Matthew 12:22-45
New American Standard Bible
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.”
Read full chapterNotas al pie
- Matthew 12:22 Lit Him
- Matthew 12:22 Lit saw
- Matthew 12:24 Or Beezebul; meaning uncertain, perhaps lord prince, referring to Satan
- Matthew 12:26 Lit was
- Matthew 12:27 See note v 24
- Matthew 12:33 Lit make
- Matthew 12:33 Lit make
- Matthew 12:34 Or brood
- 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 I.e., confirming miracle
- Matthew 12:39 I.e., confirming miracle
- Matthew 12:39 I.e., confirming miracle
- Matthew 12:39 I.e., confirming miracle
Matthew 12:22-45
New Living Translation
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,[a] 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[b] 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[c] 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.”
Read full chapterNew American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
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.
