12 ²² THEN THEY BROUGHT HIM a man who was possessed; he was blind and dumb; and Jesus cured him, restoring both speech and sight. 12 ²³ The bystanders were all amazed, and the word went round: 'Can this be the Son of David?' 12 ²⁴ But when the Pharisees heard it they said, 'It is only by Beelzebub prince of devils that this man drives the devils out.'
12 ²⁵ He knew what was in their minds; so he said to them, 'Every kingdom divided against itself goes to ruin; and no town, no household, that is divided against itself can stand. 12 ²⁶ And if it is Satan who casts out Satan, Satan is divided against himself; how then can his kingdom stand? 12 ²⁷ And if it is by Beelzebub that I cast out devils, by whom do your own people drive them out? If this is your argument, they themselves will refute you. 12 ²⁸ But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out the devils, then be sure the kingdom of God has already come upon you.
12 ²⁹ 'Or again, how can anyone break into a strong man's house and make off with his goods unless he has first tied the strong man up before ransacking the house?
12 ³⁰ 'He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.
12 ³¹ 'And so I tell you this: no sin, no slander, is beyond forgiveness for men, except slander spoken against the Spirit, and that will not be forgiven. 12 ³² Any man who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but if anyone speaks against the Holy Spirit, for him there is no forgiveness, either in this age or in the age to come.
- A Tree and Its Fruits  Mt.12.33-37 (Capernaum)- Mk.8.11-12, Lk.11.29-32 | NEB Contents | notes

12 ³³ 'Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; you can tell a tree by its fruit. 12 ³⁴ You vipers' brood! How can your words be good when you yourselves are evil? For the words that the mouth utters come from the overflowing of the heart. 12 ³⁵ A good man produces good from the store of good within himself; and an evil man from evil within produces evil.
12 ³⁶ 'I tell you this: there is not a thoughtless word that comes from men's lips but they will have to account for it on the day of judgement. 12 ³⁷ For out of your own mouth you will be acquitted; out of your own mouth you will be condemned.'

12 ³⁸ At this some of the doctors of the law and the Pharisees said, 'Master, we should like you to show us a sign.' 12 ³⁹ He answered: 'It is a wicked, godless generation that asks for a sign; and the only sign that will be given it is the sign of the prophet Jonah. 12 ^{40 [ Jn.1.17. ]} Jonah was in the sea-monster's belly for three days and three nights, and in the same way the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the bowels of the earth. 12 ⁴¹ At the Judgement, when this generation is on trial, the men of Nineveh will appear against it Or: will rise together with it. and ensure its condemnation, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and what is here is greater than Jonah. 12 ⁴² The Queen of the South will appear at the Judgement when this generation is on trial, Or: At the judgement the Queen of the South will be raised to life together with this generation. and ensure its condemnation, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and what is here is greater than Solomon.
- The Return of the Unclean Spirit  Mt.12.43-45 (Capernaum)- Lk.11.24-26 | NEB Contents | notes

12 ⁴³ 'When an unclean spirit comes out of a man it wanders over the deserts seeking a resting-place; and finding none, 12 ⁴⁴ it says, "I will go back to the home I left." So it returns and finds the house unoccupied, swept clean, and tidy. 12 ⁴⁵ Off it goes and collects seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they all come in and settle down; and in the end the man's plight is worse than before. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.'
- The Mother and Brothers of Jesus  Mt.12.46-50 (Capernaum)- Mk.3.31-35, Lk.8.19-21 | NEB Contents | notes

12 ⁴⁶ He was still speaking to the crowd when his mother and brothers appeared; they stood outside, wanting to speak to him. 12 ⁴⁷ Someone said, 'Your mother and your brothers are here outside; they want to speak to you.' 12 ⁴⁸ Jesus turned to the man who brought the message, and said, 'Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?'; 12 ⁴⁹ and pointing to the disciples, he said, 'Here are my mother and my brothers. 12 ⁵⁰ Whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, my sister, my mother.'
- The Parable of the Sower  Mt.13.1-9 (Plain of Gennesaret)- Mk.4.1-9, Lk.8.4-8 | NEB Contents | notes

13 ¹ THAT SAME DAY Jesus went out and sat beside the lake, where so many people gathered round him that he had to get into a boat. 13 ² He sat there, and all the people stood on the shore. 13 ³ He spoke to them in parables, at some length.

He said: 'A sower went out to sow. 13 ⁴ And as he sowed, some seed fell along the footpath; and the birds came and ate it up. 13 ⁵ Some seed fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil; it sprouted quickly because it had no depth of earth, 13 ⁶ but when the sun rose the young corn was scorched, and as it had no root it withered away. 13 ⁷ Some seed fell among thistles; and the thistles shot up, and choked the corn. 13 ⁸ And some of the seed fell into good soil, where it bore fruit, yielding a hundredfold or, it might be, sixtyfold or thirtyfold. 13 ⁹ If you have ears, then hear.'
- The Purpose of the Parables  Mt.13.10-17 (Plain of Gennesaret)- Mk.4.10-12, Lk.8.9-10 | NEB Contents | notes

13 ¹⁰ The disciples went up to him and asked, 'Why do you speak to them in parables?' 13 ¹¹ He replied, 'It has been granted to you to know the secrets of the kingdom of Heaven; but to those others it has not been granted. 13 ¹² For the man who has will be given more, till he has enough and to spare; and the man who has not will forfeit even what he has. 13 ¹³ That is why I speak to them in parables; for they look without seeing, and listen without hearing or understanding. 13 ^{14 [ Is.6.9-10, Ez.12.2. ]} There is a prophecy of Isaiah which is being fulfilled for them: "You may hear and hear, but you will never understand; you will look and look, but you will never see. 13 ¹⁵ For this people's mind has become gross; their ears are dulled, and their eyes are closed. Otherwise, their eyes might see, their ears hear, and their mind understand, and then they might turn again, and I would heal them."

13 ¹⁶ 'But happy are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear! 13 ¹⁷ Many prophets and saints, I tell you, desired to see what you now see, yet never saw it; to hear what you hear, yet never heard it.