Chronological
12 At that [a]particular time Jesus went through the fields of standing grain on the Sabbath; and His disciples were hungry, and they began to pick off the spikes of grain and to eat.(A)
2 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, See there! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful and not permitted on the Sabbath.
3 He said to them, Have you not even read what David did when he was hungry, and those who accompanied him—(B)
4 How he went into the house of God and ate the loaves of the showbread—which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for the men who accompanied him, but for the priests only?
5 Or have you never read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple violate the sanctity of the Sabbath [breaking it] and yet are guiltless?(C)
6 But I tell you, Something greater and [b]more exalted and more majestic than the temple is here!
7 And if you had only known what this saying means, I desire mercy [readiness to help, to spare, to forgive] rather than sacrifice and sacrificial victims, you would not have condemned the guiltless.(D)
8 For the Son of Man is Lord [even] of the Sabbath.
9 And going on from there, He went into their synagogue.
10 And behold, a man was there with one withered hand. And they said to Him, Is it lawful or allowable to cure people on the Sabbath days?—that they might accuse Him.
11 But He said to them, What man is there among you, if he has only one sheep and it falls into a pit or ditch on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out?
12 How much better and of more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful and allowable to do good on the Sabbath days.
13 Then He said to the man, Reach out your hand. And the man reached it out and it was restored, as sound as the other one.
14 But the Pharisees went out and held a consultation against Him, how they might do away with Him.
15 But being aware of this, Jesus went away from there. And many people [c]joined and accompanied Him, and He cured all of them,
16 And strictly charged them and sharply warned them not to make Him [d]publicly known.
17 This was in fulfillment of what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah,
18 Behold, My Servant Whom I have chosen, My Beloved in and with Whom My soul is well pleased and [e]has found its delight. I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He shall proclaim and [f]show forth justice to the nations.
19 He will not strive or wrangle or cry out loudly; nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets;
20 A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering (dimly burning) wick He will not quench, till He brings [g]justice and a just cause to victory.
21 And in and on His name will the Gentiles (the [h]peoples outside of Israel) set their hopes.(E)
3 Again Jesus went into a synagogue, and a man was there who had one withered hand [[a]as the result of accident or disease].
2 And [the Pharisees] kept watching Jesus [closely] to see whether He would cure him on the Sabbath, so that they might get a charge to bring against Him [[b]formally].
3 And He said to the man who had the withered hand, Get up [and stand here] in the midst.
4 And He said to them, Is it lawful and right on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to take it? But they kept silence.
5 And He glanced around at them with vexation and anger, grieved at the hardening of their hearts, and said to the man, Hold out your hand. He held it out, and his hand was [completely] restored.
6 Then the Pharisees went out and immediately held a consultation with the Herodians against Him, how they might [devise some means to] put Him to death.
7 And Jesus retired with His disciples to the lake, and a great throng from Galilee followed Him. Also from Judea
8 And from Jerusalem and Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from about Tyre and Sidon—a vast multitude, hearing all the many things that He was doing, came to Him.
9 And He told His disciples to have a little boat in [constant] readiness for Him because of the crowd, lest they press hard upon Him and crush Him.
10 For He had healed so many that all who had distressing bodily diseases kept falling upon Him and pressing upon Him in order that they might touch Him.
11 And the spirits, the unclean ones, [c]as often as they might see Him, fell down before Him and kept screaming out, You are the Son of God!
12 And He charged them strictly and severely under penalty again and again that they should not make Him known.
13 And He went up on the hillside and called to Him [[d]for Himself] those whom He wanted and chose, and they came to Him.
14 And He appointed twelve to [e]continue to be with Him, and that He might send them out to preach [as apostles or special messengers]
15 And to have authority and power to heal the sick and to drive out demons:
16 [They were] Simon, and He surnamed [him] Peter;
17 James son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, and He surnamed them Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder;
18 And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew (Nathaniel), and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus (Judas, not Iscariot), and Simon the Cananaean [also called Zelotes],
19 And Judas Iscariot, he who betrayed Him.
20 Then He went to a house [probably Peter’s], but a throng came together again, so that Jesus and His disciples could not even take food.
21 And when those [f]who belonged to Him ([g]His kinsmen) heard it, they went out to take Him by force, for they kept saying, He is out of [h]His mind (beside Himself, deranged)!
22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, He is possessed by Beelzebub, and, By [the help of] the prince of demons He is casting out demons.
