Mat 12 | NASB1995 | STEP | 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 .

1 ^aAt that ^{▼▼ Or occasion}time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to ^cpick the heads of grain and eat. 2 But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples do what ^dis 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 ^ethey ate the ^{▼▼ Or showbread; lit loaves of presentation}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 ^{▼▼ Or profane}break the Sabbath and are innocent? 6 “But I say to you that something ^hgreater than the temple is here. 7 “But if you had known what this ^{▼▼ Lit is}means, ‘ ^jI desire ^{▼▼ Or mercy} compassion, and not a sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.

Lord of the Sabbath

8 “For ^lthe Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

9 ^mDeparting from there, He went into their synagogue. 10 And a man was there whose hand was withered. And they questioned ^{▼▼ Lit Him}Jesus, asking, ^o“Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse Him. 11 And He said to them, ^p“What man ^{▼▼ Lit will be from you}is there among you who ^{▼▼ Lit will have}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 ^s“How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do ^{▼▼ Lit well}good on the Sabbath.” 13 Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand!” ^uHe stretched it out, and it was restored to ^{▼▼ Lit health}normal, like the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and ^{▼▼ Lit took counsel
,} ^xconspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.

15 But Jesus, ^{▼▼ Lit knowing}aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and ^zHe healed them all, 16 and ^aawarned them not to ^{▼▼ Lit make Him known}tell who He was. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: 18 ^ac“Behold, My ^{▼▼ Lit Child} Servant whom I ^{▼▼ Lit chose} have chosen;
^af My Beloved in whom My soul ^{▼▼ Or took pleasure}is well- pleased;
^ahI will put My Spirit upon Him,
^ai And He shall proclaim ^{▼▼ Or judgment} justice to the ^{▼▼ Or nations} Gentiles.
19 ^al“He will not quarrel, nor cry out;
Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.
20 ^am“A battered reed He will not break off,
And a smoldering wick He will not put out,
Until He ^{▼▼ Or puts forth} leads ^{▼▼ Or judgment} justice to victory.
21 ^ap“And in His name the ^{▼▼ Or nations} Gentiles will hope.”

The Pharisees Rebuked

22 ^arThen a ^asdemon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to ^{▼▼ Lit Him}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 ^auSon of David, can he?” 24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man ^avcasts out demons only by ^{▼▼ Or Beezebul; i.e. ruler of demons}Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”

25 ^axAnd ^ayknowing their thoughts Jesus said to them, ^{▼▼ Lit Every}“Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and ^{▼▼ Lit Every}any city or house divided against itself will not stand. 26 “If ^bbSatan casts out Satan, he ^{▼▼ Lit was}is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? 27 “If I ^bdby ^{▼▼ V 24, note 1}Beelzebul cast out demons, ^bfby whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges. 28 “But ^bgif 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 ^bh“He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

31 ^bi“Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. 32 ^bj“Whoever ^{▼▼ Lit will speak}speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever ^{▼▼ Lit will speak}speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in ^bmthis 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 ^bnthe tree is known by its fruit. 34 ^bo“You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak ^{▼▼ Lit good things}what is good? ^bqFor the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. 35 ^br“The good man brings out of his good treasure ^{▼▼ Lit good things}what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure ^{▼▼ Lit evil things}what is evil. 36 “But I tell you that every ^{▼▼ Or useless}careless word that people ^{▼▼ Lit will speak}speak, they shall give an accounting for it in ^bwthe day of judgment. 37 “For ^{▼▼ Or in accordance with}by your words you will be justified, and ^{▼▼ Or in accordance with}by your words you will be condemned.”

The Desire for Signs

38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, ^bzwe want to see a ^{▼▼ I.e. attesting miracle}sign from You.” 39 But He answered and said to them, ^cb“An evil and adulterous generation craves for a ^{▼▼ I.e. attesting miracle}sign; and yet no ^{▼▼ I.e. attesting miracle}sign will be given to it but the ^{▼▼ I.e. attesting miracle}sign of Jonah the prophet; 40 for just as ^cf Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will ^cgthe Son of Man be ^chthree days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 ^ci“The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because ^cjthey repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, ^cksomething greater than Jonah is here. 42 ^cl“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, ^cmsomething greater than Solomon is here.

43 ^cn“Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, 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 takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and ^cothe last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”

Changed Relationships

46 ^cpWhile He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His ^cqmother and ^crbrothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. 47 Someone said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You.” ^{▼▼ This verse is not found in early mss} 48 But ^{▼▼ Lit He}Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” 49 And stretching out 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.”