Matthew 12
Coverdale Bible of 1535 Par ▾ 

The Lord of the Sabbath
(1 Samuel 21:1–7; Mark 2:23–28; Luke 6:1–5)

1At the same tyme wete Iesus thorow the corne vpon the Sabbath, and his disciples were hongrie, and beganne to plucke of the eares of the corne, and to eate. 2When ye Pharises sawe that, they sayde vnto him: Beholde, thy disciples do that, which is not laufull to do vpon the Sabbath. 3He sayde vnto them: haue ye not red what Dauid did, whan he was hongrie, & they also yt were with him? 4How he entred in to the house of God, & ate the shew breds which were not laufull for him to eate, nether for the yt were with him, but onely for the prestes? 5Or haue ye not red in the lawe how that the prestes in the temple breake the Sabbath, and yet are blamelesse? 6But I saye vnto you: yt here is one greater then the temple. 7But yf ye wyst what this were (I haue pleasure in mercy, and not in offeringe) ye wolde not haue condemned innocentes:

8For the sonne of man is LORDE euen ouer the Sabbath.

Jesus Heals on the Sabbath
(Mark 3:1–6; Luke 6:6–11)

9And he departed thence, and wente in to their synagoge: 10and beholde, there was a ma which had his hade dryed vp. And they axed him, sayenge: Is it laufull to heale, vpon the Sabbath? because they might accuse him. 11But he sayde vnto the: Which of you is it, yf he had a shepe falle in to a pytte vpon the Sabbath, that wolde not take him, and lift him out? 12And how moch is a man better then a shepe? Therfore it is lefull to do good vpon the Sabbath. 13Then sayde he to the ma: Stretch forth thine hande. And he stretched it forth: and it was whole agayne like vnto the other. 14Then wente the Pharises out, and helde a councell agaynst him, how they might destroye him.

God’s Chosen Servant
(Isaiah 42:1–9)

15But wha Iesus knew therof, he departed thence, & moch people folowed him: and he healed them all, 16and charged them, yt they shulde not make him knowne: 17that the thinge might be fulfylled, which was spoken by Esay the prophet, which sayeth:

18Beholde, this is my seruaunt, whom I haue chosen: and my beloued, in whom my soule delyteth: I wil put my sprete vpon hi, and he shal shewe iudgment vnto the Heithe.

19He shal not stryue, ner crye, nether shal eny man heare his voyce in the stretes.

20A brosed rede shal he not breake, and flax that beginneth to burne shal he not quench, tyll he sende forth iudgment vnto victory.

21And in his name shal the Heithen trust.

A House Divided
(Mark 3:20–27; Luke 11:14–23)

22Then was there brought vnto him one possessed (of a deuell) the which was blynde and domne, and he healed him: in so moch yt ye blynde and domne both spake and sawe. 23And all the people were amased, and sayde: Is not this the sonne of Dauid? 24But whan the Pharises herde that, they sayde: He dryueth the deuyls out none other wyse, but thorow Beelzebub the chefe of the deuyls.

25Neuertheles Iesus knew their thoughtes, and sayde vnto them: Euery kyngdome deuyded within it self, shalbe desolate: and euery cite or house deuyded in it self, maye not contynue. 26So yf one Sathan cast out another, the is he at variaunce within him self: how maye then his kyngdome endure? 27But yf I cast out deuils thorow Beelzebub, thorow whom do youre childre cast them out? Therfore shal they be youre iudges. 28But yf I cast out the deuyls by the sprete of God then is the kyngdome of God come vpon you. 29Or how ca a man entre in to a stronge mans house, and violently take awaye his goodes, excepte he first bynde the stronge ma, & the spoyle his house?

30He that is not wt me, is agaynst me: & he yt gathereth not wt me, scatereth abrode.

The Unpardonable Sin
(Mark 3:28–30)

31Therfore I saye vnto you: All synne and blasphemy shalbe forgeuen vnto men, but the blasphemy agaynst the sprete shal not be forgeuen vnto men: 32And whosoeuer speaketh a worde agaynst the sonne of man, it shalbe forgeue him. But whosoeuer speaketh agaynst the holy goost it shal not be forgeuen him, nether in this worlde, ner in the worlde to come.

Good and Bad Fruit
(Luke 6:43–45)

33Either make the tre good and his frute good also, or els make the tre euel & his frute euel also. For the tre is knowne by the frute. 34O ye generacio of vypers, how can ye speake good, whan ye youre selues are euell? For of ye abundace of ye hert ye mouth speaketh. 35A good man out of the good treasure of his hert, bringeth forth good thinges: & an euel man out of his euell treasure, bringeth forth euell thinges. 36But I saye vnto you, that of euery ydell worde that me haue spoken, they shal geue accomptes at ye daye of iudgmet. 37Out of thy wordes thou shalt be iustified, & out of thy wordes thou shalt be codemned.

The Sign of Jonah
(Jonah 3:1–10; Luke 11:29–32)

38Then answered certayne of the scrybes and Pharises, and sayde: Master, we wolde fayne se a toke of the. 39And he answered and saide vnto the: This euell and aduouterous generacion seketh a token: and there shal no token be geuen the, but the token of the prophete Ionas. 40For as Ionas was thre dayes and thre nightes in the Whalles bely, so shal the sonne of ma be thre dayes and thre nightes in the hert of the earth. 41The men of Ninyue shal ryse in the last iudgment with this generacion, and shal condemne it: for they dyd penaunce acordinge to ye preachinge of Ionas. And beholde, here is one greater the Ionas. 42The quene of the south shal aryse in the last iudgmet with this generacion, and shal condene it: for she came from the vttemost partes of the earth, to heare ye wyssdome of Salomon: And lo, here is one greater then Salomon.

An Unclean Spirit Returns
(Luke 11:24–26)

43Whan the vncleane sprete is gone out of man, he walketh thorow dry places, sekinge rest, & fyndeth none. 44The saieth he: I wil turne agayne in to my house, fro whence I wete out. And whan he cometh, he fyndeth it emptye, swepte and garnyshed. 45Then goeth he his waye, & taketh vnto him seuen other spretes worse then him self: and whan they are entred in, they dwell there: And the ende of that man is worse then the begynnynge. Euen so shal it go wt this euell generacion.

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers
(Mark 3:31–35; Luke 8:19–21)

46Whyle he yet talked vnto the people, beholde, his mother & his brethre stode without desyringe to speake wt him. 47Then sayde one vnto him: Beholde, thy mother and thy brethren stonde without, & wolde speake wt the. 48Neuertheles he answered & sayde vnto him that tolde him: Who is my mother? & who are my brethren? 49And he stretched forth his hande ouer his disciples, & sayde: Beholde my mother and my brethre. 50For who soeuer doth ye wyll of my father which is in heaue, the same is my brother, sister and mother.


Coverdale Bible of 1535

Section Headings Courtesy Berean Bible

Matthew 11
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