Matthew 11–12

And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities. ^2aNow when John had heard ^bin the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, ³and said unto him, Art thou ^che that should come, or do we look for another? ⁴Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: ^5dthe blind receive their sight, and ^dthe lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and ^dthe deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and ^ethe poor have the gospel preached to them. ⁶And blessed is he, whosoever shall not ^fbe offended in me.

⁷And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out ^ffinto the wilderness to see? ^gA reed shaken with the wind? ⁸But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. ⁹But what went ye out for to see? ^hA prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. ¹⁰For this is he, of whom it is written, ⁱBehold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. ¹¹Verily I say unto you, Among them that are ^kborn of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ^12lAnd from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. ^13lFor all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. ¹⁴And if ye will receive it, this is ^mElias, which was for to come. ¹⁵ⁿHe that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

^16oBut whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their ^oofellows, ¹⁷and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have ^pmourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. ¹⁸For John came neither ^qeating nor ^rdrinking, and they say, He hath a devil. ¹⁹The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, ^sa friend of ^sspublicans and sinners. But wisdom ^tis justified ^uof ^vher children.

^20wThen began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not. ²¹Woe unto thee, Chorazin, woe unto thee, ^xBethsaida: ^yfor if the mighty works which were done in you, had been done in ^zTyre and Sidon they would have repented long ago in ^asackcloth and ^bashes. ^22cBut I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for ^zTyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. ²³And thou, Capernaum, ^dwhich art exalted unto heaven, ^eshalt be brought down to hell: ^yfor if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. ^24cBut I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.

^25fAt that time Jesus ^ganswered and said, I thank thee, ^hO Father, Lord of heaven and earth, ⁱbecause thou hast hid these things ^kfrom the wise and prudent, and hast ^mrevealed them unto babes. ²⁶Even so, ^hFather: for so it seemed good in thy sight. ²⁷ⁿAll things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, ^osave the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.

²⁸Come unto ^pme, all ye that labour and are ^qheavy laden, and I will give you rest. ^29rTake my yoke upon you, and ^slearn of me; for I am ^tmeek and lowly in heart: and ^uye shall find rest unto your souls. ³⁰For ^xmy yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

XII.At that time ^aJesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were a hungred, and ^bbegan to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat. ²But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that ^cwhich is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day. ³But he said unto them, Have ye not read ^dwhat David did, when he was a hungred, and ^ethey that were with him; ⁴how he entered into the house of God, and did eat ^fthe shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, ^gbut only for the priests? ⁵Or have ye not read ^hin the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless? ⁶But I say unto you, That in this place is one ⁱgreater than the temple. ⁷But if ye had known ^kwhat this meaneth, ^lI will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. ⁸For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.

⁹And when he was departed thence, ^mhe went into their synagogue: ¹⁰and behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, ⁿIs it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him. ¹¹And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? ^12oHow much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days. ¹³Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.

¹⁴Then the Pharisees went out, ^pand held a council against him, how they might destroy him. ¹⁵But when Jesus knew it, ^qhe withdrew himself from thence: ^rand great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all, ¹⁶and ^scharged them that they should not make him known: ¹⁷that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, ^18tBehold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, ^uin whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles. ¹⁹He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. ²⁰A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment ^xunto victory. ^21yAnd in his name shall the Gentiles trust.

^22zThen was brought unto him one ^apossessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. ²³And all the people ^aawere amazed, and said, Is this ^bthe son of David? ²⁴But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, ^cThis fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. ²⁵And Jesus ^dknew their thoughts, ^eand said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: ²⁶and if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? ²⁷And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do ^fyour children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. ²⁸But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God ^gis come unto you. ²⁹Or else ^hhow can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and ⁱthen he will spoil his house. ^30kHe that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. ^31lWherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the ^mHoly Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. ³²And whosoever speaketh a word ⁿagainst the Son of man, ^oit shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. ^33pEither make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: ^pqfor the tree is known by his fruit. ^34rO generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? ^sfor out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. ³⁵A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. ³⁶But I say unto you, That every ^tidle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. ³⁷For ^uby thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

³⁸Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, ^xMaster, we would see a sign from thee. ³⁹But he answered and said to them, ^yAn evil and ^zadulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: ⁴⁰for ^aas Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. ⁴¹The men of ^bNineveh shall rise ^cin judgment with this generation, and ^dshall condemn it: because ^ethey repented at the preaching of Jonas; and behold, ^fa greater than Jonas is here. ⁴²The ^gqueen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and ^dshall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, ^fa greater than Solomon is here.

^43hWhen the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through ⁱdry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. ⁴⁴Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and ^jgarnished. ⁴⁵Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and ^kthe last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.

⁴⁶While he yet talked to the people, ^lbehold, his mother and ^mhis brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him. ⁴⁷Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee. ⁴⁸But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? ⁴⁹And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren. ⁵⁰For ⁿwhosoever shall do the will of ^omy Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.

XIII.