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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /><title>Matthew 12 NIV</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/matthew/12.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/matthew/12-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="http://biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">NIV</a> > Matthew 12</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../matthew/11.htm" title="Matthew 11">◄</a> Matthew 12 <a href="../matthew/13.htm" title="Matthew 13">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">New International Version</td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/p/niv/esv/matthew/12.shtml" style="color:#001320" title="Parallel Chapters"> Par ▾ </a></tr></table></div><div class="chap"><p class="sectionhead">Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span>At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>He answered, <span class="red">“Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry?</span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span><span class="red">He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests.</span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span><span class="red">Or haven’t you read in the Law that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are innocent?</span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span><span class="red">I tell you that something greater than the temple is here.</span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span><span class="red">If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ <span class="nivfootnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Hosea 6:6">a</a></sup></span> you would not have condemned the innocent.</span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span><span class="red">For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”</span></p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>He said to them, <span class="red">“If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out?</span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span><span class="red">How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”</span></p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>Then he said to the man, <span class="red">“Stretch out your hand.”</span> So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.</p> <p class="sectionhead">God’s Chosen Servant</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. A large crowd followed him, and he healed all who were ill. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>He warned them not to tell others about him. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:</p> <div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>“Here is my servant whom I have chosen,</p><p class="line2">the one I love, in whom I delight;</p><p class="line1">I will put my Spirit on him,</p><p class="line2">and he will proclaim justice to the nations.</p> <p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span>He will not quarrel or cry out;</p><p class="line2">no one will hear his voice in the streets.</p> <p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-20.htm"><b>20</b></a></span>A bruised reed he will not break,</p><p class="line2">and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out,</p><p class="line1">till he has brought justice through to victory.</p> <p class="line2"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-21.htm"><b>21</b></a></span>In his name the nations will put their hope.” <span class="nivfootnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Isaiah 42:1-4">b</a></sup></span> </p></div> <p class="sectionhead">Jesus and Beelzebul</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-22.htm"><b>22</b></a></span>Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-23.htm"><b>23</b></a></span>All the people were astonished and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-24.htm"><b>24</b></a></span>But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons.”</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-25.htm"><b>25</b></a></span>Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, <span class="red">“Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.</span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-26.htm"><b>26</b></a></span><span class="red">If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand?</span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-27.htm"><b>27</b></a></span><span class="red">And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges.</span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-28.htm"><b>28</b></a></span><span class="red">But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.</span></p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-29.htm"><b>29</b></a></span><span class="red">“Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house.</span></p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-30.htm"><b>30</b></a></span><span class="red">“Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.</span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-31.htm"><b>31</b></a></span><span class="red">And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.</span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-32.htm"><b>32</b></a></span><span class="red">Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.</span></p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-33.htm"><b>33</b></a></span><span class="red">“Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.</span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-34.htm"><b>34</b></a></span><span class="red">You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.</span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-35.htm"><b>35</b></a></span><span class="red">A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.</span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-36.htm"><b>36</b></a></span><span class="red">But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken.</span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-37.htm"><b>37</b></a></span><span class="red">For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”</span></p> <p class="sectionhead">The Sign of Jonah</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-38.htm"><b>38</b></a></span>Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-39.htm"><b>39</b></a></span>He answered, <span class="red">“A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.</span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-40.htm"><b>40</b></a></span><span class="red">For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.</span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-41.htm"><b>41</b></a></span><span class="red">The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here.</span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-42.htm"><b>42</b></a></span><span class="red">The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now something greater than Solomon is here.</span></p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-43.htm"><b>43</b></a></span><span class="red">“When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it.</span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-44.htm"><b>44</b></a></span><span class="red">Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order.</span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-45.htm"><b>45</b></a></span><span class="red">Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”</span></p> <p class="sectionhead">Jesus’ Mother and Brothers</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-46.htm"><b>46</b></a></span>While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-47.htm"><b>47</b></a></span>Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.”</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-48.htm"><b>48</b></a></span>He replied to him, <span class="red">“Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?”</span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-49.htm"><b>49</b></a></span>Pointing to his disciples, he said, <span class="red">“Here are my mother and my brothers.</span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/12-50.htm"><b>50</b></a></span><span class="red">For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”</span></p><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"><span class="mainfootnotes"><A name="footnotes"></a><span class="mainfootnoteshdg">Footnotes:</span><br><span class="nivfootnotesbot">a</span> <span class="fnverse">7</span> <span class="footnotebot">Hosea 6:6</span><br><span class="nivfootnotesbot">b</span> <span class="fnverse">21</span> <span class="footnotebot">Isaiah 42:1-4</span><br><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center"><p class="ntext"><a href="http://niv.scripturetext.com/version.htm">New International Version</a> (NIV)</p><p class="ntext2">Holy Bible, New International Version&reg, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by <a href="http://biblica.com">Biblica, Inc.</a>® Used by permission. 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