Matthew 12
World English Bible
12 At that time, Jesus went on the Sabbath day through the grain fields. His disciples were hungry and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2 But the Pharisees, when they saw it, said to him, “Behold, your disciples do what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.”
3 But he said to them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: 4 how he entered into God’s house and ate the show bread, which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?
9 He departed from there and went into their synagogue. 10 And behold, there was a man with a withered hand. They asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day?” so that they might accuse him.
11 He said to them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if this one falls into a pit on the Sabbath day, won’t he grab on to it and lift it out? 12 Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath day.” 13 Then he told the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out; and it was restored whole, just like the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how they might destroy him.
15 Jesus, perceiving that, withdrew from there. Great multitudes followed him; and he healed them all, 16 and commanded them that they should not make him known, 17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,
18 “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen,
my beloved in whom my soul is well pleased.
I will put my Spirit on him.
He will proclaim justice to the nations.
19 He will not strive, nor shout,
neither will anyone hear his voice in the streets.
20 He won’t break a bruised reed.
He won’t quench a smoking flax,
until he leads justice to victory.
21 In his name, the nations will hope.”
22 Then one possessed by a demon, blind and mute, was brought to him; and he healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. 23 All the multitudes were amazed, and said, “Can this be the son of David?” 24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “This man does not cast out demons except by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons.”
25 Knowing their thoughts, Jesus 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. How then will his kingdom stand? 27 If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 28 But if I by the Spirit of God cast out demons, then God’s Kingdom has come upon you. 29 Or how can one enter into the house of the strong man and plunder his goods, unless he first bind the strong man? Then he will plunder his house.
30 “He who is not with me is against me, and he who doesn’t gather with me, scatters. 31 Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. 32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in that which is to come.
33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree corrupt and its fruit corrupt; for the tree is known by its fruit. 34 You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. 35 The good man out of his good treasure[a] brings out good things, and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings out evil things. 36 I tell you that every idle word that men speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
38 Then certain of the scribes and Pharisees answered, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”
39 But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, but no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the huge fish, 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 in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, someone greater than Jonah is here. 42 The Queen of the South will rise up in 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 behold, someone greater than Solomon is here.
43 “When an unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he passes through waterless places seeking rest, and doesn’t find it. 44 Then he says, ‘I will return into my house from which I came;’ and when he has come back, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then he goes and takes with himself seven other spirits more evil than he is, and they enter in and dwell there. The last state of that man becomes worse than the first. Even so will it be also to this evil generation.”
46 While he was yet speaking to the multitudes, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, seeking to speak to him. 47 One said to him, “Behold, your mother and your brothers stand outside, seeking to speak to you.”
48 But he answered him who spoke to him, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” 49 He stretched out his hand toward his disciples, and 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
- 12:35 TR adds “of the heart”
Matthew 12
International Standard Version
Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath(A)
12 At that time, Jesus walked through the grain fields on a Sabbath.[a] His disciples became hungry and began picking heads of grain to eat. 2 When the Pharisees saw this, they told him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!”
3 But he told them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 How is it that he went into the house of God and ate the Bread of the Presence, which was not lawful for him and his companions to eat but was reserved[b] for the priests? 5 Or haven’t you read in the Law that on every Sabbath[c] the priests in the Temple violate the Sabbath[d] and yet are innocent?[e] 6 But I tell you, something greater than the Temple is here! 7 If you had known what ‘I want mercy and not sacrifice’[f] means, you would not have condemned the innocent, 8 for the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
Jesus Heals a Man with a Paralyzed Hand(B)
9 Moving on from there, Jesus[g] went into their synagogue. 10 Suddenly, a man with a paralyzed hand appeared. The people[h] asked Jesus[i] if it was lawful to heal on Sabbath days,[j] intending to accuse him of doing something wrong.
11 But he asked them, “Is there a man among you who, if he had one sheep and it fell into a ditch on the Sabbath, wouldn’t take hold of it and pull it out? 12 How much more is a human being worth than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on Sabbath days.”[k]
13 Then he told the man, “Hold out your hand.” He held it out and it became normal, as healthy as his other hand. 14 The Pharisees, however, went out and plotted against Jesus[l] to kill him.
Jesus, God’s Chosen Servant
15 When Jesus became aware of this, he left that place. Many crowds[m] followed him, and he healed all of them, 16 ordering them not to make him known. 17 This was to fulfill what was declared by the prophet Isaiah when he said,
18 “Here is my Servant whom I have chosen,
whom I love, and with whom I am pleased!
