Matthew 12
Easy Reader Bible: Purple Letter EditionKJP 
1And as Jesus walk through some grainfields on the sabbath day; His disciples were hungry and began to pluck and eat some of the heads of grain. 2But when some Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing something that is not lawful to do on the sabbath day”. 3But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did, when he was hungry, and those that were with him; 4How he entered into the house of God, and ate the showbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for them who were with him, but only for the priests (Matt.12:2)? 5Or have you not read in the law, how, on the sabbath days, the priests in the temple break the sabbath by serving, and are considered blameless? 6But I say to you, ‘That in this place is One greater than the temple’. 7But if you had known what this means, ‘I will have mercy, and not sacrifice’, you would not have condemned the innocent. 8For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.”

9And when He had departed from there, He entered their synagogue. 10And there was a man there with a withered hand. And they asked Him, “Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days?”, in hopes that they might accuse Him of something 11And He said to them, “What man is there among you, who has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the sabbath day, will not take hold of it, and lift it out? 12How much more valuable then, is a man than a sheep? Therefore, it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days”. 13Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand”. And he stretched it out; and it was completely restored, like his other hand. 14And then the Pharisees went out, and plotted against Him, how they might kill Him.

15And being aware of this, Jesus withdrew Himself from there; and large crowds followed Him, and He healed all of them that were ill; 16And told them not to tell others about Him; 17That what was spoken by Isaiah, the prophet, might be fulfilled: 18“Behold My servant, Whom I have chosen; My beloved, in Whom I am well pleased; I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He shall proclaim justice to the Gentiles. 19He shall not strive, nor raise His voice; neither shall any man hear His voice in public. 20He shall not crush the weakest reed, nor quench a flickering candle, till He has brought justice forth to victory (Is.42:1-3). 21And in His name shall the Gentile nations trust.”

22Then a demon-possessed man, blind and unable to speak, was brought to Him; and He healed him, so that he could speak and see. 23And all the people were astonished, and said, “Could This be the son of David?” 24But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “This Fellow only casts out demons by the power of Beelzebub (Satan), the ruler of the demons”.

25And Jesus was aware of their thoughts, and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to ruin; as is every city or house divided against itself – they shall not stand; 26And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then shall his kingdom stand? 27And if I, by Beelzebub (Satan), cast out demons, by whom do your sons (exorcists) cast them out? So then, let them be your judges. 28But if, on the other hand, I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you. 29Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man's house, and rob him of his goods, unless he first binds (ties up) the strong man? And then he can take the things out of his house. 30Whoever is not with Me is against Me; and whoever does not gather with Me scatters (what I would gather).

31And so I say to you, ‘All manner of sin, (slander) and blasphemy shall be forgiven; but the blasphemy (slander) against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven. 32And whoever speaks a word against the Son of man shall be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven, not in this world, nor in the world to come. 33Either regard the tree and its fruit good; or else consider the tree and its fruit bad; for a tree is known (regarded) by its fruit. 34You generation of vipers, how can you, who are evil, say what is good and right? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35A good man brings forth good things (words) out of the good stored within his heart; and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. 36But I tell you that all shall give account of every idle word that they speak in the day of judgment. 37For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned.”

38Then some of the scribes and of the Pharisees (religious teachers) said, “Master, we want to see a (miraculous) sign from You.” 39But He replied, “An evil and adulterous generation looks after a sign; but no sign shall be given to it, except the sign of the prophet Jonah; 40For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41The men of Nineveh shall stand up at the judgment with (against) this generation, and shall condemn it; because they (the Ninevites) repented at the preaching of Jonah; and Someone greater than Jonah is here. 42The queen of the south (Sheba) shall rise at the judgment with this generation, and condemn it; for she came from a distant land to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and Someone greater than Solomon is here. 43When an evil spirit goes out of a man, he walks through dry places seeking rest, and does not find it. 44Then it says, ‘I will return to my house (the person it had taken possession of) I came out of; and when he comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. 45Then it goes, and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than it, and they take up occupancy there; and the last state of that person is worse than the first. This is how it shall also be with this wicked generation.”

46And while He was talking with the crowd, His mother and His brothers stood outside, wanting to speak with Him. 47Then someone said to Him, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to speak with You”. 48But He replied to him, “Who is My mother? And who are My brothers?” 49And He pointed toward His disciples, and said, “Look, these are My mother and My brothers! 50For whoever shall do the will of My Father Who is in heaven is My brother, sister, and mother.”

Easy Reader Bible: Purple Letter Edition
© 2023 by Jim Musser. Used by Permission. All rights Reserved.

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