The Message Bible MSG
King James Version KJV
1 Then he went back in the meeting place where he found a man with a crippled hand.
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And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand.
2 The Pharisees had their eyes on Jesus to see if he would heal him, hoping to catch him in a Sabbath infraction.
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And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him.
3 He said to the man with the crippled hand, "Stand here where we can see you."
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And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand,Stand forth.
4 Then he spoke to the people: "What kind of action suits the Sabbath best? Doing good or doing evil? Helping people or leaving them helpless?" No one said a word.
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And he saith unto them,Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace.
5 He looked them in the eye, one after another, angry now, furious at their hard-nosed religion. He said to the man, "Hold out your hand." He held it out - it was as good as new!
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And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man,Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.
6 The Pharisees got out as fast as they could, sputtering about how they would join forces with Herod's followers and ruin him.
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And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.
7 Jesus went off with his disciples to the sea to get away. But a huge crowd from Galilee trailed after them -
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But Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea: and a great multitude from Galilee followed him, and from Judaea,
8 also from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, across the Jordan, and around Tyre and Sidon - swarms of people who had heard the reports and had come to see for themselves.
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And from Jerusalem, and from Idumaea, and from beyond Jordan; and they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they had heard what great things he did, came unto him.
9 He told his disciples to get a boat ready so he wouldn't be trampled by the crowd.
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And he spake to his disciples, that a small ship should wait on him because of the multitude, lest they should throng him.
10 He had healed many people, and now everyone who had something wrong was pushing and shoving to get near and touch him.
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For he had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon him for to touch him, as many as had plagues.
11 Evil spirits, when they recognized him, fell down and cried out, "You are the Son of God!"
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And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God.
12 But Jesus would have none of it. He shut them up, forbidding them to identify him in public.
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And he straitly charged them that they should not make him known.
13 He climbed a mountain and invited those he wanted with him. They climbed together.
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And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him.
14 He settled on twelve, and designated them apostles. The plan was that they would be with him, and he would send them out to proclaim the Word
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And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach,
15 and give them authority to banish demons.
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And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils:
16 These are the Twelve: Simon (Jesus later named him Peter, meaning "Rock"),
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And Simon he surnamed Peter;
17 James, son of Zebedee, John, brother of James (Jesus nicknamed the Zebedee brothers Boanerges, meaning "Sons of Thunder"),
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And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder:
18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James, son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Canaanite,
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And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite,
19 Judas Iscariot (who betrayed him).
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And Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him: and they went into an house.
20 Jesus came home and, as usual, a crowd gathered - so many making demands on him that there wasn't even time to eat.
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And the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.
21 His friends heard what was going on and went to rescue him, by force if necessary. They suspected he was getting carried away with himself.
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And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself.
22 The religion scholars from Jerusalem came down spreading rumors that he was working black magic, using devil tricks to impress them with spiritual power.
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And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils.
23 Jesus confronted their slander with a story: "Does it make sense to send a devil to catch a devil, to use Satan to get rid of Satan?
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And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables,How can Satan cast out Satan?
24 A constantly squabbling family disintegrates. If Satan were fighting Satan, there soon wouldn't be any Satan left.
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And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
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And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.
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And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.
27 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.
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No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.
28 "Listen to this carefully. I'm warning you. There's nothing done or said that can't be forgiven.
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Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme:
29 But if you persist in your slanders against God's Holy Spirit, you are repudiating the very One who forgives, sawing off the branch on which you're sitting, severing by your own perversity all connection with the One who forgives."
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But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:
30 He gave this warning because they were accusing him of being in league with Evil.
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Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.
31 Just then his mother and brothers showed up. Standing outside, they relayed a message that they wanted a word with him.
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There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him, calling him.
32 He was surrounded by the crowd when he was given the message, "Your mother and brothers and sisters are outside looking for you."
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And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee.
33 Jesus responded, "Who do you think are my mother and brothers?"
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And he answered them, saying,Who is my mother, or my brethren?
34 Looking around, taking in everyone seated around him, he said, "Right here, right in front of you - my mother and my brothers.
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And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said,Behold my mother and my brethren!
35 Obedience is thicker than blood. The person who obeys God's will is my brother and sister and mother."
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For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.
The King James Version is in the public domain.