²³ All the people were amazed and said, “Can this be the Son of David?”^{[a] 24} But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons, that this fellow drives out demons.”

²⁵ Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is destroyed, and every town or household divided against itself will not stand. ²⁶ If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? ²⁷ Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive them out? Therefore they will be your judges. ²⁸ But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. ²⁹ Or how can someone enter a strong man’s house and take his goods, unless he first ties up the strong man? Only then can he plunder his house.

³⁰ “Whoever is not with me is against me. And whoever does not gather with me scatters. ³¹ Therefore I tell you, people will be forgiven every sin and blasphemy, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. ³² Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven—either in this age or in the one to come.

³³ “Either make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad. Indeed, a tree is known by its fruit. ³⁴ You offspring of vipers! How can you say anything good, since you are evil? For what the mouth speaks flows from the heart. ³⁵ The good man brings good out of his good treasure, and the evil man brings evil out of his evil treasure. ³⁶ I tell you that on the day of judgment people will give account of every careless word they have spoken. ³⁷ In fact by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

⁴ For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift and shared in the Holy Spirit, ⁵ who have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the coming age, ⁶ and who then fell away, to be restored to repentance because^[a] they are crucifying the Son of God again, to their own harm, and exposing him to public ridicule.

⁷ For the land that drinks the rain that often falls on it and produces plants useful to those farming it, this land receives a blessing from God. ⁸ But the land that grows thorns and thistles is worthless and will soon be cursed—its end is to be burned.

²⁶ For if we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the full knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains any sacrifice for sins. ²⁷ Instead, there is a certain fearful expectation of judgment and a raging fire that is going to consume the enemies of God. ²⁸ Anyone who rejected the law of Moses was put to death without pity, on the basis of the testimony of two or three witnesses. ²⁹ How much greater punishment do you think will be deserved by the person who trampled the Son of God underfoot, who considered insignificant the blood of the covenant, by which he was sanctified, and who insulted the Spirit of grace? ³⁰ For we know the one who said:

And again:

³¹ It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.