Matthew 12:1-37
New American Standard Bible 1995
Sabbath Questions
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.
Lord of the Sabbath
8 For (G)the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
9 (H)Departing from there, He went into their synagogue. 10 And a man was there whose hand was withered. And they questioned [f]Jesus, asking, “(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 [h]has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he 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 [i]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 [j]normal, like the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and [k](M)conspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.
15 But Jesus, [l]aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and (N)He healed them all, 16 and (O)warned them not to [m]tell who He was. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:
18 “(P)Behold, My [n]Servant whom I [o]have chosen;
(Q)My Beloved in whom My soul [p]is well-pleased;
(R)I will put My Spirit upon Him,
(S)And He shall proclaim [q]justice to the [r]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 [s]leads [t]justice to victory.
21 “(V)And in His name the [u]Gentiles will hope.”
The Pharisees Rebuked
22 (W)Then a (X)demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to [v]Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw. 23 All the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “This man cannot be the (Y)Son of David, can he?” 24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man (Z)casts out demons only by [w]Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”
25 (AA)And (AB)knowing their thoughts Jesus said to them, “[x]Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and [y]any city or house divided against itself will not stand. 26 If (AC)Satan casts out Satan, he [z]is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? 27 If I (AD)by [aa]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.
The Unpardonable Sin
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 blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. 32 (AI)Whoever [ab]speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever [ac]speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in (AJ)this age or in the age to come.
Words Reveal Character
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 [ad]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 [ae]what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure [af]what is evil. 36 But I tell you that every [ag]careless word that people [ah]speak, they shall give an accounting for it in (AO)the day of judgment. 37 For [ai]by your words you will be justified, and [aj]by your words you will be condemned.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 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 12:11 Lit will have
- Matthew 12:12 Lit well
- Matthew 12:13 Lit health
- Matthew 12:14 Lit took counsel
- Matthew 12:15 Lit knowing
- Matthew 12:16 Lit make Him known
- 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; i.e. ruler of demons
- 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
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
