Matthew 12 Free Bible Version
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 Around that time Jesus was walking through fields of grain on the Sabbath day. His disciples were hungry so they started to pick ears of grain and eat them.
1 At that time, Jesus went on the Sabbath day through the grain fields. His disciples were hungry and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.
2 When the Pharisees saw this they said to Jesus, “Look at your disciples—they're doing what isn't allowed on the Sabbath!”
2 But the Pharisees, when they saw it, said to him, “Behold, your disciples do what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.”
3 But Jesus told them, “Haven't you read what David did when he and his men were hungry?
3 But he said to them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him:
4 He went into the house of God, and he and his men ate the sacred bread that they weren't allowed to eat since it's only for the priests.
4 how he entered into God’s house and ate the show bread, which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?
5 Haven't you read in the law that on the Sabbath day the priests in the Temple break the Sabbath but are not considered guilty?
5 Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath day the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless?
6 However, I tell you that someone is here who is greater than the Temple!
6 But I tell you that one greater than the temple is here.
7 If you'd known the meaning of this Scripture, ‘I want mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you wouldn't have condemned those who are innocent.
7 But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you wouldn’t have condemned the guiltless.
8 For the Son of man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
9 Then Jesus left and went into their synagogue.
9 He departed from there and went into their synagogue.
10 A man was there with a crippled hand. “Does the law allow healing on the Sabbath?” they asked him, looking for a reason to accuse him.
10 And behold, there was a man with a withered hand. They asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day?” so that they might accuse him.
11 “Suppose you have a sheep and it falls into a hole in the ground on the Sabbath. Don't you grab hold of it and pull it out?” Jesus asked them.
11 He said to them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if this one falls into a pit on the Sabbath day, won’t he grab on to it and lift it out?
12 “Don't you think a human being is worth much more than a sheep? So yes, you are allowed to do good on the Sabbath.”
12 Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath day.”
13 Then he said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” The man held out his hand, and it was healed, just as healthy as the other hand.
13 Then he told the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out; and it was restored whole, just like the other.
14 But the Pharisees went out and plotted how to kill Jesus.
14 But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how they might destroy him.
15 Knowing this, Jesus left, with large crowds following him. He healed all of them,
15 Jesus, perceiving that, withdrew from there. Great multitudes followed him; and he healed them all,
16 but instructed them not to tell people who he was.
16 and commanded them that they should not make him known,
17 This fulfilled what Isaiah the prophet said:
17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,
18 This is my servant whom I've chosen, The one I love, who pleases me. I will put my Spirit on him, And he will tell the foreigners what's right.
18 “Behold, 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.
19 He won't argue, he won't shout out, And nobody will hear his voice in the streets.
19 He will not strive, nor shout, neither will anyone hear his voice in the streets.
20 He won't break a damaged reed, And he won't extinguish a smoking wick, Until he has proved that his judgment is right,
20 He won’t break a bruised reed. He won’t quench a smoking flax, until he leads justice to victory.
21 And foreigners will put their hope in him.
21 In his name, the nations will hope.”
22 Then a man was brought to Jesus who was demon-possessed and blind and dumb. Jesus healed him, so that the dumb man could speak and see.
22 Then one possessed by a demon, blind and mute, was brought to him; and he healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw.
23 All the crowds were amazed, and asked, “This man couldn't really be the son of David, could he?”
23 All the multitudes were amazed, and said, “Can this be the son of David?”
24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they replied, “This man can only throw out demons through the power of Beelzebub, the chief of demons!”
24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “This man does not cast out demons except by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons.”
25 Knowing what they were thinking, Jesus told them, “Any kingdom that is divided against itself will be destroyed. No town or household that is divided against itself can stand.
25 Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.
26 If Satan drives out Satan, then he's divided against himself—so how could his kingdom stand?
26 If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?
27 If I'm throwing out demons in the name of Beelzebub, in whose name are your people throwing out demons? Your own people prove you're wrong!
27 If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.
28 But if I'm throwing out demons through the power of the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you!
28 But if I by the Spirit of God cast out demons, then God’s Kingdom has come upon you.
29 Can you enter a strong man's house and take his belongings unless you tie him up first? If you do that then you can take everything in his house.
29 Or how can one enter into the house of the strong man and plunder his goods, unless he first bind the strong man? Then he will plunder his house.
30 Those who are not with me are against me, and those who do not gather together with me do the opposite: they are scattering.
30 “He who is not with me is against me, and he who doesn’t gather with me, scatters.
31 That's why I'm telling you that every sin and blasphemy you commit will be forgiven, except blasphemy against the Spirit which won't be forgiven.
31 Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.
32 Those who say something against the Son of man will be forgiven, but those who say something against the Holy Spirit won't be forgiven, neither in this life nor the next.
32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in that which is to come.
33 Either decide that the tree is good, and its fruit is good, or decide that the tree is bad and its fruit is bad—for the tree is known by its fruit.
