Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit

^22 (A)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 (B)And all the people were amazed, and said, ^(C)“Can this be the Son of David?” ²⁴ But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, ^(D)“It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.” ^25 (E)Knowing their thoughts, ^(F)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, ^(G)by whom do ^(H)your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. ²⁸ But if it is ^(I)by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then ^(J)the kingdom of God has come upon you. ²⁹ Or ^(K)how can someone enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed ^(L)he may plunder his house. ^30 (M)Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. ^31 (N)Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but ^(O)the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. ³² And whoever speaks a word ^(P)against the Son of Man ^(Q)will be forgiven, but ^(R)whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in ^(S)this age or in the age to come.

A Tree Is Known by Its Fruit

^33 (T)“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, ^(U)for the tree is known by its fruit. ^34 (V)You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, ^(W)when you are evil? ^(X)For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. ^35 (Y)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, ^(Z)on the day of judgment ^(AA)people will give account for ^(AB)every careless word they speak, ³⁷ for ^(AC)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, ^(AD)we wish to see a sign from you.” ³⁹ But he answered them, ^(AE)“An evil and ^(AF)adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. ⁴⁰ For ^(AG)just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, ^(AH)so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. ^41 (AI)The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and ^(AJ)condemn it, for ^(AK)they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, ^(AL)something greater than Jonah is here. ^42 (AM)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, ^(AN)something greater than Solomon is here.

Return of an Unclean Spirit

⁴³ “When ^(AO)the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through ^(AP)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 ^(AQ)the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this ^(AR)evil generation.”

Jesus' Mother and Brothers

⁴⁶ While he was still speaking to the people, behold, ^(AS)his mother and his ^(AT)brothers^[a] stood outside, asking to speak to him.^{[b] 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 ^(AU)whoever ^(AV)does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

²⁰ Then he went ^(A)home, and the crowd gathered again, ^(B)so that they could not even eat. ^21 (C)And when ^(D)his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He ^(E)is out of his mind.”

Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit

²² And ^(F)the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, ^(G)“He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.” ^23 (H)And he called them to him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? ²⁴ If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. ²⁵ And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. ²⁶ And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. ²⁷ But ^(I)no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. ^(J)Then indeed he may plunder his house.

^28 (K)“Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, ²⁹ but whoever ^(L)blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— ³⁰ for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

Jesus' Mother and Brothers

^31 (M)And his mother and his ^(N)brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. ³² And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers^[a] are outside, seeking you.” ³³ And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” ³⁴ And ^(O)looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! ^35 (P)For whoever ^(Q)does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

Jesus and Beelzebul

^14 (A)Now he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled. ¹⁵ But some of them said, “He casts out demons ^(B)by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,” ¹⁶ while others, ^(C)to test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven. ^17 (D)But he, ^(E)knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls. ¹⁸ And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. ¹⁹ And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, ^(F)by whom do ^(G)your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. ²⁰ But if it is by ^(H)the finger of God that I cast out demons, then ^(I)the kingdom of God has come upon you. ²¹ When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; ^22 (J)but when one stronger than he attacks him and ^(K)overcomes him, he takes away his ^(L)armor in which he trusted and ^(M)divides his spoil. ^23 (N)Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

Return of an Unclean Spirit

^24 (O)“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through ^(P)waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ ²⁵ And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. ²⁶ Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And ^(Q)the last state of that person is worse than the first.”

True Blessedness

²⁷ As he said these things, ^(R)a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, ^(S)“Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” ²⁸ But he said, ^(T)“Blessed rather are those ^(U)who hear the word of God and ^(V)keep it!”

The Sign of Jonah

^29 (W)When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, ^(X)“This generation is an evil generation. ^(Y)It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. ³⁰ For as ^(Z)Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. ^31 (AA)The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and ^(AB)condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, ^(AC)something greater than Solomon is here. ^32 (AD)The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and ^(AE)condemn it, for ^(AF)they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, ^(AG)something greater than Jonah is here.

The Light in You

^33 (AH)“No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. ³⁴ Your eye is ^(AI)the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is ^(AJ)bad, your body is full of darkness. ^35 (AK)Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness. ³⁶ If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, ^(AL)as when a lamp with its rays gives you light.”

Jesus' Mother and Brothers

^19 (A)Then his mother and ^(B)his brothers^[a] came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. ²⁰ And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you.” ²¹ But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those ^(C)who hear the word of God and do it.”