¹At that time Jesus went through the cornfields on a Sabbath day, and his disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck ears of corn and eat them. ²But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing something which it is not permitted to do on a Sabbath.” ³However, he said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he and those with him were hungry? ⁴– how he went into the house of God and ate the showbread loaves, which were not permitted for him or those with him to eat, except for the priests alone? ⁵Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, yet are guiltless? ⁶But I say to you that there is something greater than the temple here. ⁷And if you had known what ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice’ means, you would not have condemned the innocent, ⁸for the son of man is Lord of the Sabbath.” ⁹Then moving on from there, he came to their synagogue, ¹⁰and it so happened that there was a man with a withered hand, and they questioned him and asked, “Is it permitted to heal on a Sabbath?” in order to accuse him. ¹¹But he said to them, “What man is there among you who has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, he will not get hold of it and lift it out? ¹²Well then, how much more a man is worth than a sheep! So it is permitted to do good on Sabbaths.” ¹³Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and it was restored as sound as the other one. ¹⁴But the Pharisees went away and held a council against him, plotting how they might destroy him. ¹⁵However, Jesus, being aware of it, withdrew from there, and large crowds followed him, and he healed them all, ¹⁶and he charged them not to make him publicly known, ¹⁷in order that that which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, where he says, ²²Then a blind and mute man possessed by a demon was brought to him, and he healed him, so the blind and mute man could both speak and see, ²³and all the crowds were amazed and said, “Isn't this the son of David?” ²⁴But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “This man does not cast out demons except by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.” ²⁵But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom which is divided against itself is reduced to desolation, and no city or household which is divided against itself will stand. ²⁶And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? ²⁷And if I cast out the demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your people cast them out? On account of this, they themselves will be judges over you. ²⁸But if I cast the demons out by the spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. ²⁹Or how can anyone go into a strong man's house and plunder his belongings, if he does not first bind the strong man, so that then he can plunder his house? ³⁰He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters. ³¹On account of this I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the spirit will not be forgiven men. ³²And whoever speaks a word against the son of man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the holy spirit will not be forgiven, either in the present age or in the one to come. ³³Either make the tree good, and its fruit good, or make the tree rotten, and its fruit rotten. For by the fruit the tree is known. ³⁴You offspring of vipers, how can you speak good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart. ³⁵A good man brings out good things from his good treasure, and an evil man brings out evil things from his evil treasure. ³⁶But I say to you that for every idle word which men may speak, they will give an account of it on the day of judgment, ³⁷for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” ³⁸Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered and said, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” ³⁹But he answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. ⁴⁰For as Jonah was in the stomach of the whale for three days and three nights, so the son of man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. ⁴¹The Ninevite men will rise in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, because they repented at Jonah's preaching, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. ⁴²The queen of the south will rise in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. ⁴³And whenever an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it passes through arid places seeking rest, but it does not find it. ⁴⁴Then it says, ‘I will go back to my house, from where I came out.’ And when it has gone back, it finds it unoccupied and swept clean and tidied up. ⁴⁵Then it goes out and takes seven other spirits more evil than itself with it, and when they have entered, they live there, and the last condition of that man becomes worse than the first. So it will be with this evil generation as well.” ⁴⁶And while he was still speaking to the crowds, it so happened that his mother and his brothers were standing outside, wanting to speak to him. ⁴⁷Then someone said to him, “Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.” ⁴⁸But he answered and said to him who had spoken to him, “Who is my mother and who are my brothers?” ⁴⁹And stretching out his hand to his disciples, he said, “Behold my mother and my brothers. ⁵⁰For it is whoever does the will of my father in the heavens who is my brother and sister and mother.”

Reference(s) in Chapter 12: v.7 ↔ Hosea 6:6 ● v.18 ↔ Isaiah 41:8, Isaiah 42:1 ● v.19 ↔ Isaiah 42:2 ● v.20 ↔ Isaiah 42:3 ● v.21 ↔ Isaiah 11:10 ● v.40 ↔ Jonah 2:1^MT (Jonah 1:17^AV).