141And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute; when the demon had gone out, the mutemanspoke; and the crowds were amazed.
15
But some of them said, "He casts out demons2by 3Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons."
16
Others, to test Him, 4were demanding of Him a sign from heaven.
17
5But He knew their thoughts and said to them, "Anykingdomdividedagainstitself is laidwaste; and a house divided againstitselffalls.
18
"If6Satanalso is dividedagainsthimself, how will his kingdomstand? For you say that I cast out demons by 7Beelzebul.
19
"And if I by 8Beelzebulcast out demons, by whom do your sonscast them out? So* they will be your judges.
20
"But if I cast out demons by the 9finger of God, then10the kingdom of God has come upon you.
21
"When a strong man, fullyarmed, guards his ownhouse, his possessions are undisturbed*.
22
"But when someone stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takesaway from him all his armor on which he had relied and distributes his plunder.
23
"11He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me, scatters.
24
"12When the uncleanspiritgoes out of a man, it passesthroughwaterlessplacesseekingrest, and not finding any, it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.'
25
"And when it comes, it finds it swept and put in order.
26
"Then it goes and takes along sevenotherspiritsmoreevil than itself, and they go in and livethere; and the last state of that manbecomesworse than the first."
27
While Jesus was sayingthesethings, one of the women in the crowdraised her voice and said to Him, "13Blessed is the womb that bore You and the breasts at which You nursed."
28
But He said, "On the contrary*, blessed are 14those who hear the word of God and observe it."
The Sign of Jonah
29 As the crowds were increasing, He began to say, "15Thisgeneration is a wickedgeneration; it 16seeks for a sign, and yet nosign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah.
30
"For just as 17Jonahbecame a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to thisgeneration.
31
"The 18Queen of the South will rise up with the men of thisgeneration at the judgment and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, somethinggreater than Solomon is here.
32
"The men of Nineveh will stand up with thisgeneration at the judgment and condemn it, because19they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, somethinggreater than Jonah is here.
33
"20Noone, after lighting a lamp, puts it away in a cellarnorunder a basket, but on the lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light.
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"21The eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is clear, your wholebodyalso is full of light; but when it is bad, your bodyalso is full of darkness.
35
"Thenwatch out that the light in you is not darkness.
36
"Iftherefore your wholebody is full of light, with no*darkpart in it, it will be whollyillumined, as when the lampillumines you with its rays."