Matthew 12
12
1At that time Jesus went on the sabbath through the cornfields; and his disciples were hungry, and began to pluck the ears and to eat. 2But the Pharisees, seeing it, said to him, Behold, thy disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on sabbath. 3But he said to them, Have ye not read what David did when he was hungry, and they that were with him? 4How he entered into the house of God, and ate the shewbread, which it was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those with him, but for the priests only? 5Or have ye not read in the law that on the sabbaths the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless? 6But I say unto you, that there is here what is greater than the temple. 7But if ye had known what is: I will have mercy and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. 8For the Son of man is Lord of the sabbath. 9And, going away from thence, he came into their synagogue. 10And behold, there was a man having his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath? that they might accuse him. 11But he said to them, What man shall there be of you who has one sheep, and if this fall into a pit on the sabbath, will not lay hold of it and raise it up? 12How much better then is a man than a sheep! So that it is lawful to do well on the sabbath. 13Then he says to the man, Stretch out thy hand. And he stretched it out, and it was restored sound as the other.
14But the Pharisees, having gone out, took counsel against him, how they might destroy him. 15But Jesus knowing it, withdrew thence, and great crowds followed him; and he healed them all: 16and charged them strictly that they should not make him publicly known: 17that that might be fulfilled which was spoken through Esaias the prophet, saying, 18Behold my servant, whom I have chosen, my beloved, in whom my soul has found its delight. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he shall shew forth judgment to the nations. 19He shall not strive or cry out, nor shall any one hear his voice in the streets; 20a bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, until he bring forth judgment unto victory; 21and on his name shall the nations hope.
22Then was brought to him one possessed by a demon, blind and dumb, and he healed him, so that the dumb man spake and saw. 23And all the crowds were amazed and said, Is this man the Son of David? 24But the Pharisees, having heard it, said, This man does not cast out demons, but by Beelzebub, prince of demons. 25But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not subsist. 26And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then shall his kingdom subsist? 27And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, your sons, by whom do they cast them out? For this reason they shall be your judges. 28But if I by the Spirit of God cast out demons, then indeed the kingdom of God is come upon you. 29Or how can any one enter into the house of the strong man and plunder his goods, unless first he bind the strong man? and then he will plunder his house. 30He that is not with me is against me, and he that gathers not with me scatters. 31For this reason I say unto you, Every sin and injurious speaking shall be forgiven to men, but speaking injuriously of the Spirit shall not be forgiven to men. 32And whosoever shall have spoken a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him; but whosoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this age nor in the coming one. 33Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or make the tree corrupt, and its fruit corrupt. For from the fruit the tree is known. 34Offspring of vipers! how can ye speak good things, being wicked? For of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35The good man out of the good treasure brings forth good things; and the wicked man out of the wicked treasure brings forth wicked things. 36But I say unto you, that every idle word which men shall say, they shall render an account of it in judgment-day: 37for by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
38Then answered him some of the scribes and Pharisees, saying, Teacher, we desire to see a sign from thee. 39But he, answering, said to them, A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and a sign shall not be given to it save the sign of Jonas the prophet. 40For even as Jonas was in the belly of the great fish three days and three nights, thus shall the Son of man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. 41Ninevites shall stand up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and behold, more than Jonas is here. 42A queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, more than Solomon is here. 43But when the unclean spirit has gone out of the man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and does not find it. 44Then he says, I will return to my house whence I came out; and having come, he finds it unoccupied, swept, and adorned. 45Then he goes and takes with himself seven other spirits worse than himself, and entering in, they dwell there; and the last condition of that man becomes worse than the first. Thus shall it be to this wicked generation also.
46But while he was yet speaking to the crowds, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, seeking to speak to him. 47Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren are standing without, seeking to speak to thee. 48But he answering said to him that spoke to him, Who is my mother, and who are my brethren? 49And, stretching out his hand to his disciples, he said, Behold my mother and my brethren; 50for whosoever shall do the will of my Father who is in the heavens, he is my brother, and sister, and mother.
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Matthew 12: DARBY
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First published in 1890. This edition is maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Matthew 12
12
Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath Day
1One Sabbath day Jesus walked through the grainfields. His disciples were hungry. So they began to break off some heads of grain and eat them. 2The Pharisees saw this. They said to Jesus, “Look! It is against the Law to do this on the Sabbath day. But your disciples are doing it anyway!”
