Messengers from John the Baptist

11 When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities.

^2 (A)Now when John heard ^(B)in prison about the deeds of ^(C)the Christ, he sent word by ^(D)his disciples ³ and said to him, “Are you ^(E)the one who is to come, or shall we ^(F)look for another?” ⁴ And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: ^5 (G)the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers^[a] are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and ^(H)the poor have good news preached to them. ⁶ And blessed is the one who ^(I)is not offended by me.”

⁷ As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out ^(J)into the wilderness to see? ^(K)A reed shaken by the wind? ⁸ What then did you go out to see? A man^[b] dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. ⁹ What then did you go out to see? ^(L)A prophet?^[c] Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. ¹⁰ This is he of whom it is written,

¹¹ Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ^12 (N)From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence,^[d] and the violent take it by force. ^13 (O)For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, ¹⁴ and if you are willing to accept it, he is ^(P)Elijah who is to come. ^15 (Q)He who has ears to hear,^[e] let him hear.

¹⁶ “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates,

¹⁸ For John came ^(R)neither eating ^(S)nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ ¹⁹ The Son of Man came ^(T)eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, ^(U)a friend of ^(V)tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”^[f]

Woe to Unrepentant Cities

^20 (W)Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. ^21 (X)“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in ^(Y)Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. ^22 (Z)But I tell you, it will be more bearable on ^(AA)the day of judgment for ^(AB)Tyre and Sidon than for you. ²³ And you, ^(AC)Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to ^(AD)Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. ^24 (AE)But I tell you that ^(AF)it will be more tolerable on ^(AG)the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.”

Come to Me, and I Will Give You Rest

^25 (AH)At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, ^(AI)Lord of heaven and earth, that ^(AJ)you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and ^(AK)revealed them to little children; ²⁶ yes, Father, for such was your ^(AL)gracious will.^{[g] 27 (AM)}All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son ^(AN)except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone ^(AO)to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. ^28 (AP)Come to ^(AQ)me, all who labor and are ^(AR)heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you, and ^(AS)learn from me, for I am ^(AT)gentle and lowly in heart, and ^(AU)you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For ^(AV)my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

12 At that time ^(AW)Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and ^(AX)they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. ² But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, ^(AY)“Look, your disciples are doing ^(AZ)what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” ³ He said to them, ^(BA)“Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: ⁴ how he entered the house of God and ate ^(BB)the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? ⁵ Or have you not read ^(BC)in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? ⁶ I tell you, ^(BD)something greater than the temple is here. ⁷ And if you had known ^(BE)what this means, ^(BF)‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. ⁸ For ^(BG)the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

A Man with a Withered Hand

⁹ He went on from there and ^(BH)entered their synagogue. ¹⁰ And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, ^(BI)“Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—^(BJ)so that they might accuse him. ¹¹ He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep, ^(BK)if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? ^12 (BL)Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So ^(BM)it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” ¹³ Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And ^(BN)the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. ¹⁴ But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.

God's Chosen Servant

¹⁵ Jesus, aware of this, ^(BO)withdrew from there. And ^(BP)many followed him, and he healed them all ¹⁶ and ^(BQ)ordered them not to make him known. ^17 (BR)This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah:

Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit

^22 (BW)Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. ^23 (BX)And all the people were amazed, and said, ^(BY)“Can this be the Son of David?” ²⁴ But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, ^(BZ)“It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.” ^25 (CA)Knowing their thoughts, ^(CB)he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. ²⁶ And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? ²⁷ And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, ^(CC)by whom do ^(CD)your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. ²⁸ But if it is ^(CE)by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then ^(CF)the kingdom of God has come upon you. ²⁹ Or ^(CG)how can someone enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed ^(CH)he may plunder his house. ^30 (CI)Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. ^31 (CJ)Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but ^(CK)the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. ³² And whoever speaks a word ^(CL)against the Son of Man ^(CM)will be forgiven, but ^(CN)whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in ^(CO)this age or in the age to come.

A Tree Is Known by Its Fruit

^33 (CP)“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, ^(CQ)for the tree is known by its fruit. ^34 (CR)You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, ^(CS)when you are evil? ^(CT)For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. ^35 (CU)The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. ³⁶ I tell you, ^(CV)on the day of judgment ^(CW)people will give account for ^(CX)every careless word they speak, ³⁷ for ^(CY)by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

The Sign of Jonah

³⁸ Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, ^(CZ)we wish to see a sign from you.” ³⁹ But he answered them, ^(DA)“An evil and ^(DB)adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. ⁴⁰ For ^(DC)just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, ^(DD)so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. ^41 (DE)The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and ^(DF)condemn it, for ^(DG)they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, ^(DH)something greater than Jonah is here. ^42 (DI)The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, ^(DJ)something greater than Solomon is here.

