Matthew 12
Legacy Standard Bible
Lord of the Sabbath
12 (A)At that [a]time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to (B)pick the heads of grain and eat. 2 But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples do what (C)is not lawful to do on a Sabbath.” 3 But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions, 4 how he entered the house of God, and (D)they ate the [b]consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone? 5 Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple [c]break the Sabbath and are innocent? 6 But I say to you that something (E)greater than the temple is here. 7 But if you had known what this [d]means, ‘(F)I desire [e]compassion, and not a sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. 8 For (G)the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
Jesus Heals a Man on the Sabbath
9 (H)And departing from there, He went into their synagogue. 10 And behold, a man was there whose hand was withered. And they questioned [f]Jesus, saying, “(I)Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse Him. 11 And He said to them, “(J)What man [g]is there among you who has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 (K)How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do [h]good on the Sabbath.” 13 Then He *said to the man, “Stretch out your hand!” (L)He stretched it out, and it was restored to [i]normal, like the other. 14 But going out, the Pharisees (M)took counsel together against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.
15 But Jesus, [j]aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and (N)He healed them all, 16 and (O)warned them not to make Him known, 17 in order that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled, saying,
18 “(P)Behold, My [k]Servant whom I [l]have chosen;
(Q)My Beloved in whom My soul [m]is well-pleased;
(R)I will put My Spirit upon Him,
(S)And He shall proclaim [n]justice to the [o]Gentiles.
19 (T)He will not quarrel, nor cry out;
Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.
20 (U)A battered reed He will not break off,
And a smoldering wick He will not put out,
Until He [p]leads [q]justice to victory.
21 (V)And in His name the [r]Gentiles will hope.”
A Kingdom Divided
22 (W)Then a (X)demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to [s]Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw. 23 And all the crowds were astounded, and were saying, “Can this man really be the (Y)Son of David?” 24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man does not (Z)cast out demons except by [t]Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”
25 (AA)And (AB)knowing their thoughts He said to them, “[u]Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and [v]any city or house divided against itself will not stand. 26 And if (AC)Satan casts out Satan, he [w]is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I (AD)by [x]Beelzebul cast out demons, (AE)by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges. 28 But (AF)if I cast out 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 binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.
Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit
30 (AG)He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
31 “(AH)Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. 32 (AI)And whoever [y]speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever [z]speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in (AJ)this age or in the age to come.
The Heart Is Revealed by Words
33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for (AK)the tree is known by its fruit. 34 (AL)You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak [aa]what is good? (AM)For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. 35 (AN)The good man brings out of his good treasure [ab]what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure [ac]what is evil. 36 But I tell you that every [ad]careless word that people [ae]speak, they shall give an accounting for it in (AO)the day of judgment. 37 For [af]by your words you will be justified, and [ag]by your words you will be condemned.”
The Sign of Jonah
38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered and said to Him, “Teacher, (AP)we want to see [ah]a sign from You.” 39 But He answered and said to them, “(AQ)An evil and adulterous generation eagerly seeks for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; 40 for just as (AR)Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will (AS)the Son of Man be (AT)three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 (AU)The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because (AV)they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, (AW)something greater than Jonah is here. 42 (AX)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, (AY)something greater than Solomon is here.
43 “(AZ)Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, 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 takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and (BA)the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”
Jesus’ Mother and Brothers
46 (BB)While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His (BC)mother and (BD)brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. 47 [ai]Now someone said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You.” 48 But [aj]Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” 49 And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold My mother and My brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”
Footnotes
- Matthew 12:1 Or occasion
- Matthew 12:4 Or showbread; lit loaves of presentation
- Matthew 12:5 Or profane
- Matthew 12:7 Lit is
- Matthew 12:7 Or mercy
- Matthew 12:10 Lit Him
- Matthew 12:11 Lit will be from you
- Matthew 12:12 Lit well
- Matthew 12:13 Lit health
- Matthew 12:15 Lit knowing
- Matthew 12:18 Lit Child
- Matthew 12:18 Lit chose
- Matthew 12:18 Or took pleasure
- Matthew 12:18 Or judgment
- Matthew 12:18 Or nations
- Matthew 12:20 Or puts forth
- Matthew 12:20 Or judgment
- Matthew 12:21 Or nations
- Matthew 12:22 Lit Him
- Matthew 12:24 Or Beezebul
- Matthew 12:25 Lit Every
- Matthew 12:25 Lit every
- Matthew 12:26 Lit was
- Matthew 12:27 v 24, note 1
- Matthew 12:32 Lit will speak
- Matthew 12:32 Lit will speak
- Matthew 12:34 Lit good things
- Matthew 12:35 Lit good things
- Matthew 12:35 Lit evil things
- Matthew 12:36 Or useless
- Matthew 12:36 Lit will speak
- Matthew 12:37 Or in accordance with
- Matthew 12:37 Or in accordance with
- Matthew 12:38 Or an attesting miracle
- Matthew 12:47 This verse is not found in early mss
- Matthew 12:48 Lit He
Matthew 12
New Living Translation
A Discussion about the Sabbath
12 At about that time Jesus was walking through some grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, so they began breaking off some heads of grain and eating them. 2 But some Pharisees saw them do it and protested, “Look, your disciples are breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath.”