3Jesus answered, “Haven’t you read about what David did? He and his men were hungry. 4So he entered the house of God. He and his men ate the holy bread. Only priests were allowed to eat it. 5Haven’t you read the Law? It tells how every Sabbath day the priests in the temple have to do their work on that day. But they are not considered guilty. 6I tell you that something more important than the temple is here. 7Scripture says, ‘I want mercy and not sacrifice.’ (Hosea 6:6) You don’t know what those words mean. If you did, you would not bring charges against those who are not guilty. 8The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath day.”
9Going on from that place, Jesus went into their synagogue. 10A man with a weak and twisted hand was there. The Pharisees were trying to accuse Jesus of a crime. So they asked him, “Does the Law allow us to heal on the Sabbath day?”
11He said to them, “What if one of your sheep falls into a pit on the Sabbath day? Won’t you take hold of it and lift it out? 12A person is worth more than sheep! So the Law allows us to do good on the Sabbath day.”
13Then Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out. It had been made as good as new. It was just as good as the other hand. 14But the Pharisees went out and planned how to kill Jesus.
God’s Chosen Servant
15Jesus knew all about the Pharisees’ plans. So he left that place. A large crowd followed him, and he healed all who were sick. 16But he warned them not to tell other people about him. 17This was to make what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah come true. It says,
18“Here is my servant. I have chosen him.
He is the one I love. I am very pleased with him.
I will put my Spirit on him.
He will announce to the nations that everything will be made right.
19He will not argue or cry out.
No one will hear his voice in the streets.
20He will not break a bent twig.
He will not put out a dimly burning flame.
He will make right win over wrong.
21The nations will put their hope in him.” (Isaiah 42:1–4)
Jesus and Beelzebul
22A man controlled by demons was brought to Jesus. The man was blind and could not speak. Jesus healed him. Then the man could speak and see. 23All the people were amazed. They said, “Could this be the Son of David?”
24The Pharisees heard this. So they said, “This fellow drives out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons.”
25Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he said to them, “Every kingdom that fights against itself will be destroyed. Every city or family that is divided against itself will not stand. 26If Satan drives out Satan, he fights against himself. Then how can his kingdom stand? 27You say I drive out demons by the power of Beelzebul. Then by whose power do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. 28But suppose I drive out demons by the Spirit of God. Then the kingdom of God has come to you.
29“Or think about this. How can you enter a strong man’s house and just take what the man owns? You must first tie him up. Then you can rob his house.
30“Anyone who is not with me is against me. Anyone who does not gather sheep with me scatters them. 31So here is what I tell you. Every kind of sin and every evil word spoken against God will be forgiven. But speaking evil things against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. 32Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven. But anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. A person like that won’t be forgiven either now or in days to come.
33“If you make a tree good, its fruit will be good. If you make a tree bad, its fruit will be bad. You can tell a tree by its fruit. 34You nest of poisonous snakes! How can you who are evil say anything good? Your mouths say everything that is in your hearts. 35A good man says good things. These come from the good that is stored up inside him. An evil man says evil things. These come from the evil that is stored up inside him. 36But here is what I tell you. On judgment day, everyone will have to account for every empty word they have spoken. 37By your words you will be found guilty or not guilty.”
The Sign of Jonah
38Some of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law came to Jesus. They said, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”
39He answered, “Evil and unfaithful people ask for a sign! But none will be given except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40Jonah was in the belly of a huge fish for three days and three nights. Something like that will happen to the Son of Man. He will spend three days and three nights in the grave. 41The men of Nineveh will stand up on judgment day with the people now living. And the Ninevites will prove that these people are guilty. The men of Nineveh turned away from their sins when Jonah preached to them. And now something more important than Jonah is here. 42The Queen of the South will stand up on judgment day with the people now living. And she will prove that they are guilty. She came from very far away to listen to Solomon’s wisdom. And now something more important than Solomon is here.
43“What happens when an evil spirit comes out of a person? It goes through dry areas looking for a place to rest. But it doesn’t find it. 44Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives there, it finds the house empty. The house has been swept clean and put in order. 45Then the evil spirit goes and takes with it seven other spirits more evil than itself. They go in and live there. That person is worse off than before. That is how it will be with the evil people of today.”
Jesus’ Mother and Brothers
46While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside. They wanted to speak to him. 47Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside. They want to speak to you.”
48Jesus replied to him, “Who is my mother? And who are my brothers?” 49Jesus pointed to his disciples. He said, “Here is my mother! Here are my brothers! 50Anyone who does what my Father in heaven wants is my brother or sister or mother.”
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