33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree corrupt and its fruit corrupt; for the tree is known by its fruit.
34 You viper's brood, how can you who are evil say anything good? For your mouth simply says what your mind is busy thinking about.
34 You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.
35 A good person brings out good from their store of good things, and an evil person brings out evil from their store of evil things.
35 The good man out of his good treasure brings out good things, and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings out evil things.
36 I tell you, people will have to account for every careless thing they say on the Day of Judgment.
36 I tell you that every idle word that men speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.
37 For what you say will either vindicate you or condemn you.”
37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
38 Then some of the religious teachers and Pharisees came to him and said, “Teacher, we want you to show us a miraculous sign.”
38 Then certain of the scribes and Pharisees answered, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”
39 “An evil and adulterous generation are the ones who look for a miraculous sign. The only sign they will be given is the sign of the prophet Jonah,” Jesus told them.
39 But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, but no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet.
40 “In the same way Jonah was in the belly of a huge fish for three days and three nights, the Son of man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.
40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the huge fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
41 The people of Nineveh will rise in the judgment together with this generation and they will condemn it because they repented in response to Jonah's message—and as you see, there's someone greater than Jonah here!
41 The men of Nineveh will stand up in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, someone greater than Jonah is here.
42 The Queen of the South will be raised in the judgment together with this generation and will condemn it because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon—and as you see, there's someone greater than Solomon here!
42 The Queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, someone greater than Solomon is here.
43 When an evil spirit leaves someone, it wanders through deserted places looking for rest, and finds nowhere to stay.
43 “When an unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he passes through waterless places seeking rest, and doesn’t find it.
44 So it says, ‘I'll go back to the place I left,’ and when it returns it finds the place empty, all clean and tidy.
44 Then he says, ‘I will return into my house from which I came;’ and when he has come back, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order.
45 Then it goes and brings back seven other spirits even more evil than it is, and it enters and lives there. So the person ends up worse than they were at the beginning. That's the way it will be with this evil generation.”
45 Then he goes and takes with himself seven other spirits more evil than he is, and they enter in and dwell there. The last state of that man becomes worse than the first. Even so will it be also to this evil generation.”
46 While he was speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers arrived and stood outside, wanting to talk to him.
46 While he was yet speaking to the multitudes, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, seeking to speak to him.
47 Someone came and told him, “Look, your mother and brothers are outside, wanting to talk to you.”
47 One said to him, “Behold, your mother and your brothers stand outside, seeking to speak to you.”
48 “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” Jesus asked.
48 But he answered him who spoke to him, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?”
49 He pointed at his disciples, and said, “Look, they are my mother and my brothers!
49 He stretched out his hand toward his disciples, and said, “Behold, my mother and my brothers!
50 For those who do the will of my heavenly Father, they are my brother, sister, and mother!”
50 For whoever does the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother.”
Cross references (49)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Deuteronomy 23:25; Mark 2:23–28; Luke 6:1–5
- 2 Matthew 12:10; John 7:21–24; Exodus 20:9–11; Mark 3:2–5; Exodus 31:15–17
- 3 1 Samuel 21:3–6; Luke 6:3; Mark 2:25–26; Matthew 21:16; Mark 12:10
- 4 Leviticus 24:5–9; Exodus 25:30; Exodus 29:32–33; Leviticus 8:31
- 5 Numbers 28:9–10; John 7:22–23
- 6 Matthew 12:41–42; 2 Chronicles 6:18; 1 Peter 2:4–5; Malachi 3:1; Haggai 2:7–9
- 7 Hosea 6:6; Matthew 9:13; Micah 6:6–8; Isaiah 1:11–17; Proverbs 17:15
- 8 Luke 6:5; Mark 2:28; John 5:17–23; Mark 9:4–7; Matthew 9:6
- 9 Luke 6:6–11; Mark 3:1–6
- 10 Luke 13:14; John 9:16; John 8:6; Matthew 22:17–18; Luke 11:54
- 11 Deuteronomy 22:4; Luke 14:5; Luke 13:15–17; Exodus 23:4–5
- 12 Matthew 6:26; Luke 6:9; Mark 3:4; Matthew 10:31; Luke 12:24
- 13 Luke 13:13; Acts 3:7–8
- 14 John 11:53; Luke 6:11; Mark 3:6; John 10:39; John 5:18
- 15 Mark 3:7–12; Matthew 10:23; John 7:1; Matthew 19:2; John 11:54
- 16 Matthew 9:30; Matthew 8:4; Matthew 17:9; Mark 7:36; Luke 5:14–15
- 17 Isaiah 42:1–4; Isaiah 42:9; Isaiah 41:22–23; Matthew 13:35; Matthew 21:4
- 18 Isaiah 42:1; Luke 4:18; John 3:34; Acts 10:38; Isaiah 61:1–3
- 19 Matthew 11:29; 2 Timothy 2:24–25; John 18:36–38; 2 Corinthians 10:1; Luke 17:20
- 20 Isaiah 42:3–4; Ezekiel 34:16; Isaiah 61:1–3; Luke 4:18; Psalm 147:3
- 21 Isaiah 11:10; Romans 15:12–13; Isaiah 42:4; Colossians 1:27; Ephesians 1:12–13
- 22 Luke 11:14–15; Mark 7:35–37; Isaiah 29:18; Isaiah 35:5–6; Acts 26:18
- 23 Matthew 9:27; John 4:29; Matthew 22:42–43; Matthew 9:33; John 7:40–42
- 24 Mark 3:22; Matthew 9:34; Luke 11:15
- 25 Galatians 5:15; Jeremiah 17:10; Matthew 9:4; Mark 3:23–27; 1 Corinthians 2:11
- 26 Colossians 1:13; 1 John 5:19; Revelation 20:2–3; John 12:31; Revelation 12:9
- 27 Mark 9:38–39; Acts 19:13–16; Luke 9:49–50; Luke 11:19; Romans 3:19
- 28 Luke 11:20; Daniel 7:14; Matthew 6:33; Acts 10:38; Colossians 1:13
- 29 Isaiah 49:24; Mark 3:27; Luke 11:21–22; 1 John 4:4; Revelation 20:7–9
- 30 Mark 9:40; Luke 11:23; Joshua 24:15; Luke 9:50; 1 John 2:19
- 31 Luke 12:10; Mark 3:28–30; Hebrews 10:29; Hebrews 10:26; Acts 7:51
- 32 Mark 3:29; Hebrews 10:26–29; Hebrews 6:4–6; Luke 12:10; Matthew 12:31
- 33 Luke 6:43–44; Matthew 7:16–20; James 4:8; John 15:4–7; Matthew 3:8–10
- 34 Luke 6:45; Matthew 15:18; Ephesians 4:29; 1 Samuel 24:13; James 3:5–8
- 35 Colossians 4:6; Proverbs 15:4; Proverbs 15:28; Colossians 3:16; Proverbs 25:11–12
- 36 Ecclesiastes 12:14; Romans 2:16; Revelation 20:12; Jude 14–15; Ephesians 6:4–6
- 37 Proverbs 13:3; James 2:21–25
- 38 1 Corinthians 1:22; Mark 8:11–12; Luke 11:29; John 2:18; Luke 11:16
- 39 Matthew 16:4; Luke 11:29–32; James 4:4; Isaiah 57:3; Mark 8:38
- 40 Jonah 1:17; Matthew 27:63–64; John 2:19; Matthew 17:23; Matthew 16:21
- 41 Matthew 12:42; Hebrews 11:7; Romans 2:27; John 3:31; Matthew 12:6
- 42 1 Kings 10:1–13; 2 Chronicles 9:1–12; Hebrews 1:2–4; Luke 11:31–32; John 1:14
- 43 Luke 11:24–26; Luke 8:28–32; Matthew 8:29; Mark 5:7–13; Amos 8:11–13
- 44 1 John 4:4; 1 John 2:19; Psalm 81:11–12; Revelation 13:8–9; Jude 4–5
- 45 Luke 11:26; Hebrews 6:4–8; Mark 5:9; Hebrews 10:26–31; 2 Peter 2:14–22
- 46 Matthew 13:55; John 7:3; John 2:12; John 7:5; Mark 3:31–35
- 48 Mark 3:32–33; Matthew 10:37; Luke 2:52; Deuteronomy 33:9; John 2:3–4
- 49 Mark 3:34; John 17:20; John 20:17–20; Matthew 28:7; John 17:8–9
- 50 Luke 8:21; Mark 3:35; John 15:14; Matthew 28:10; Luke 11:27–28
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
There has been a great question raised touching the late lesson of the Gospel, to the solution of which I am unequal by any power of mine own; but "our sufficiency is of God," to whatever degree we are capable of receiving His aid.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 6 (1888)
But Luke saith, "On a double Sabbath." Now what is a double Sabbath? When the cessation from toil is twofold, both that of the regular Sabbath, and that of another feast coming upon it. For they call every cessation from toil, a sabbath.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)
For when the unclean spirit of folly has gone forth, and when afterwards he finds them not waiting upon God, but occupied with mere worldly questions, then, "taking seven other spirits more wicked than himself," and inflating the minds of these men with the notion of their being able to conceive of something beyond God, and having fitly prepared them …
The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the utter most parts of the earth to hear the words of Solomon; and behold, a greater than Solomon is here." Two things we learn from this passage, that a judgment is to take place, and that it …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)
Whereas, if they were in discord, neither could this have been pointed out, and the doctrine itself had long since been brought to nought: "for every kingdom," saith He, "divided against itself shall not stand." But now even in this shines forth the might of the Spirit, namely, in that it prevailed on these men, engaged as they were in …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)