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Matthew 12

Matthew 11Matthew 13

Matthew 12 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Sabbath Questions

12 [a]At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat. 2 Now when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what 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 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]violate the Sabbath, and yet are innocent? 6 But I say to you that something greater than the temple is here. 7 But if you had known what this [d]means: ‘I desire [e]compassion, [f]rather than sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned [g]the innocent.

Lord of the Sabbath

8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

9 Departing from there, He went into their synagogue. 10 And a man was there whose hand was withered. And they questioned [h]Jesus, asking, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might bring charges against Him. 11 But He said to them, “What man [i]is there among you who [j]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 How much more valuable then is a person than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do [k]good on the Sabbath.” 13 Then He *said to the man, “Stretch out your hand!” He stretched it out, and it was restored to [l]normal, like the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and [m]conspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.

15 But Jesus, [n]aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and He healed them all, 16 and warned them not to [o]tell who He was. 17 This happened so that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled:

18 “Behold, My [p]Servant whom I [q]have chosen;
My Beloved in whom My soul [r]delights;
I will put My Spirit upon Him,
And He will proclaim [s]justice to the [t]Gentiles.
19 He will not quarrel, nor cry out;
Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.
20 A bent reed He will not break off,
And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish,
Until He [u]leads [v]justice to victory.
21 And in His name the [w]Gentiles will hope.”

The Pharisees Rebuked

22 Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and unable to speak was brought to [x]Jesus, and He healed him so that the man who was unable to speak talked and [y]could see. 23 And all the crowds were amazed and were saying, “This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?” 24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man casts out demons only by [z]Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”

25 And 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 Satan is casting out Satan, he [aa]has become divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if by [ab]Beelzebul I cast out the demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they will be your judges. 28 But 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 The one who is not with Me is against Me; and the one who does not gather with Me scatters.

31 “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. 32 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 this age or in the age to come.

Words Reveal Character

33 “Either [ac]assume the tree to be good as well as its fruit good, or [ad]assume the tree to be bad as well as its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. 34 You [ae]offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, express any good things? For the mouth speaks from that which fills the heart. 35 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 [af]careless word that people [ag]speak, they will give an account of it on the day of judgment. 37 For [ah]by your words you will be justified, and [ai]by your words you will be condemned.”

The Desire for Signs

38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a [aj]sign from You.” 39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves a [ak]sign; and so no [al]sign will be given to it except the [am]sign of Jonah the prophet; 40 for just as Jonah was in the stomach of the sea monster 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 men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. 42 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 greater than Solomon is here.

43 “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 the last condition of that person becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”

Changed Relationships

46 While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His mother and brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. 47 [[an]Someone said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak to You.”] 48 But [ao]Jesus replied to the one who was telling Him and said, “Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?” 49 And extending His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold: My mother and My brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother, and sister, and mother.”

Footnotes:

  1. Matthew 12:1 Or On that occasion
  2. Matthew 12:4 Lit loaves of presentation
  3. Matthew 12:5 Or profane
  4. Matthew 12:7 Lit is
  5. Matthew 12:7 Or mercy
  6. Matthew 12:7 Lit and not
  7. Matthew 12:7 Plural in the Gr
  8. Matthew 12:10 Lit Him
  9. Matthew 12:11 Lit will be from you
  10. Matthew 12:11 Lit will have
  11. Matthew 12:12 Lit well
  12. Matthew 12:13 Lit health
  13. Matthew 12:14 Lit took counsel
  14. Matthew 12:15 Lit knowing
  15. Matthew 12:16 Lit make Him known
  16. Matthew 12:18 Lit Child
  17. Matthew 12:18 Lit chose
  18. Matthew 12:18 Or took pleasure
  19. Matthew 12:18 Or judgment
  20. Matthew 12:18 Or nations
  21. Matthew 12:20 Or brings forth
  22. Matthew 12:20 Or judgment
  23. Matthew 12:21 Or nations
  24. Matthew 12:22 Lit Him
  25. Matthew 12:22 Lit saw
  26. Matthew 12:24 Or Beezebul; meaning uncertain, perhaps lord prince, referring to Satan
  27. Matthew 12:26 Lit was
  28. Matthew 12:27 See note v 24
  29. Matthew 12:33 Lit make
  30. Matthew 12:33 Lit make
  31. Matthew 12:34 Or brood
  32. Matthew 12:36 Or useless
  33. Matthew 12:36 Lit will speak
  34. Matthew 12:37 Or in accordance with
  35. Matthew 12:37 Or in accordance with
  36. Matthew 12:38 I.e., confirming miracle
  37. Matthew 12:39 I.e., confirming miracle
  38. Matthew 12:39 I.e., confirming miracle
  39. Matthew 12:39 I.e., confirming miracle
  40. Matthew 12:47 This verse is not found in early mss
  41. Matthew 12:48 Lit He
New American Standard Bible (NASB)

New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.

Matthew 12 New International Version (NIV)

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

12 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. 2 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”

3 He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. 5 Or haven’t you read in the Law that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are innocent? 6 I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. 7 If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’[a] you would not have condemned the innocent. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

9 Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, 10 and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

11 He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.

God’s Chosen Servant

15 Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. A large crowd followed him, and he healed all who were ill. 16 He warned them not to tell others about him. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:

18 “Here is my servant whom I have chosen,
    the one I love, in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
    and he will proclaim justice to the nations.
19 He will not quarrel or cry out;
    no one will hear his voice in the streets.
20 A bruised reed he will not break,
    and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out,
till he has brought justice through to victory.
21     In his name the nations will put their hope.”[b]

Jesus and Beelzebul

22 Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. 23 All the people were astonished and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”

24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons.”

25 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. 26 If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? 27 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. 28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

29 “Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house.

30 “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. 31 And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

33 “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. 35 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. 36 But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

The Sign of Jonah

38 Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”

39 He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here. 42 The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now something greater than Solomon is here.

43 “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers

46 While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. 47 Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.”

48 He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

Footnotes:

  1. Matthew 12:7 Hosea 6:6
  2. Matthew 12:21 Isaiah 42:1-4
New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
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