| 1 | About that time Jesus passed on the Sabbath through the wheatfields; and His disciples became hungry, and began to gather ears of wheat and eat them. |
| 2 | But the Pharisees saw it and said to Him, 'Look! your disciples are doing what the Law forbids them to do on the Sabbath.' |
| 3 | 'Have you never read,' He replied, 'what David did when he and his men were hungry? |
| 4 | how he entered the House of God and ate the Presented Loaves, which it was not lawful for him or his men to eat, nor for any except the priests? |
| 5 | And have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the Temple break the Sabbath without incurring guilt? |
| 6 | But I tell you that there is here that which is greater than the Temple. |
| 7 | And if you knew what this means, 'It is mercy I desire, not sacrifice', you would not have condemned those who are without guilt. |
| 8 | For the Son of Man is the Lord of the Sabbath.' |
| 9 | Departing thence He went to their synagogue, |
| 10 | where there was a man with a shrivelled arm. And they questioned Him, 'Is it right to cure people on the Sabbath?' Their intention was to bring a charge against Him. |
| 11 | 'Which of you is there,' He replied, 'who, if he has but a single sheep and it falls into a hole on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? |
| 12 | Is not a man, however, far superior to a sheep? Therefore it is right to do good on the Sabbath.' |
| 13 | Then He said to the man, 'Stretch out your arm.' And he stretched it out, and it was restored quite sound like the other. |
| 14 | But the Pharisees after leaving the synagogue consulted together against Him, how they might destroy Him. |
| 15 | Aware of this, Jesus departed elsewhere; and a great number of people followed Him, all of whom He cured. |
| 16 | But He gave them strict injunctions not to blaze abroad His doings, |
| 17 | that those words of the Prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled, |
| 18 | 'This is My servant whom I have chosen, My dearly loved One in whom My soul takes pleasure. I will put My spirit upon Him, and He will announce justice to the nations. |
| 19 | He will not wrangle or raise His voice, nor will His voice be heard in the broadways. |
| 20 | A crushed reed He will not utterly break, nor will He quench the still smouldering wick, until He has led on Justice to victory. |
| 21 | And on His name shall the nations rest their hopes.' |
| 22 | At that time a demoniac was brought to Him, blind and dumb; and He cured him, so that the dumb man could speak and see. |
| 23 | And the crowds of people were all filled with amazement and said, 'Can this be the Son of David?' |
| 24 | The Pharisees heard it and said, 'This man only expels demons by the power of Baal-zebul, the Prince of demons.' |
| 25 | Knowing their thoughts He said to them, 'Every kingdom in which civil war has raged suffers desolation; and every city or house in which there is internal strife will be brought low. |
| 26 | And if Satan is expelling Satan, he has begun to make war on himself: how therefore shall his kingdom last? |
| 27 | And if it is by Baal-zebul's power that I expel the demons, by whose power do your disciples expel them? They therefore shall be your judges. |
| 28 | But if it is by the power of the Spirit of God that I expel the demons, it is evident that the Kingdom of God has come upon you. |
| 29 | Again, how can any one enter the house of a strong man and carry off his goods, unless first of all he masters and secures the strong man: then he will ransack his house. |
| 30 | 'The man who is not with me is against me, and he who is not gathering with me is scattering abroad. |
| 31 | This is why I tell you that men may find forgiveness for every other sin and impious word, but that for impious speaking against the Holy Spirit they shall find no forgiveness. |
| 32 | And whoever shall speak against the Son of Man may obtain forgiveness; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, neither in this nor in the coming age shall he obtain forgiveness.' |
| 33 | 'Either grant the tree to be wholesome and its fruit wholesome, or the tree poisonous and its fruit poisonous; for the tree is known by its fruit. |
| 34 | O vipers' brood, how can you speak what is good when you are evil? For it is from the overflow of the heart that the mouth speaks. |
| 35 | A good man from his good store produces good things, and a bad man from his bad store produces bad things. |
| 36 | But I tell you that for every careless word that men shall speak they will be held accountable on the day of Judgement. |
| 37 | For each of you by his words shall be justified, or by his words shall be condemned.' |
| 38 | Then He was accosted by some of the Scribes and of the Pharisees who said, 'Teacher, we wish to see a sign given by you.' |
| 39 | 'Wicked and faithless generation!' He replied, 'they clamour for a sign, but none shall be given to them except the sign of the Prophet Jonah. |
| 40 | For just as Jonah was three days in the sea-monster's belly, so will the Son of Man be three days in the heart of the earth. |
| 41 | There will stand up men of Nineveh at the Judgement together with the present generation, and will condemn it; because they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and mark! there is One greater than Jonah here. |
| 42 | The Queen of the south will awake at the Judgement together with the present generation, and will condemn it; because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and mark! there is One greater than Solomon here. |
| 43 | 'No sooner however has the foul spirit gone out of the man, then he roams about in places where there is no water, seeking rest but finding none. |
| 44 | Then he says, 'I will return to my house that I left;' and he comes and finds it unoccupied, swept clean, and in good order. |
| 45 | Then he goes and brings back with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they come in and dwell there; and in the end that man's condition becomes worse than it was at first. So will it be also with the present wicked generation.' |
| 46 | While He was still addressing the people His mother and His brothers were standing on the edge of the crowd desiring to speak to Him. |
| 47 | So some one told Him, 'Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, and desire to speak to you.' |
| 48 | 'Who is my mother?' He said to the man; 'and who are my brothers?' |
| 49 | And pointing to His disciples He added, 'See here are my mother and my brothers. |
| 50 | To obey my Father who is in Heaven--that is to be my brother and my sister and my mother.' |