Return of an Unclean Spirit

⁴³ “When ^(DK)the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through ^(DL)waterless 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 the house empty, swept, and put in order. ⁴⁵ Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and ^(DM)the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this ^(DN)evil generation.”

Jesus' Mother and Brothers

⁴⁶ While he was still speaking to the people, behold, ^(DO)his mother and his ^(DP)brothers^[h] stood outside, asking to speak to him.^{[i] 48} But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” ⁴⁹ And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! ⁵⁰ For ^(DQ)whoever ^(DR)does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

The Last Words of David

23 Now these are the last words of David:

David's Mighty Men

^8 (H)These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: ^(I)Josheb-basshebeth a Tahchemonite; he was chief of the three.^[e] He wielded his spear^[f] against eight hundred whom he killed at one time.

⁹ And next to him among the three mighty men was Eleazar the son of ^(J)Dodo, son of ^(K)Ahohi. He was with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel withdrew. ¹⁰ He rose and struck down the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clung to the sword. And the Lord brought about a great victory that day, and the men returned after him only to strip the slain.

¹¹ And next to him was Shammah, the son of Agee the ^(L)Hararite. The Philistines gathered together at Lehi,^[g] where there was a plot of ground full of lentils, and the men fled from the Philistines. ¹² But he took his stand in the midst of the plot and defended it and struck down the Philistines, and the Lord worked a great victory.

¹³ And three of the thirty chief men went down and came about harvest time to David at the ^(M)cave of Adullam, when a band of Philistines was encamped ^(N)in the Valley of Rephaim. ¹⁴ David was then ^(O)in the stronghold, and ^(P)the garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem. ¹⁵ And David said longingly, “Oh, that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!” ¹⁶ Then the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and carried and brought it to David. But he would not drink of it. He poured it out to the Lord ¹⁷ and said, “Far be it from me, O Lord, that I should do this. Shall I drink ^(Q)the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?” Therefore he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did.

¹⁸ Now Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief of the thirty.^[h] And he wielded his spear against three hundred men^[i] and killed them and won a name beside the three. ¹⁹ He was the most renowned of the thirty^[j] and became their commander, but he did not attain to ^(R)the three.

²⁰ And ^(S)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was a valiant man^[k] of ^(T)Kabzeel, a doer of great deeds. He struck down two ariels^[l] of Moab. He also went down and struck down a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen. ²¹ And he struck down an Egyptian, a handsome man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand, but Benaiah went down to him with a staff and snatched the spear out of the Egyptian's hand and killed him with his own spear. ²² These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and won a name beside the three mighty men. ²³ He was renowned among the thirty, but he did not attain to the three. And David set him over his bodyguard.

^24 (U)Asahel the brother of Joab was one of the thirty; Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, ^25 (V)Shammah of Harod, Elika of Harod, ²⁶ Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh ^(W)of Tekoa, ²⁷ Abiezer ^(X)of Anathoth, Mebunnai ^(Y)the Hushathite, ²⁸ Zalmon ^(Z)the Ahohite, Maharai ^(AA)of Netophah, ²⁹ Heleb the son of Baanah ^(AB)of Netophah, Ittai the son of Ribai of ^(AC)Gibeah of the people of Benjamin, ³⁰ Benaiah ^(AD)of Pirathon, Hiddai of the brooks of ^(AE)Gaash, ³¹ Abi-albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth of ^(AF)Bahurim, ³² Eliahba the Shaalbonite, the sons of Jashen, Jonathan, ^33 (AG)Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the Hararite, ³⁴ Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai ^(AH)of Maacah, ^(AI)Eliam the son of ^(AJ)Ahithophel the Gilonite, ³⁵ Hezro^{[m] (AK)}of Carmel, Paarai the Arbite, ³⁶ Igal the son of Nathan ^(AL)of Zobah, Bani the Gadite, ³⁷ Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai ^(AM)of Beeroth, the armor-bearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah, ^38 (AN)Ira the ^(AO)Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, ^39 (AP)Uriah the Hittite: thirty-seven in all.

Tell the Coming Generation

A Maskil^[a] of ^(A)Asaph.