jCited from Hos. 6:6; [Mic. 6:6-8]
uMark 1:25 (Gk.); 3:12; 8:30; Luke 4:41 (Gk.); 9:21; See ch. 8:4
wCited from Isa. 42:1-3
ar[See ver. 31 above]
ay[See ver. 34 above]
bn[See ver. 41 above]
ct[See ver. 16 above]
dg[See ver. 19 above]
dvCited from Ps. 78:2
ef[See ver. 39 above]
es[See ver. 44 above]
et[See ver. 44 above]

Matthew 12

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

1At that time aJesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and bthey began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, cLook, your disciples are doing dwhat is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” 3He said to them, e“Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: 4how he entered the house of God and ate fthe bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5Or have you not read gin the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? 6I tell you, hsomething greater than the temple is here. 7And if you had known iwhat this means, j‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8For kthe Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

A Man with a Withered Hand

9He went on from there and lentered their synagogue. 10And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, m“Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”— nso that they might accuse him. 11He said to them, Which one of you who has a sheep, oif it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 pOf how much more value is a man than a sheep! So qit is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” 13Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And rthe man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. 14But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.

God’s Chosen Servant

15Jesus, aware of this, swithdrew from there. And tmany followed him, and he healed them all 16and uordered them not to make him known. 17 vThis was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah:

18 wBehold, my xservant whom I have chosen,
my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased.
yI will put my Spirit upon him,
and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.
19He will not quarrel or cry aloud,
nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets;
20a bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not quench,
until he brings justice to victory;
21 zand in his name the Gentiles will hope.”

Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit

22 aaThen 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 abAnd all the people were amazed, and said, acCan this be the Son of David?” 24But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, ad“It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.” 25 aeKnowing their thoughts, afhe said to them, Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. 26And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, agby whom do ahyour sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 28But if it is aiby the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then ajthe kingdom of God has come upon you. 29Or akhow can someone enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed alhe may plunder his house. 30 amWhoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. 31 anTherefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but aothe blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32And whoever speaks a word apagainst the Son of Man aqwill be forgiven, but arwhoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in asthis age or in the age to come.

A Tree Is Known by Its Fruit

33 atEither make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, aufor the tree is known by its fruit. 34 avYou brood of vipers! How can you speak good, awwhen you are evil? axFor out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 ayThe good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. 36I tell you, azon the day of judgment bapeople will give account for bbevery careless word they speak, 37for bcby your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

The Sign of Jonah

38Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, bdwe wish to see a sign from you.” 39But he answered them, be“An evil and bfadulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40For bgjust as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, bhso will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 biThe men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and bjcondemn it, for bkthey repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, blsomething greater than Jonah is here. 42 bmThe 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, bnsomething greater than Solomon is here.

Return of an Unclean Spirit

43When bothe unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through bpwaterless places seeking rest, but finds none. 44Then 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. 45Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and bqthe last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this brevil generation.”

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers

46While he was still speaking to the people, behold, bshis mother and his btbrothers stood outside, asking to speak to him.
Some manuscripts insert verse 47: Someone told him, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak to you”
48But he replied to the man who told him, Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, Here are my mother and my brothers! 50For bvwhoever bwdoes the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

Matthew 13

The Parable of the Sower

1That same day Jesus went out of the house bxand sat beside the sea. 2And great crowds gathered about him, byso that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3And bzhe told them many things in parables, saying: ca“A sower went out to sow. 4And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6but cbwhen the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, ccthey withered away. 7Other seeds fell among cdthorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some cea hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 cfHe who has ears,
Some manuscripts add here and in verse 43 to hear
let him hear.”


The Purpose of the Parables

10Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11And he answered them, chTo you it has been given to know cithe secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 cjFor to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, ckeven what he has will be taken away. 13This is why I speak to them in parables, because clseeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, cmnor do they understand. 14Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:

cn“‘“You will indeed hear but never understand,
and you will indeed see but never perceive.”
15For this people’s heart has grown dull,
and with their ears cothey can barely hear,
and cptheir eyes they have closed,
lest they should see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and cqunderstand with their heart
and crturn, and I would heal them.’
16But csblessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17 ctFor truly, I say to you, cumany prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

The Parable of the Sower Explained

18 cvHear then the parable of the sower: 19When anyone hears the word of cwthe kingdom and cxdoes not understand it, cythe evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. 20As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately czreceives it with joy, 21yet he has no root in himself, but daendures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately dbhe falls away.
Or stumbles
22As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but ddthe cares of dethe world and dfthe deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 23As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and dgunderstands it. He indeed dhbears fruit and yields, in one case dia hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

The Parable of the Weeds

24He put another parable before them, saying, dj“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, 25but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds
Probably darnel, a wheat-like weed
among the wheat and went away.
26So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27And the servants
Greek bondservants; also verse 28
of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’
28He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29But he said, dmNo, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, " dnGather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn."’”

The Mustard Seed and the Leaven

31He put another parable before them, saying, do“The kingdom of heaven is like dpa grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

33He told them another parable. dq“The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in drthree measures of flour, till it was dsall leavened.”

Prophecy and Parables

34 dtAll these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. 35This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:
Some manuscripts Isaiah the prophet


dv“I will open my mouth in parables;
dwI will utter what has been hidden dxsince the foundation of the world.”

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

36Then he left the crowds and went into dythe house. And his disciples came to him, saying, dzExplain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” 37He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38The field is the world, and the good seed is eathe sons of the kingdom. The weeds are ebthe sons of the evil one, 39and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. ecThe harvest is edthe end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40Just as the weeds eeare gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at efthe end of the age. 41 egThe Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all ehcauses of sin and eiall law-breakers, 42 ejand throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place ekthere will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43Then elthe righteous will shine like the sun emin the kingdom of their Father. enHe who has ears, let him hear.

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure

44The kingdom of heaven eois like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy ephe goes and sells all that he has and eqbuys that field.

The Parable of the Pearl of Great Value

45Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46who, on finding erone pearl of great value, eswent and sold all that he had and etbought it.

The Parable of the Net

47Again, the kingdom of heaven is eulike a net that was thrown into the sea and evgathered fish of every kind. 48When it was full, ewmen drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. 49So it will be at exthe end of the age. The angels will come out and eyseparate the evil from the righteous 50 ezand throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place fathere will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

New and Old Treasures

51 fb“Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” 52And he said to them, Therefore every fcscribe fdwho has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who febrings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

53And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, 54 ffand coming to fghis hometown fhhe taught them in their synagogue, so that fithey were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55 fjIs not this fkthe carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not flhis brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57And fmthey took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, fn“A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” 58And he did not do many mighty works there, fobecause of their unbelief.

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