23 And He summoned them to Him and said to them in parables (illustrations or comparisons put beside truths to explain them), How can Satan drive out Satan?
24 And if a kingdom is divided and rebelling against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
25 And if a house is divided (split into factions and rebelling) against itself, that house will not be able to last.
26 And if Satan has raised an insurrection against himself and is divided, he cannot stand but is [surely] coming to an end.
27 But no one can go into a strong man’s house and ransack his household goods right and left and seize them as plunder unless he first binds the strong man; then indeed he may [thoroughly] plunder his house.(A)
28 Truly and solemnly I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever abusive and blasphemous things they utter;
29 But whoever speaks abusively against or maliciously misrepresents the Holy Spirit can never get forgiveness, but is guilty of and is in the grasp of [i]an everlasting trespass.
30 For they [j]persisted in saying, [k]He has an unclean spirit.
31 Then His mother and His brothers came and, standing outside, they sent word to Him, calling [for] Him.
32 And a crowd was sitting around Him, and they said to Him, Your mother and Your brothers and Your sisters are outside asking for You.
33 And He replied, Who are My mother and My brothers?
34 And looking around on those who sat in a circle about Him, He said, See! Here are My mother and My brothers;
35 For whoever does the things God wills is My brother and sister and mother!
6 One Sabbath while Jesus was passing through the fields of standing grain, it occurred that His disciples picked some of the spikes and ate [of the grain], rubbing it out in their hands.(A)
2 But some of the Pharisees asked them, Why are you doing what is not permitted to be done on the Sabbath days?(B)
3 And Jesus replied to them, saying, Have you never so much as read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him?—(C)
4 How he went into the house of God and took and ate the [sacred] loaves of the showbread, which it is not permitted for any except only the priests to eat, and also gave to those [who were] with him?(D)
5 And He said to them, The Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.
6 And it occurred on another Sabbath that when He went into the synagogue and taught, a man was present whose right hand was withered.
7 And the scribes and the Pharisees kept watching Jesus to see whether He would [actually] heal on the Sabbath, in order that they might get [some ground for] accusation against Him.
8 But He was aware all along of their thoughts, and He said to the man with the withered hand, Come and stand here in the midst. And he arose and stood there.
9 Then Jesus said to them, I ask you, is it lawful and right on the Sabbath to do good [[a]so that someone derives advantage from it] or to do evil, to save a life [and [b]make a soul safe] or to destroy it?
10 Then He glanced around at them all and said to the man, Stretch out your hand! And he did so, and his hand was fully restored [c]like the other one.
11 But they were filled with lack of understanding and senseless rage and discussed (consulted) with one another what they might do to Jesus.
12 Now in those days it occurred that He went up into a mountain to pray, and spent the whole night in prayer to God.
13 And when it was day, He summoned His disciples and selected from them twelve, whom He named apostles (special messengers):
14 They were Simon, whom He named Peter, and his brother Andrew; and James and John; and Philip and Bartholomew;
15 And Matthew and Thomas; and James son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot,
16 And Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor (a treacherous, basely faithless person).
17 And Jesus came down with them and took His stand on a level spot, with a great crowd of His disciples and a vast throng of people from all over Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to listen to Him and to be cured of their diseases—
18 Even those who were disturbed and troubled with unclean spirits, and they were being healed [also].
19 And all the multitude were seeking to touch Him, for healing power was all the while going forth from Him and curing them all [[d]saving them from severe illnesses or calamities].
20 And solemnly lifting up His eyes on His disciples, He said: Blessed (happy—[e]with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, apart from your outward condition—and [f]to be envied) are you poor and [g]lowly and afflicted (destitute of wealth, influence, position, and honor), for the kingdom of God is yours!
21 Blessed (happy—[h]with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, apart from your outward condition—and [i]to be envied) are you who hunger and seek with eager desire now, for you shall be filled and completely satisfied! Blessed (happy—[j]with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, apart from your outward condition—and [k]to be envied) are you who weep and sob now, for you shall laugh!
22 Blessed (happy—[l]with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, apart from your outward condition—and [m]to be envied) are you when people despise (hate) you, and when they exclude and excommunicate you [as disreputable] and revile and denounce you and defame and cast out and spurn your name as evil (wicked) on account of the Son of Man.
23 Rejoice and be glad at such a time and exult and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is rich and great and strong and intense and abundant in heaven; for even so their forefathers treated the prophets.
