Matthew

¹At that time, on the Sabbath day, Jesus was going through grain fields. Being hungry, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain and to eat them. ²When the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Behold, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!”

³But Jesus replied, “Have you not read what David did, when he and those who were with him were hungry? ⁴He entered into the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence,¹⁶⁵ which was not lawful for him to eat, but only for the priests?^{166 5}Or have you not read in the law, that on the Sabbath day, the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and yet remain without guilt?^{167 6}But I tell you that someone greater than the temple is here! ⁷If you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’¹⁶⁸ you would not have condemned the innocent. ⁸For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

The healing of the man with the withered hand

⁹Going from that place, he went into their synagogue. ¹⁰And behold, there was a man with a withered hand. Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus,¹⁶⁹ the Pharisees¹⁷⁰ asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day?”

¹¹Jesus replied, “Who among you, having one sheep, and if this one falls into a pit on the Sabbath day, will not take hold of it and lift it out? ¹²Of how much more value is a man compared to a sheep! Therefore, it is lawful to do what is good on the Sabbath day.” ¹³Then he told the man, “Stretch out your hand.” The man stretched it out, and it was restored whole, just like the other hand! ¹⁴But the Pharisees went out and began to conspire against him, [discussing] how they might destroy him. ¹⁵Perceiving it, Jesus withdrew from that place. Many [people] followed him and he healed them all, ¹⁶commanding them not to reveal who he was, ¹⁷so that what was spoken through Isaias the prophet might be fulfilled:

¹⁸Behold, my servant whom I have chosen;

my beloved in whom my soul is well pleased!

I will put my Spirit on him,

He will proclaim justice to the nations,

¹⁹He will not quarrel or shout;

No one will hear his voice in the streets.

²⁰He will not break a bruised reed,
He will not put out a smoking wick,

until he leads justice to victory.

²¹In his Name, the nations¹⁷¹ will hope.¹⁷²

The Lord accused of casting out demons by Beelzebul— The unforgivable sin

²²Then a person possessed by a demon, blind and mute, was brought to him. Jesus healed him, so that the blind and mute man was now able to speak and to see. ²³The crowds were amazed and exclaimed, “Can this be the Christ,¹⁷³ the son of David?” ²⁴However, when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man can only cast out demons by {the authority of} Beelzebul, the prince of the demons!”

²⁵Knowing their thoughts, Jesus told them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. ²⁶If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? ²⁷If it is by Beelzebul that I cast out demons, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore, they will be your judges. ²⁸However, if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you. ²⁹Or how can someone enter into the house of the strong man and plunder his goods, unless he first bind¹⁷⁴ the strong man? Then he will [be able to] plunder his house.

³⁰Whoever is not with me is against me! Whoever does not gather with me scatters!^{175 31}Therefore, I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven,¹⁷⁶ but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. ³²Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, neither in this age, nor in the one which is to come.¹⁷⁷

The tree and its fruits

³³Make the tree good and its fruit [will be] good, or make the tree corrupt and its fruit [will be] corrupt, for the tree is known by its fruit. ³⁴You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? Indeed, words flow out of what fills the heart.^{178 35}The good man brings out good things from his good treasure, and the evil man brings out evil things from his evil treasure¹⁷⁹. ³⁶I tell you that for every idle word that people speak, they will give an account of it in the day of judgment. ³⁷For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Asking for a sign—The sign of Jonah

³⁸Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you!”

³⁹But Jesus answered, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, but no sign will be given to this generation except for the sign of Jonah the prophet. ⁴⁰For just as Jonah the prophet¹⁸⁰ was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. ⁴¹The people of Nineveh will stand up in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah. And behold, someone greater than Jonah is here! ⁴²The queen of the south will stand up in the judgment with this generation and she will condemn it because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon. And behold, someone greater than Solomon is here!

An unclean spirit leaves and returns

⁴³After an¹⁸¹ unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he wanders through dry places seeking rest and does not find it. ⁴⁴He then says, ‘I will return into my house from which I came out,’ and when he has come back, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order! ⁴⁵Then he goes [around] and brings with himself seven other spirits more evil than he, and they enter in and dwell there. And so, the last state of that person becomes worse than the first. This is how it will be with this evil generation.”

The Lord’s true family

⁴⁶While Jesus¹⁸² was still speaking to the multitudes, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, desiring to speak to him. ⁴⁷<Someone said to him, “Behold, your mother and your brothers stand outside, desiring to see you.”>¹⁸³

⁴⁸But to the person who had spoken, Jesus¹⁸⁴ answered, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” ⁴⁹He then stretched out his hand toward his disciples and said, “Behold, my mother and my brothers! ⁵⁰As it is, whoever does the will of my Father who is in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother.”

The parable of the sower

165. Or “show bread”
166. 1 Samuel 21:3-6
167. Compare Leviticus 24:5-9
168. Hosea 6:6. NT agrees with LXX against MT.
169. Greek “him”
170. Greek “they”—May also refer to the people in general (verse 2)
171. Or “Gentiles”
172. Isaias 42:1-4; NT agrees with LXX against MT.
173. Other manuscripts omit “the Christ”
174. Compare Revelation 20:1-3
175. Several authorities including א, Origen and Athanasius read “scatters me” which sounds unusual to modern ears but which is consistent with Acts 9:4 and the possible translation “divides me.” However, this variant may also have an Alexandrian Gnostic origin.
176. Greek adds “to people” or “to men”
177. Acts 5:3-5
178. Or “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks”
179. TR adds “of the heart”
180. Other manuscripts omit “the prophet,” which appears to be unique to the Patriarchal Text
181. Greek “the”
182. Greek “he”
183. CT brackets this verse. PT has “desiring to see you” while most other manuscripts read “seeking to speak to you”
184. Greek “he”