Matius 12:31-32

12:31 For this reason I tell you, people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy, ¹  but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 12:32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven. ²  But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, ³  either in this age or in the age to come.

Matius 12:1

Lord of the Sabbath

12:1 At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on a Sabbath. His ⁴  disciples were hungry, and they began to pick heads of wheat ⁵  and eat them.

Yohanes 5:16

Responding to Jewish Leaders

5:16 Now because Jesus was doing these things ⁶  on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders ⁷  began persecuting ⁸  him.

[12:31]  ¹ tn Grk “every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men.”

[12:32]  ² tn Grk “it will be forgiven him.”

[12:32]  ³ tn Grk “it will not be forgiven him.”

[12:32]  sn Whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. This passage has troubled many people, who have wondered whether or not they have committed this sin. Three things must be kept in mind: (1) the nature of the sin is to ascribe what is the obvious work of the Holy Spirit (e.g., releasing people from Satan’s power) to Satan himself; (2) it is not simply a momentary doubt or sinful attitude, but is indeed a settled condition which opposes the Spirit’s work, as typified by the religious leaders who opposed Jesus; and (3) a person who is concerned about it has probably never committed this sin, for those who commit it here (i.e., the religious leaders) are not in the least concerned about Jesus’ warning.

[12:1]  ⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[12:1]  ⁵ tn Or “heads of grain.” While the generic term στάχυς (stacus) can refer to the cluster of seeds at the top of grain such as barley or wheat, in the NT the term is restricted to wheat (L&N 3.40; BDAG 941 s.v. 1).

[5:16]  ⁶ sn Note the plural phrase these things which seems to indicate that Jesus healed on the Sabbath more than once (cf. John 20:30). The synoptic gospels show this to be true; the incident in 5:1-15 has thus been chosen by the author as representative.

[5:16]  ⁷ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” See the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 10.

[5:16]  ⁸ tn Or “harassing.”