Matthew 12:1–31

Lord of the Sabbath

^1aAt that ¹time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to ^bpick the heads of grain and eat.

²But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples do what ^ais not lawful to do on a Sabbath.”

³But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions,

⁴how he entered the house of God, and ^athey ate the ¹consecrated 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 ¹break the Sabbath and are innocent?

⁶“But I say to you that something ^agreater than the temple is here.

⁷“But if you had known what this ¹means, ‘^aI desire ²compassion, and not a sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.

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

Jesus Heals a Man on the Sabbath

^9aAnd departing from there, He went into their synagogue.

¹⁰And behold, a man was there whose hand was withered. And they questioned ¹Jesus, saying, “^aIs it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse Him.

¹¹And He said to them, “^aWhat man ¹is there among you who has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out?

¹²“^aHow much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do ¹good on the Sabbath.”

¹³Then He ^*said to the man, “Stretch out your hand!” ^aHe stretched it out, and it was restored to ¹normal, like the other.

¹⁴But going out, the Pharisees ^atook counsel together against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.

¹⁵But Jesus, ¹aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and ^aHe healed them all,

¹⁶and ^awarned them not to make Him known,

¹⁷in order that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled, saying,

¹⁸“^aBehold, My ¹Servant whom I ²have chosen;

^bMy Beloved in whom My soul ³is well-pleased;

^cI will put My Spirit upon Him,

^dAnd He shall proclaim ⁴justice to the ⁵Gentiles.

¹⁹“^aHe will not quarrel, nor cry out;

Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.

²⁰“^aA battered reed He will not break off,

And a smoldering wick He will not put out,

Until He ¹leads ²justice to victory.

²¹“^aAnd in His name the ¹Gentiles will hope.”

A Kingdom Divided

^22aThen a ^bdemon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to ¹Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw.

²³And all the crowds were astounded, and were saying, “Can this man really be the ^aSon of David?”

²⁴But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man does not ^acast out demons except by ¹Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”

^25aAnd ^bknowing their thoughts He said to them, “¹Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and ²any city or house divided against itself will not stand.

²⁶“And if ^aSatan casts out Satan, he ¹is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand?

²⁷“And if I ^aby ¹Beelzebul cast out demons, ^bby whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges.

²⁸“But ^aif 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.

Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit

³⁰“^aHe who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

³¹“^aTherefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven.