⁶ But I say to you that for every idle word that men speak, they will give an account on the Day of Judgment. ³⁷ For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

The Demand for a Sign^(E)

³⁸ Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from You.”

³⁹ But He answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. ⁴⁰ For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish,^[b] so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. ⁴¹ The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah.^[c] And now One greater than Jonah is here. ⁴² The Queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon. And now One greater than Solomon is here.

The Return of the Unclean Spirit^(F)

⁴³ “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through dry places seeking rest, but finds none. ⁴⁴ Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds it empty, swept, and put in order. ⁴⁵ Then it goes and brings with itself seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it be also with this evil generation.”

The Mother and Brothers of Jesus^(G)

⁴⁶ While He was still speaking to the people, right then His mother and His brothers stood outside asking to speak with Him. ⁴⁷ Then one said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside asking to speak with You.”

⁴⁸ But He answered the man who told him, “Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?” ⁴⁹ He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! ⁵⁰ For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven is My brother, and sister, and mother.”