St Matthew 12
12
1AT that time Jesus went through the corn on the sabbath: and his disciples being hungry, began to pluck the ears, and to eat.
2And the Pharisees seeing them, said to him: Behold thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath days.
3But he said to them: Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and they that were with him:
4How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the loaves of proposition, which it was not lawful for him to eat, nor for them that were with him, but for the priests only?
5Or have ye not read in the law, that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple break the sabbath, and are without blame?
6But I tell you that there is here a greater than the temple.
7And if you knew what this meaneth: I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: you would never have condemned the innocent.
8For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath.
9And when he has passed from thence, he came into their synagogues.
10And behold there was a man who had a withered hand, and they asked him, saying: Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.
11But he said to them: What man shall there be among you, that hath one sheep: and if the same fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not take hold on it and lift it up?
12How much better is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do a good deed on the sabbath days.
13Then he saith to the man: Stretch forth thy hand; and he stretched it forth, and it was restored to health even as the other.
14And the Pharisees going out made a consultation against him, how they might destroy him.
15But Jesus knowing it, retired from thence: and many followed him, and he healed them all.
16And he charged them that they should not make him known.
17That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaias the prophet, saying:
18Behold my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom my soul hath been well pleased. I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.
19He shall not contend, nor cry out, neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets.
20The bruised reed he shall not break: and smoking flax he shall not extinguish: till he send forth judgment unto victory.
21And in his name the Gentiles shall hope.
22Then was offered to him one possessed with a devil, blind and dumb: and he healed him, so that he spoke and saw.
23And all the multitudes were amazed, and said: Is not this the son of David?
24But the Pharisees hearing it, said: This man casteth not out the devils but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.
25And Jesus knowing their thoughts, said to them: Every kingdom divided against itself shall be made desolate: and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand.
26And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself: how then shall his kingdom stand?
27And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges.
28But if I by the Spirit of God cast out devils, then is the kingdom of God come upon you.
29Or how can any one enter into the house of the strong, and rifle his goods, unless he first bind the strong? and then he will rifle his house.
30He that is not with me, is against me: and he that gathereth not with me, scattereth.
31Therefore I say to you: Every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men, but the blasphemy of the Spirit shall not be forgiven.
32And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but he that shall speak against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in the world to come.
33Either make the tree good and its fruit good: or make the tree evil, and its fruit evil. For by the fruit the tree is known.
34O generation of vipers, how can you speak good things, whereas you are evil? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
35A good man out of a good treasure bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of an evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
36But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall render an account for it in the day of judgment.
37For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
38Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying: Master we would see a sign from thee.
39Who answering said to them: An evil and adulterous generation seeketh a sign: and a sign shall not be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet.
40For as Jonas was in the whale's belly three days and three nights: so shall the Son of man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.
41The men of Ninive shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they did penance at the preaching of Jonas. And behold a greater than Jonas here.
42The queen of the south shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold a greater than Solomon here.
43And when an unclean spirit is gone out of a man he walketh through dry places seeking rest, and findeth none.
44Then he saith: I will return into my house from whence I came out. And coming he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.
45Then he goeth, and taketh with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man in made worse than the first. So shall it be also to this wicked generation.
46As he was yet speaking to the multitudes, behold his mother and his brethren stood without, seeking to speak to him.
47And one said unto him: Behold thy mother and thy brethren stand without, seeking thee.
48But he answering him that told him, said: Who is my mother, and who are my brethren?
49And stretching forth his hand towards his disciples, he said: Behold my mother and my brethren.
50For whosoever shall do the will of my Father, that is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother.
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St Matthew 12: DRC1752
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Matthew 12
12
A question about the Sabbath
(Mark 2.23-28; Luke 6.1-5)
1One Sabbath, Jesus and his disciples were walking through some wheat fields.#12.1 walking through some wheat fields: It was the custom to let hungry travellers pick grains of wheat. His disciples were hungry and began picking and eating grains of wheat.#Dt 23.25. 2Some Pharisees noticed this and said to Jesus, “Why are your disciples picking grain on the Sabbath? They are not supposed to do that!”
3Jesus answered:#1 S 21.1-6.
You must have read what David did when he and his followers were hungry. 4He went into the house of God, and then they ate the sacred loaves of bread that only priests are supposed to eat.#Lv 24.9. 5Haven't you read in the Law of Moses that the priests are allowed to work in the temple on the Sabbath? But no one says that they are guilty of breaking the law of the Sabbath.#Nu 28.9,10. 6I tell you that there is something here greater than the temple. 7Don't you know what the Scriptures mean when they say, “Instead of offering sacrifices to me, I want you to be merciful to others”? If you knew what this means, you would not condemn these innocent disciples of mine.#Mt 9.13; Ho 6.6. 8So the Son of Man is Lord over the Sabbath.
A man with a crippled hand
(Mark 3.1-6; Luke 6.6-11)
9Jesus left and went into one of the Jewish meeting places, 10where there was a man whose hand was crippled. Some Pharisees wanted to accuse Jesus of doing something wrong, and they asked him, “Is it right to heal someone on the Sabbath?”
