Matthew 12:22–45

A House Divided

²²Then a demon-possessed man ^wwho was blind and unable to speak was brought to Him. He healed him, so that the man ^xcould both speak and see. ^y23And all the crowds were astounded and said, “Perhaps this is the Son of David!” ^z

²⁴When the Pharisees heard this, they said, “The man drives out demons only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.” ^a

²⁵Knowing their thoughts, ^bHe told them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is headed for destruction, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. ²⁶If Satan ^cdrives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? ²⁷And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, who is it your sons drive them out by? For this reason they will be your judges. ^d28If I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you. ^e29How can someone enter a strong man’s house and steal his possessions unless he first ties up ^fthe strong man? Then he can rob his house. ³⁰Anyone who is not with Me is against Me, ^gand anyone who does not gather with Me scatters. ³¹Because of this, ^hI tell you, people will be forgiven every sin and blasphemy, ⁱbut the blasphemy against ^jthe Spirit will not be forgiven. ^k32Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, ^lit will be forgiven him. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the one to come. ^m

A Tree and Its Fruit

³³“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad ⁿand its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. ^o34Brood of vipers! How can you speak good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks from the overflow ^pof the heart. ³⁵A good man produces good things from his storeroom of good, ^qand an evil man produces evil things from his storeroom of evil. ^r36I tell you that on the day of judgment ^speople will have to account ^tfor every careless word they speak. ^u37For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

The Sign of Jonah

³⁸Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” ^v

³⁹But He answered them, ^w“An evil and adulterous generation demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. ^x40For as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish three days and three nights, ^yso the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. ⁴¹The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, ^zbecause they repented at Jonah’s proclamation; and look—something greater than Jonah is here! ^a42The queen of the south ^bwill rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and look—something greater than Solomon is here!

An Unclean Spirit’s Return

⁴³“When an ^•unclean spirit comes out of a man, it roams through waterless places looking for rest but doesn’t find any. ^c44Then it says, ‘I’ll go back to my house that I came from.’ And returning, it finds the house vacant, swept, and put in order. ⁴⁵Then off it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and settle down there. As a result, that man’s last condition is worse than the first. ^dThat’s how it will also be with this evil generation.”