3 Jesus said to them, “Haven’t you read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He went into the house of God, and he and his companions broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests are allowed to eat. 5 And haven’t you read in the law of Moses that the priests on duty in the Temple may work on the Sabbath? 6 I tell you, there is one here who is even greater than the Temple! 7 But you would not have condemned my innocent disciples if you knew the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’[a] 8 For the Son of Man[b] is Lord, even over the Sabbath!”
Jesus Heals on the Sabbath
9 Then Jesus went over to their synagogue, 10 where he noticed a man with a deformed hand. The Pharisees asked Jesus, “Does the law permit a person to work by healing on the Sabbath?” (They were hoping he would say yes, so they could bring charges against him.)
11 And he answered, “If you had a sheep that fell into a well on the Sabbath, wouldn’t you work to pull it out? Of course you would. 12 And how much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Yes, the law permits a person to do good on the Sabbath.”
13 Then he said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored, just like the other one! 14 Then the Pharisees called a meeting to plot how to kill Jesus.
Jesus, God’s Chosen Servant
15 But Jesus knew what they were planning. So he left that area, and many people followed him. He healed all the sick among them, 16 but he warned them not to reveal who he was. 17 This fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah concerning him:
18 “Look at my Servant, whom I have chosen.
He is my Beloved, who pleases me.
I will put my Spirit upon him,
and he will proclaim justice to the nations.
19 He will not fight or shout
or raise his voice in public.
20 He will not crush the weakest reed
or put out a flickering candle.
Finally he will cause justice to be victorious.
21 And his name will be the hope
of all the world.”[c]
Jesus and the Prince of Demons
22 Then a demon-possessed man, who was blind and couldn’t speak, was brought to Jesus. He healed the man so that he could both speak and see. 23 The crowd was amazed and asked, “Could it be that Jesus is the Son of David, the Messiah?”
24 But when the Pharisees heard about the miracle, they said, “No wonder he can cast out demons. He gets his power from Satan,[d] the prince of demons.”
25 Jesus knew their thoughts and replied, “Any kingdom divided by civil war is doomed. A town or family splintered by feuding will fall apart. 26 And if Satan is casting out Satan, he is divided and fighting against himself. His own kingdom will not survive. 27 And if I am empowered by Satan, what about your own exorcists? They cast out demons, too, so they will condemn you for what you have said. 28 But if I am casting out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you. 29 For who is powerful enough to enter the house of a strong man and plunder his goods? Only someone even stronger—someone who could tie him up and then plunder his house.
30 “Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me.
31 “So I tell you, every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven—except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which will never be forgiven. 32 Anyone who speaks against the Son of Man can be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, either in this world or in the world to come.
33 “A tree is identified by its fruit. If a tree is good, its fruit will be good. If a tree is bad, its fruit will be bad. 34 You brood of snakes! How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. 35 A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. 36 And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. 37 The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.”
The Sign of Jonah
38 One day some teachers of religious law and Pharisees came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we want you to show us a miraculous sign to prove your authority.”
39 But Jesus replied, “Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign; but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.
41 “The people of Nineveh will stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for they repented of their sins at the preaching of Jonah. Now someone greater than Jonah is here—but you refuse to repent. 42 The queen of Sheba[e] will also stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for she came from a distant land to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Now someone greater than Solomon is here—but you refuse to listen.
43 “When an evil[f] spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, seeking rest but finding none. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to the person I came from.’ So it returns and finds its former home empty, swept, and in order. 45 Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before. That will be the experience of this evil generation.”
The True Family of Jesus
46 As Jesus was speaking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. 47 Someone told Jesus, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, and they want to speak to you.”[g]
48 Jesus asked, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” 49 Then he pointed to his disciples and said, “Look, these are my mother and brothers. 50 Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!”
Footnotes
- 12:7 Hos 6:6 (Greek version).
- 12:8 “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.
- 12:18-21 Isa 42:1-4 (Greek version for 42:4).
- 12:24 Greek Beelzeboul; also in 12:27. Other manuscripts read Beezeboul; Latin version reads Beelzebub.
- 12:42 Greek The queen of the south.
- 12:43 Greek unclean.
- 12:47 Some manuscripts do not include verse 47. Compare Mark 3:32 and Luke 8:20.
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