24 But woe to (alas for) you who are rich ([n]abounding in material resources), for you already are receiving your consolation (the solace and sense of strengthening and cheer that come from prosperity) and have taken and enjoyed your comfort in full [having nothing left to be awarded you].
25 Woe to (alas for) you who are full now (completely filled, luxuriously gorged and satiated), for you shall hunger and suffer want! Woe to (alas for) you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep and wail!
26 Woe to (alas for) you when everyone speaks fairly and handsomely of you and praises you, for even so their forefathers did to the false prophets.
27 But I say to you who are listening now to Me: [[o]in order to heed, make it a practice to] love your enemies, treat well (do good to, act nobly toward) those who detest you and pursue you with hatred,
28 Invoke blessings upon and pray for the happiness of those who curse you, implore God’s blessing (favor) upon those who abuse you [who revile, reproach, disparage, and high-handedly misuse you].
29 To the one who strikes you on the [p]jaw or cheek, offer the other [q]jaw or cheek also; and from him who takes away your outer garment, do not withhold your undergarment as well.
30 Give away to everyone who begs of you [who is [r]in want of necessities], and of him who takes away from you your goods, do not demand or require them back again.
31 And as you would like and desire that men would do to you, do exactly so to them.
32 If you [merely] love those who love you, what [s]quality of credit and thanks is that to you? For even [t]the [very] sinners love their lovers (those who love them).
33 And if you are kind and good and do favors to and benefit those who are kind and good and do favors to and benefit you, what [u]quality of credit and thanks is that to you? For even [v]the preeminently sinful do the same.
34 And if you lend money [w]at interest to those from whom you hope to receive, what [x]quality of credit and thanks is that to you? Even notorious sinners lend money [y]at interest to sinners, so as to recover as much again.
35 But love your enemies and be kind and do good [doing favors [z]so that someone derives benefit from them] and lend, expecting and hoping for nothing in return but [aa]considering nothing as lost and despairing of no one; and then your recompense (your reward) will be great (rich, strong, intense, and abundant), and you will be sons of the Most High, for He is kind and charitable and good to the ungrateful and the selfish and wicked.
36 So be merciful (sympathetic, tender, responsive, and compassionate) even as your Father is [all these].
37 Judge not [neither pronouncing judgment nor subjecting to censure], and you will not be judged; do not condemn and pronounce guilty, and you will not be condemned and pronounced guilty; acquit and forgive and [ab]release (give up resentment, let it drop), and you will be acquitted and forgiven and [ac]released.
38 Give, and [gifts] will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will they pour [ad]into [the pouch formed by] the bosom [of your robe and used as a bag]. For with the measure you deal out [with the measure you use when you confer benefits on others], it will be measured back to you.
39 He further told them [ae]a proverb: Can a blind [man] guide and direct a blind [man]? Will they not both stumble into a ditch or a [af]hole in the ground?
40 A pupil is not superior to his teacher, but everyone [when he is] completely trained (readjusted, restored, set to rights, and perfected) will be like his teacher.
41 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye but do not notice or consider the beam [of timber] that is in your own eye?
42 Or how can you say to your brother, Brother, allow me to take out the speck that is in your eye, when you yourself do not see the beam that is in your own eye? You actor (pretender, hypocrite)! First take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.
43 For there is no good (healthy) tree that bears decayed (worthless, stale) fruit, nor on the other hand does a decayed (worthless, sickly) tree bear good fruit.
44 For each tree is known and identified by its own fruit; for figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor is a cluster of grapes picked from a bramblebush.
45 The upright (honorable, intrinsically good) man out of the good treasure [stored] in his heart produces what is upright (honorable and intrinsically good), and the evil man out of the evil storehouse brings forth that which is depraved (wicked and intrinsically evil); for out of the abundance (overflow) of the heart his mouth speaks.
46 Why do you call Me, Lord, Lord, and do not [practice] what I tell you?
47 For everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words [in order to heed their teaching] and does them, I will show you what he is like:
48 He is like a man building a house, who dug and went down deep and laid a foundation upon the rock; and when a flood arose, the torrent broke against that house and could not shake or move it, because it had been securely built or [ag]founded on a rock.
49 But he who merely hears and does not practice doing My words is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation, against which the torrent burst, and immediately it collapsed and fell, and the breaking and ruin of that house was great.
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation