^1aAt that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to ^bpick the heads of grain and eat. 2 Now when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what ^ais not lawful to do on a Sabbath!” 3 But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions— 4 how he entered the house of God, and ^athey ate the ¹consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone? 5 Or have you not read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple ¹violate the Sabbath, and yet are innocent? 6 But I say to you that something ^agreater than the temple is here. 7 But if you had known what this ¹means: ‘^aI DESIRE ²COMPASSION, ³RATHER THAN SACRIFICE,’ you would not have condemned ⁴the innocent.

8 For ^athe Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

9 ^aDeparting from there, He went into their synagogue. 10 And a man was there whose hand was withered. And they questioned ¹Jesus, asking, “^aIs it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might bring charges against Him. 11 But He said to them, “^aWhat man ¹is there among you who ²has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 ^aHow much more valuable then is a person than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do ¹good on the Sabbath.” 13 Then He *said to the man, “Stretch out your hand!” ^aHe stretched it out, and it was restored to ¹normal, like the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and ^1aconspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.

15 But Jesus, ¹aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and ^aHe healed them all, 16 and ^awarned them not to ¹tell who He was. 17 This happened so that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled:

22 ^aThen a ^bdemon-possessed man who was blind and unable to speak was brought to ¹Jesus, and He healed him so that the man who was unable to speak talked and ²could see. 23 And all the crowds were amazed and were saying, “This man cannot be the ^aSon of David, can he?” 24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man ^acasts out demons only by ¹Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”

25 ^aAnd ^bknowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and no city or house divided against itself will stand. 26 And if ^aSatan is casting out Satan, he ¹has become divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if ^aby ¹Beelzebul I cast out the demons, ^bby whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they will be your judges. 28 But ^aif I cast out the demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 Or, how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first ties up the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.

30 ^aThe one who is not with Me is against Me; and the one who does not gather with Me scatters.

31 “^aTherefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. 32 ^aAnd whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in ^bthis age or in the age to come.

33 “Either ¹assume the tree to be good as well as its fruit good, or ²assume the tree to be bad as well as its fruit bad; for ^athe tree is known by its fruit. 34 ^aYou ¹offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, express any good things? ^bFor the mouth speaks from that which fills the heart. 35 ^aThe good person brings out of his good treasure good things; and the evil person brings out of his evil treasure evil things. 36 But I tell you that for every ¹careless word that people ²speak, they will give an account of it on the ^aday of judgment. 37 For ¹by your words you will be justified, and ²by your words you will be condemned.”

38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, ^awe want to see a ¹sign from You.” 39 But He answered and said to them, “^aAn evil and adulterous generation craves a ¹sign; and so no ²sign will be given to it except the ³sign of Jonah the prophet; 40 for just as ^aJONAH WAS IN THE STOMACH OF THE SEA MONSTER FOR THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS, so will ^bthe Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for ^cthree days and three nights. 41 ^aThe men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because ^bthey repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something ^cgreater than Jonah is here. 42 ^aThe Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something ^bgreater than Solomon is here.

43 “^aNow when the unclean spirit comes out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and brings along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they come in and live there; and ^athe last condition of that person becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”

46 ^aWhile He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His ^bmother and ^cbrothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. 47 ¹[Someone said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak to You.”] 48 But ¹Jesus replied to the one who was telling Him and said, “Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?” 49 And extending His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold: My mother and My brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother, and sister, and mother.”

^aAt that ¹time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to ^bpick the heads of grain and eat. 2 But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples do what ^ais not lawful to do on a Sabbath.” 3 But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions, 4 how he entered the house of God, and ^athey ate the ¹consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone? 5 Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple ¹break the Sabbath and are innocent? 6 But I say to you that something ^agreater than the temple is here. 7 But if you had known what this ¹means, ‘^aI DESIRE ²COMPASSION, AND NOT A SACRIFICE,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.

8 For ^athe Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

9 ^aDeparting from there, He went into their synagogue. 10 And a man was there whose hand was withered. And they questioned ¹Jesus, asking, “^aIs it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse Him. 11 And He said to them, “^aWhat man ¹is there among you who ²has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 ^aHow much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do ¹good on the Sabbath.” 13 Then He *said to the man, “Stretch out your hand!” ^aHe stretched it out, and it was restored to ¹normal, like the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and ^1aconspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.

15 But Jesus, ¹aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and ^aHe healed them all, 16 and ^awarned them not to ¹tell who He was. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:

22 ^aThen a ^bdemon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to ¹Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw. 23 All the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “This man cannot be the ^aSon of David, can he?” 24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man ^acasts out demons only by ¹Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”

25 ^aAnd ^bknowing their thoughts Jesus said to them, “¹Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and ²any city or house divided against itself will not stand. 26 If ^aSatan casts out Satan, he ¹is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? 27 If I ^aby ¹Beelzebul cast out demons, ^bby whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges. 28 But ^aif I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 Or how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.

30 ^aHe who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

31 “^aTherefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. 32 ^aWhoever ¹speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever ²speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in ^bthis 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 ^athe tree is known by its fruit. 34 ^aYou brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak ¹what is good? ^bFor the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. 35 ^aThe good man brings out of his good treasure ¹what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure ²what is evil. 36 But I tell you that every ¹careless word that people ²speak, they shall give an accounting for it in ^athe day of judgment. 37 For ¹by your words you will be justified, and ²by your words you will be condemned.”

38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, ^awe want to see a ¹sign from You.” 39 But He answered and said to them, “^aAn evil and adulterous generation craves for a ¹sign; and yet no ²sign will be given to it but the ³sign of Jonah the prophet; 40 for just as ^aJONAH WAS THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE BELLY OF THE SEA MONSTER, so will ^bthe Son of Man be ^cthree days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 ^aThe men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because ^bthey repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, ^csomething greater than Jonah is here. 42 ^aThe Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, ^bsomething greater than Solomon is here.

43 “^aNow when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and ^athe last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”

46 ^aWhile He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His ^bmother and ^cbrothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. 47 Someone said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You.”¹ 48 But ¹Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” 49 And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold My mother and My brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”

^aAt that particular time Jesus went through the grainfields on the ¹Sabbath, and His disciples were hungry and began to ^bpick the heads of grain and eat them. Deut 23:25; Mark 2:23-28; Luke 6:1-5 2 But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what ^1ais unlawful on the Sabbath.” Ex 20:10; 23:12; Deut 5:14 3 He said to them, “Have you not read in the Scriptures what David did when he was hungry, he and those who accompanied him— Lev 24:9; 1+@Sam 21:1-6 4 how he went into the house of God, and they ^aate the ¹consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests only? 5 Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the sanctity of the Sabbath and yet are innocent? Num 28:9, 10 6 But I tell you that something ^agreater than the temple is here. 7 And if you had only known what this statement means, ‘^aI DESIRE COMPASSION for those in distress, ¹AND NOT animal SACRIFICE,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. Hos 6:6; Matt 9:13

8 For ^athe Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

9 ^aLeaving there, He went into their synagogue. Mark 3:1-6; Luke 6:6-11 10 A man was there whose hand was withered. And they asked Jesus, “^aIs it lawful and permissible to heal on the Sabbath?”—they asked this so that they might accuse Him and bring charges into court. 11 But He said to them, “^aWhat man is there among you who, if he has only one sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 ^aHow much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful and permissible to do good on the Sabbath.” 13 Then He said to the man, “Reach out your hand!” ^aThe man reached out and it was restored, as normal and healthy as the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and ^aconspired against Him, discussing how they could destroy Him.

15 Being aware of this, Jesus left there. Many followed Him, and ^aHe healed all of them who were sick, 16 and ^awarned them not to tell publicly who He was. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah:

22 ^aThen a ^bdemon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man both spoke and saw. Mark 3:22-27; Luke 11:14, 15 23 All the people wondered in amazement, and said, “Could this be the ^aSon of David (the Messiah) ?” 24 But the Pharisees heard it and said, “This man ^1acasts out demons only by the help of Beelzebul (Satan) the prince of the demons.”

25 ^aKnowing their thoughts Jesus said to them, “Any kingdom that is divided against itself is being laid waste; and no city or house divided against itself will continue to stand. 26 If ^aSatan casts out Satan that is, his demons, he has become divided against himself and disunited; how then will his kingdom stand? 27 If I cast out the demons ^aby the help of Beelzebul (Satan) , ^bby whom do your sons drive them out? For this reason they will be your judges. 28 But ^aif it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you before you expected it. 29 Or how can anyone go into a strong man’s house and steal his property unless he first overpowers and ties up the strong man? Then he will ransack and rob his house. Is 49:24, 25; Mark 3:27

30 ^aHe who is not with Me once and for all on My side is against Me; and he who does not unequivocally gather with Me scatters. Luke 9:50; 11:23

31 “^aTherefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy every evil, abusive, injurious speaking, or indignity against sacred things will be forgiven people, but ¹blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 ^aWhoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit by attributing the miracles done by Me to Satan will not be forgiven, either in ^bthis age or in the age to come. Mark 3:29; Luke 12:10

33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for ^athe tree is recognized and judged by its fruit. 34 ^aYou brood of vipers, how can you speak good things when you are evil? ^bFor the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. 35 ^aThe good man, from his inner good treasure, brings out good things; and the evil man, from his inner evil treasure, brings out evil things. 36 But I tell you, on ^athe day of judgment people will have to give an accounting for every careless or useless word they speak. 37 For by your words reflecting your spiritual condition you will be justified and acquitted of the guilt of sin; and by your words rejecting Me you will be condemned and sentenced.”

38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, ^awe want to see a sign (attesting miracle) from You proving that You are what You claim to be.” 39 But He replied and said to them, “^aAn evil and adulterous generation that is morally unfaithful to God craves and demands a miraculous sign; but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah; Luke 11:29-32 40 for just as ^aJONAH WAS THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE BELLY OF THE SEA MONSTER, so will ^bthe Son of Man be ^cthree days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Jon 1:17 41 ^aThe men of Nineveh will stand up as witnesses at the judgment against this generation, and will condemn it because ^bthey repented at the preaching of Jonah; and now, ^csomething greater than Jonah is here. Jon 3:5 42 ^aThe Queen of the South (Sheba) will stand up as a witness at the judgment against this generation, and will condemn it because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon; and now, ^bsomething greater than Solomon is here. 1+@Kin 10:1; 2+@Chr 9:1

43 “^aNow when the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, it roams through waterless (dry, arid) places in search of rest, but it does not find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it arrives, it finds the place unoccupied, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and make their home there. And ^athe last condition of that man becomes worse than the first. So will it also be with this wicked generation.”

46 ^aWhile He was still talking to the crowds, it happened that His ^bmother and ^cbrothers stood outside, asking to speak to Him. Mark 3:31-35; Luke 8:19-21 47 Someone said to Him, “Look! Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside asking to speak to You.” 48 But Jesus replied to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” 49 And stretching out His hand toward His disciples and all His other followers, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! 50 For ¹whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven by believing in Me, and following Me is My brother and sister and mother.”