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will proclaim justice[n] to unbelievers.[o]
19 He will not quarrel or shout,
and no one will hear him shouting[p] in the streets.
20 He will not snap off a broken reed
or snuff out a smoldering wick
until he has brought justice[q] through to victory.
21 And in his name unbelievers[r] will hope.”[s]
Jesus is Accused of Working with Beelzebul(C)
22 Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and unable to talk was brought to him. Jesus[t] healed him so that the man[u] could speak and see. 23 All the crowds were amazed and kept saying, “This man isn’t the Son of David, is he?”
24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man drives out demons only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.”
25 He knew what they were thinking and told them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is destroyed, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. 26 So if Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How, then, can his kingdom stand? 27 If I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own followers[v] drive them out? That is why they will be your judges! 28 But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you. 29 How can someone go into a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions without first tying up the strong man? Then he can ransack his house. 30 The person who isn’t with me is against me, and the person who isn’t gathering with me is scattering. 31 So I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven,[w] but 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.”
A Tree is Known by Its Fruit(D)
33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree rotten and its fruit rotten, because a tree is known by its fruit. 34 You children of serpents! How can you say anything good when you are evil? The mouth speaks about what overflows from the heart. 35 A good person brings good things out of a good treasure house, and an evil person brings evil things out of an evil treasure house. 36 I tell you, on Judgment Day people will give an account for every thoughtless[x] word they have uttered, 37 because by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
The Sign of Jonah(E)
38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees told Jesus,[y] “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”
39 But he replied to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves a sign. Yet no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah, 40 because just as Jonah was in the stomach of the sea creature for three days and three nights,[z] so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. 41 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment and condemn the people living today,[aa] because they repented at the preaching of Jonah. But look—something greater than Jonah is here! 42 The queen of the south will stand up and condemn the people living today,[ab] because she came from so far away[ac] to hear the wisdom of Solomon. But look! Something greater than Solomon is here!”
The Return of the Unclean Spirit(F)
43 “Whenever an unclean spirit goes out of a person, it wanders through waterless places looking for a place to rest, but finds none. 44 Then it says, ‘I will go back to my home that I left.’ When it arrives, it finds it empty, swept clean, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and settle there. And so the final condition of that person becomes worse than the first. That’s just what will happen to this evil generation!”
The True Family of Jesus(G)
46 While Jesus[ad] was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. 47 Someone told him, “Look! Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak to you.”[ae]
48 He asked the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 Then pointing with his hand at his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers, 50 because whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”
Footnotes
- Matthew 12:1 Lit. on the Sabbaths
- Matthew 12:4 Lit. but only
- Matthew 12:5 Lit. on the Sabbaths
- Matthew 12:5 I.e. by carrying out priestly duties
- Matthew 12:5 Cf. Exod 25:30; 29:32-33; Lev 8:31
- Matthew 12:7 Cf. Hos 6:6
- Matthew 12:9 Lit. he
- Matthew 12:10 Lit. They
- Matthew 12:10 Lit. him
- Matthew 12:10 Lit. on the Sabbaths
- Matthew 12:12 Lit. on the Sabbaths
- Matthew 12:14 Lit. him
- Matthew 12:15 Other mss. lack crowds
- Matthew 12:18 Or judgment
- Matthew 12:18 Lit. gentiles; i.e. unbelieving non-Jews
- Matthew 12:19 Lit. hear his voice
- Matthew 12:20 Or judgment
- Matthew 12:21 Lit. gentiles; i.e. unbelieving non-Jews
- Matthew 12:21 Cf. Isa 42:1-4
- Matthew 12:22 Lit. He
- Matthew 12:22 Lit. the man who was unable to talk
- Matthew 12:27 Lit. sons
- Matthew 12:31 Lit. will be forgiven to people
- Matthew 12:36 Or worthless
- Matthew 12:38 Lit. him
- Matthew 12:40 Cf. Jonah 1:17
- Matthew 12:41 Lit. judgment with this generation and condemn it
- Matthew 12:42 Lit. judgment with this generation and condemn it
- Matthew 12:42 Lit. from the ends of the earth
- Matthew 12:46 Lit. he
- Matthew 12:47 Other mss. lack this verse
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