Matthew 12 :: English Standard Version (ESV)

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

(Mar 2:23–28; Luk 6:1–5 )

Mat 12:1At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.

Mat 12:2

Mat 12:2But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.”

Mat 12:3

Mat 12:3He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him:

Mat 12:4

Mat 12:4how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?

Mat 12:5

Mat 12:5Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless?

Mat 12:6

Mat 12:6I tell you, something greater than the temple is here.

Mat 12:7

Mat 12:7And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.

Mat 12:8

Mat 12:8For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

A Man with a Withered Hand

(Mar 3:1–6; Luk 6:6–11 )

Mat 12:9

Mat 12:9He went on from there and entered their synagogue.

Mat 12:10

Mat 12:10And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse him.

Mat 12:11

Mat 12:11He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out?

Mat 12:12

Mat 12:12Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

Mat 12:13

Mat 12:13Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other.

Mat 12:14

Mat 12:14But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.

God’s Chosen Servant

Mat 12:15

Mat 12:15Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed him, and he healed them all

Mat 12:16

Mat 12:16and ordered them not to make him known.

Mat 12:17

Mat 12:17This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah:

Mat 12:18

Mat 12:18“Behold, my servant whom I have chosen,
my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased.
I will put my Spirit upon him,
and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.

Mat 12:19

Mat 12:19He will not quarrel or cry aloud,
nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets;

Mat 12:20

Mat 12:20a bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not quench,
until he brings justice to victory;

Mat 12:21

Mat 12:21and in his name the Gentiles will hope.”

Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit

(Mar 3:22–27; Luk 11:14–23 )

Mat 12:22

Mat 12:22Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw.

Mat 12:23

Mat 12:23And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?”

Mat 12:24

Mat 12:24But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.”

Mat 12:25

Mat 12:25Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand.

Mat 12:26

Mat 12:26And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?

Mat 12:27

Mat 12:27And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.

Mat 12:28

Mat 12:28But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

Mat 12:29

Mat 12:29Or how can someone enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house.

Mat 12:30

Mat 12:30Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

(Mar 3:28–30 )

Mat 12:31

Mat 12:31Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.

Mat 12:32

Mat 12:32And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

A Tree Is Known by Its Fruit

(Mat 7:15–20 )

Mat 12:33

Mat 12:33“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit.

Mat 12:34

Mat 12:34You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

Mat 12:35

Mat 12:35The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.

Mat 12:36

Mat 12:36I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak,

Mat 12:37

Mat 12:37for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

The Sign of Jonah

(Luk 11:29–32 )

Mat 12:38

Mat 12:38Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.”

Mat 12:39

Mat 12:39But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.

Mat 12:40

Mat 12:40For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Mat 12:41

Mat 12:41The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

Mat 12:42

Mat 12:42The 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, something greater than Solomon is here.

Return of an Unclean Spirit

(Luk 11:24–26 )

Mat 12:43

Mat 12:43“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none.

Mat 12:44

Mat 12:44Then 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.

Mat 12:45

Mat 12:45Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation.”

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers

(Mar 3:31–35; Luk 8:19–21 )

Mat 12:46

Mat 12:46While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers[fn] stood outside, asking to speak to him.[fn]

Mat 12:47

Mat 12:47 See Footnote

Mat 12:48

Mat 12:48But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?”

Mat 12:49

Mat 12:49And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!

Mat 12:50

Mat 12:50For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

See the ESV Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).

ESV Footnotes

(12:46)

Or brothers and sisters; also verses 48, 49

(12:46)

Some manuscripts insert verse 47: Someone told him, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak to you”

BLB Footnotes

(12:47)

Some Greek manuscripts exclude this verse. The ESV related footnote for 12:47 states:
Some manuscripts insert verse 47: Someone told him, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak to you”

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