29
"Orhowcananyoneenter the strongman'shouse and carryoff his property, unless* he firstbinds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.
The Unpardonable Sin
30"1He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
31
"2Therefore* I say to you, anysin and blasphemy shall be forgivenpeople, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven.
32
"3Whoever*speaks a wordagainst the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever*speaksagainst the HolySpirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in 4thisageor in the age to come.
Words Reveal Character
33"Eithermake the treegood and its fruitgood, ormake the treebad and its fruitbad; for 5the tree is known by its fruit.
34
"6You brood of vipers, howcan you, beingevil, speak what is good? 7For the mouthspeaks out of that whichfills the heart.
35
"8The goodmanbrings out of his goodtreasure what is good; and the evilmanbrings out of his eviltreasure what is evil.
36
"But I tell you that everycarelessword that peoplespeak, they shall give an accounting for it in 9the day of judgment.
37
"For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."
The Desire for Signs
38Thensome of the scribes and Phariseessaid to Him, "Teacher, 10we want to see a sign from You."
39
But He answered and said to them, "11An evil and adulterousgenerationcraves for a sign; and yet nosign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet;