Mat 12 | NASB2020 | 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 ^{▼▼Or On that occasion
,} ^bAt that 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 Now when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing 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 ^{▼▼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}violate the Sabbath, and yet 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, ^{▼▼Lit and not}rather than sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned ^{▼▼Plural in the Gr}the innocent.

Lord of the Sabbath

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

9 ^oDeparting from there, He went into their synagogue. 10 And a man was there whose hand was withered. And they questioned ^{▼▼Lit Him}Jesus, asking, “ ^qIs it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” --so that they might bring charges against Him. 11 But He said to them, “ ^rWhat 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 ^uHow much more valuable then is a person 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!” ^wHe stretched it out, and it was restored to ^{▼▼Lit health}normal, like the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and ^{▼▼Lit took counsel
,} ^zconspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.

15 But Jesus, ^{▼▼Lit knowing}aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and ^abHe healed them all, 16 and ^acwarned them not to ^{▼▼Lit make Him known}tell who He was. 17 This happened so that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled:

18 “ ^aeBehold, My ^{▼▼Lit Child}Servant whom I ^{▼▼Lit chose}have chosen;
^ahMy Beloved in whom My soul ^{▼▼Or took pleasure}delights;
^ajI will put My Spirit upon Him,
^akAnd He will proclaim ^{▼▼Or judgment}justice to the ^{▼▼Or nations}Gentiles.
19 “ ^anHe will not quarrel, nor cry out;
Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.
20 “ ^aoA bent reed He will not break OFF,
And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish,
Until He ^{▼▼Or brings forth}leads ^{▼▼Or judgment}justice to victory.
21 “ ^arAnd in His name the ^{▼▼Or nations}Gentiles will hope.”

The Pharisees Rebuked

22 ^atThen a ^audemon-possessed man who was blind and unable to speak was brought to ^{▼▼Lit Him}Jesus, and He healed him so that the man who was unable to speak talked and ^{▼▼Lit saw}could see. 23 And all the crowds were amazed and were saying, “This man cannot be the ^axSon of David, can he?” 24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man ^aycasts out demons only by ^{▼▼Or Beezebul; meaning uncertain, perhaps lord prince, referring to Satan}Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”

25 ^baAnd ^bbknowing 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 ^bcSatan is casting out Satan, he ^{▼▼Lit was}has become divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if ^beby ^{▼▼See note v 24}Beelzebul I cast out the demons, ^bgby whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they will be your judges. 28 But ^bhif 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 ^biThe one who is not with Me is against Me; and the one who does not gather with Me scatters.

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

Words Reveal Character

33 “Either ^{▼▼Lit make}assume the tree to be good as well as its fruit good, or ^{▼▼Lit make}assume the tree to be bad as well as its fruit bad; for ^bothe tree is known by its fruit. 34 ^bpYou ^{▼▼Or brood}offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, express any good things? ^brFor the mouth speaks from that which fills the heart. 35 ^bsThe 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 ^{▼▼Or useless}careless word that people ^{▼▼Lit will speak}speak, they will give an account of it on the ^bvday 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, ^bywe want to see a ^{▼▼I.e., confirming miracle}sign from You.” 39 But He answered and said to them, “ ^caAn evil and adulterous generation craves a ^{▼▼I.e., confirming miracle}sign; and so no ^{▼▼I.e., confirming miracle}sign will be given to it except the ^{▼▼I.e., confirming miracle}sign of Jonah the prophet; 40 for just as ^ceJonah was in the stomach of the sea monster for three days and three nights, so will ^cfthe Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for ^cgthree days and three nights. 41 ^chThe men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because ^cithey repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something ^cjgreater than Jonah is here. 42 ^ck 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 ^clgreater than Solomon is here.

43 “ ^cmNow 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 ^cnthe 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 ^coWhile He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His ^cpmother and ^cqbrothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. 47 [ ^{▼▼This verse is not found in early mss}Someone said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak to You.”] 48 But ^{▼▼Lit He}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.”