Parallel Bible results for "Matthew 12"

Matthew 12

English Standard Version ESV

1 At 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.

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

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

4 how 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?

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

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

7 And if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless.

8 For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath."

9 He went on from there and entered their synagogue.

10 And 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.

11 He 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?

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

13 Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other.

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

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

16 and ordered them not to make him known.

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

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.

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

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

21 and in his name the Gentiles will hope."

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

23 And all the people were amazed, and said, "Can this be the Son of David?"

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

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

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

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

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

29 Or 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.

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

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

32 And 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.

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.

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

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

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

37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."

38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, "Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you."

39 But 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.

40 For 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.

41 The 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.

42 The 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.

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

44 Then 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.

45 Then 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."

46 While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him.

48 But he replied to the man who told him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?"

49 And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers!

50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."

The Message Bible MSG

1 One Sabbath, Jesus was strolling with his disciples through a field of ripe grain. Hungry, the disciples were pulling off the heads of grain and munching on them.

2 Some Pharisees reported them to Jesus: "Your disciples are breaking the Sabbath rules!"

3 Jesus said, "Really? Didn't you ever read what David and his companions did when they were hungry,

4 how they entered the sanctuary and ate fresh bread off the altar, bread that no one but priests were allowed to eat?

5 And didn't you ever read in God's Law that priests carrying out their Temple duties break Sabbath rules all the time and it's not held against them?

6 "There is far more at stake here than religion.

7 If you had any idea what this Scripture meant - 'I prefer a flexible heart to an inflexible ritual' - you wouldn't be nitpicking like this.

8 The Son of Man is no lackey to the Sabbath; he's in charge."

9 When Jesus left the field, he entered their meeting place.

10 There was a man there with a crippled hand. They said to Jesus, "Is it legal to heal on the Sabbath?" They were baiting him.

11 He replied, "Is there a person here who, finding one of your lambs fallen into a ravine, wouldn't, even though it was a Sabbath, pull it out?

12 Surely kindness to people is as legal as kindness to animals!"

13 Then he said to the man, "Hold out your hand." He held it out and it was healed.

14 The Pharisees walked out furious, sputtering about how they were going to ruin Jesus.

15 Jesus, knowing they were out to get him, moved on. A lot of people followed him, and he healed them all

16 . He also cautioned them to keep it quiet,

17 following guidelines set down by Isaiah:

18 Look well at my handpicked servant; I love him so much, take such delight in him. I've placed my Spirit on him; he'll decree justice to the nations.

19 But he won't yell, won't raise his voice; there'll be no commotion in the streets.

20 He won't walk over anyone's feelings, won't push you into a corner. Before you know it, his justice will triumph;

21 the mere sound of his name will signal hope, even among far-off unbelievers.

22 Next a poor demon-afflicted wretch, both blind and deaf, was set down before him. Jesus healed him, gave him his sight and hearing.

23 The people who saw it were impressed - "This has to be the Son of David!"

24 But the Pharisees, when they heard the report, were cynical. "Black magic," they said. "Some devil trick he's pulled from his sleeve."

25 Jesus confronted their slander. "A judge who gives opposite verdicts on the same person cancels himself out; a family that's in a constant squabble disintegrates;

26 if Satan banishes Satan, is there any Satan left?

27 If you're slinging devil mud at me, calling me a devil kicking out devils, doesn't the same mud stick to your own exorcists?

28 "But if it's by God's power that I am sending the evil spirits packing, then God's kingdom is here for sure.

29 How in the world do you think it's possible in broad daylight to enter the house of an awake, able-bodied man and walk off with his possessions unless you tie him up first? Tie him up, though, and you can clean him out.

30 "This is war, and there is no neutral ground. If you're not on my side, you're the enemy; if you're not helping, you're making things worse.

31 "There's nothing done or said that can't be forgiven. But if you deliberately persist in your slanders against God's Spirit, you are repudiating the very One who forgives.

32 If you reject the Son of Man out of some misunderstanding, the Holy Spirit can forgive you, but when you reject the Holy Spirit, you're sawing off the branch on which you're sitting, severing by your own perversity all connection with the One who forgives.

33 "If you grow a healthy tree, you'll pick healthy fruit. If you grow a diseased tree, you'll pick worm-eaten fruit. The fruit tells you about the tree.

34 "You have minds like a snake pit! How do you suppose what you say is worth anything when you are so foul-minded? It's your heart, not the dictionary, that gives meaning to your words.

35 A good person produces good deeds and words season after season. An evil person is a blight on the orchard.

36 Let me tell you something: Every one of these careless words is going to come back to haunt you. There will be a time of Reckoning. Words are powerful; take them seriously.

37 Words can be your salvation. Words can also be your damnation."

38 Later a few religion scholars and Pharisees got on him. "Teacher, we want to see your credentials. Give us some hard evidence that God is in this. How about a miracle?"

39 Jesus said, "You're looking for proof, but you're looking for the wrong kind. All you want is something to titillate your curiosity, satisfy your lust for miracles. The only proof you're going to get is what looks like the absence of proof: Jonah-evidence.

40 Like Jonah, three days and nights in the fish's belly, the Son of Man will be gone three days and nights in a deep grave.

41 "On Judgment Day, the Ninevites will stand up and give evidence that will condemn this generation, because when Jonah preached to them they changed their lives. A far greater preacher than Jonah is here, and you squabble about 'proofs.'

42 On Judgment Day, the Queen of Sheba will come forward and bring evidence that will condemn this generation, because she traveled from a far corner of the earth to listen to wise Solomon. Wisdom far greater than Solomon's is right in front of you, and you quibble over 'evidence.'

43 "When a defiling evil spirit is expelled from someone, it drifts along through the desert looking for an oasis, some unsuspecting soul it can bedevil. When it doesn't find anyone,

44 it says, 'I'll go back to my old haunt.' On return it finds the person spotlessly clean, but vacant.

45 It then runs out and rounds up seven other spirits more evil than itself and they all move in, whooping it up. That person ends up far worse off than if he'd never gotten cleaned up in the first place. "That's what this generation is like: You may think you have cleaned out the junk from your lives and gotten ready for God, but you weren't hospitable to my kingdom message, and now all the devils are moving back in."

46 While he was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers showed up. They were outside trying to get a message to him.

48 Jesus didn't respond directly, but said, "Who do you think my mother and brothers are?"

49 He then stretched out his hand toward his disciples. "Look closely. These are my mother and brothers.

50 Obedience is thicker than blood. The person who obeys my heavenly Father's will is my brother and sister and mother."