11Jesus answered, “If you had a sheep that fell into a ditch on the Sabbath, wouldn't you lift it out?#Lk 14.5. 12People are worth much more than sheep, and so it is right to do good on the Sabbath.” 13Then Jesus told the man, “Hold out your hand.” The man did, and it became as healthy as the other one.
14The Pharisees left and started making plans to kill Jesus.
God's chosen servant
15When Jesus found out what was happening, he left there and large crowds followed him. He healed all their sick, 16but warned them not to tell anyone about him. 17So God's promise came true, just as Isaiah the prophet had said,
18“Here is my chosen servant!#Is 42.1-4 (LXX).
I love him,
and he pleases me.
I will give him my Spirit,
and he will bring justice
to the nations.
19He won't shout or yell
or call out in the streets.
20He won't break off a bent reed
or put out a dying flame,
but he will make sure
that justice is done.
21All nations will place
their hope in him.”
Jesus and the ruler of the demons
(Mark 3.20-30; Luke 11.14-23; 12.10)
22Some people brought to Jesus a man who was blind and could not talk because he had a demon in him. Jesus healed the man, and then he was able to talk and see. 23The crowds were so amazed that they asked, “Could Jesus be the Son of David?”#12.23 Could Jesus be the Son of David: Or “Does Jesus think he is the Son of David?” See the note at 9.27.
24When the Pharisees heard this, they said, “He forces out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons!”#Mt 9.34; 10.25.
25Jesus knew what they were thinking, and he said to them:
Any kingdom where people fight each other will end up ruined. And a town or family that fights will soon destroy itself. 26So if Satan fights against himself, how can his kingdom last? 27If I use the power of Beelzebul to force out demons, whose power do your own followers use to force them out? Your followers are the ones who will judge you. 28But when I force out demons by the power of God's Spirit, it proves that God's kingdom has already come to you. 29How can anyone break into a strong man's house and steal his things, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can take everything.
30If you are not on my side, you are against me. If you don't gather in the harvest with me, you scatter it.#Mk 9.40. 31-32I tell you that any sinful thing you do or say can be forgiven. Even if you speak against the Son of Man, you can be forgiven. But if you speak against the Holy Spirit, you can never be forgiven, either in this life or in the life to come.#Lk 12.10.
A tree and its fruit
(Luke 6.43-45)
Jesus continued:
33A good tree produces only good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. You can tell what a tree is like by the fruit it produces.#Mt 7.20; Lk 6.44. 34You are evil snakes, so how can you say anything good? Your words show what is in your hearts.#Mt 3.7; 23.33; Lk 3.7; Mt 15.18; Lk 6.45. 35Good people bring good things out of their hearts, but evil people bring evil things out of their hearts. 36I promise you that on the day of judgment, everyone will have to account for every careless word they have spoken. 37On that day they will be told that they are either innocent or guilty because of the things they have said.
A sign from heaven
(Mark 8.11,12; Luke 11.29-32)
38Some Pharisees and teachers of the Law of Moses said, “Teacher, we want you to show us a sign from heaven.”#Mt 16.1; Mk 8.11; Lk 11.16.
39But Jesus replied:#Mt 16.4; Mk 8.12.
You want a sign because you are evil and won't believe! But the only sign you will get is the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40He was in the stomach of a big fish for three days and nights, just as the Son of Man will be deep in the earth for three days and nights.#Jon 1.17. 41On the day of judgment the people of Nineveh#12.41 Nineveh: During the time of Jonah this city was the capital of the Assyrian Empire, which was Israel's worst enemy. But Jonah was sent there to preach, so that the people would turn to the Lord and be saved. will stand there with you and condemn you. They turned to God when Jonah preached, and yet here is something far greater than Jonah.#Jon 3.5. 42The Queen of the South#12.42 Queen of the South: Sheba, probably a country in southern Arabia. will also stand there with you and condemn you. She travelled a long way to hear Solomon's wisdom, and yet here is something much greater than Solomon.#1 K 10.1-10; 2 Ch 9.1-12.
Return of an evil spirit
(Luke 11.24-26)
Jesus continued:
43When an evil spirit leaves a person, it travels through the desert, looking for a place to rest. But when the demon doesn't find a place, 44it says, “I will go back to the home I left.” When it gets there and finds the place empty, clean, and tidy, 45it goes off and finds seven other evil spirits even worse than itself. They all come and make their home there, and the person ends up in a worse state than before. That's how it will be with you evil people of today.
Jesus' mother and brothers
(Mark 3.31-35; Luke 8.19-21)
46While Jesus was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and brothers came and stood outside because they wanted to talk with him. 47Someone told Jesus, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside and want to talk with you.”#12.47 with you: Some manuscripts do not have verse 47.
48Jesus answered, “Who is my mother and who are my brothers?” 49Then he pointed to his disciples and said, “These are my mother and my brothers! 50Anyone who obeys my Father in heaven is my brother or sister or mother.”
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