Matthew 12:22–45

Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit

^22wThen a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. ^23xAnd all the people were amazed, and said, ^x“Can this be the Son of David?” ²⁴But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, ^y“It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.” ^25zKnowing their thoughts, ^ahe 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, ^bby whom do ^cyour sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. ²⁸But if it is ^dby the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then ^ethe kingdom of God has come upon you. ²⁹Or ^fhow can someone enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed ^ghe may plunder his house. ^30hWhoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. ³¹ⁱTherefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but ^jthe blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. ³²And whoever speaks a word ^kagainst the Son of Man ^lwill be forgiven, but ^jwhoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in ^mthis age or in the age to come.

A Tree Is Known by Its Fruit

³³ⁿ“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, ^ofor the tree is known by its fruit. ^34pYou brood of vipers! How can you speak good, ^qwhen you are evil? ^rFor out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. ^35rThe 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, ^son the day of judgment ^tpeople will give account for ^uevery careless word they speak, ³⁷for ^vby 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, ^wwe wish to see a sign from you.” ³⁹But he answered them, ^x“An evil and ^yadulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. ⁴⁰For ^zjust as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, ^aso will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. ^41bThe men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and ^ccondemn it, for ^dthey repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, ^esomething greater than Jonah is here. ^42fThe 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, ^esomething greater than Solomon is here.

Return of an Unclean Spirit

⁴³“When ^gthe unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through ^hwaterless 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 ⁱthe last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this ^jevil generation.”