The Fallible Study Bible

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Matthew12:22–30

A House Divided

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Matthew 12:22–30 — A House Divided. Each verse below carries the full apparatus: the Berean Standard Bible, the vocalized original (tap any word), and a parsed breakdown of every term transcribed from the interlinear. Synthesized commentary, canonical threads, and the reading of Christ gather at the end, over the whole unit.

22

Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed the man so that he could speak and see.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Tote daimonizomenos typhlos kai kōphos prosēnechthē autō kai etherapeusen auton hōste ton kōphon lalein kai blepein

Word by word16 · parsed
ΤότεToteThenG5119
√ τότε — the when, iAdverb
δαιμονιζόμενοςdaimonizomenosa demon-possessed manG1139
√ δαιμονίζομαι — to be exercised by a dæmonVerbPresent Participle Middle or PassiveNominative Masculine Singular
daimonizomai: to be exercised by a daemon A present participle of continuing action. Matthew does not say the man had a demon as one has a disease; he says the man was being acted upon. Ellicott observes that in the parallel at Matthew 9:32 the man was only mute, while "here the phenomena of the suspension of conscious sensation and volition were more complicated." Two faculties are shut at once, which is why the crowd's reaction in v. 23 is so strong.
τυφλὸςtyphlos[who was] blindG5185
√ τυφλός — opaque (as if smoky), iAdjectiveNominative Masculine Singular
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
κωφόςkōphosmuteG2974
√ κωφός — blunted, iAdjectiveNominative Masculine Singular
προσηνέχθηprosēnechthēwas broughtG4374
√ προσφέρω — to bear towards, iVerbAorist Indicative Passive3rd Person Singular
prospherō: to bear towards, to offer The standard Septuagint and New Testament verb for presenting a sacrifice or a gift. Its passive here makes the sufferer the thing carried, not the one who comes. Every other actor in this unit chooses a side; this man cannot even choose to arrive.
αὐτῷautōto [Jesus]G846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἐθεράπευσενetherapeusenHe healedG2323
√ θεραπεύω — to wait upon menially, iVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
therapeuō: to wait upon, to heal Aorist active: one completed act by a single agent. The whole argument from v. 24 onward turns on who owns this verb. The Pharisees do not deny that it happened; JFB draws out the implication that "the bitterest enemies of our Lord were unable to deny the reality of His miracles."
αὐτόνauton[the man]G846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
ὥστεhōsteso thatG5620
√ ὥστε — so too, iConjunction
τὸνtonG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
κωφὸνkōphon[he]G2974
√ κωφός — blunted, iAdjectiveAccusative Masculine Singular
kōphos: blunted, dull (of hearing or speech) The word covers both deaf and mute. Gill weighs the ambiguity honestly and concludes the man could probably hear, "since no mention is made of his want of hearing, or of Christ's restoring it to him." The Pulpit Commentary preserves Chrysostom's older reading, that the two closed doors were sight and hearing, both of them entrances to faith.
λαλεῖνlaleincould speakG2980
√ λαλέω — to talk, iVerbPresent Infinitive Active
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
βλέπεινblepeinseeG991
√ βλέπω — to look at (literally or figuratively)VerbPresent Infinitive Active
23

The crowds were astounded and asked, “Could this be the Son of David?”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

kai hoi ochloi pantes existanto kai elegon estin Mēti houtos ho huios Dauid

Word by word13 · parsed
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
οἱhoiTheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Plural
ὄχλοιochloicrowdsG3793
√ ὄχλος — a throng (as borne along)NounNominative Masculine Plural
πάντεςpantesvvvG3956
√ πᾶς — all, any, every, the wholeAdjectiveNominative Masculine Plural
pas: all, any, every, the whole Left unrendered in the English. It matters for the shape of the unit: the popular verdict is unanimous, which is exactly why the official verdict in v. 24 has to be so extreme. JFB connects the two, saying the ecclesiastics were "stung by the unsophisticated testimony of 'all the people.'"
ἐξίσταντοexistantowere astoundedG1839
√ ἐξίστημι — to put (stand) out of wits, iVerbImperfect Indicative Middle3rd Person Plural
existēmi: to stand out of one's wits The imperfect middle keeps the crowd in a sustained state of being beside themselves. JFB's account of Mark's setting is worth holding alongside it: Mark reports that Jesus' own relatives said "He is beside Himself" using this same family of language for derangement. Here it is the crowd, not Jesus, whose mind is unseated.
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἔλεγονelegonaskedG2036
√ ἔπω — to speak or say (by word or writing)VerbImperfect Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
ἐστινestinCould this beG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
ΜήτιMēti. . .G3385
√ μήτι — whether at allIntPrtcl
mēti: whether at all (expecting no) The grammatical hinge of the verse. The crowd's faith is real and cowardly at once. JFB reads the form as the people "saving themselves from the wrath of the ecclesiastics, which a direct assertion of it would have brought upon them," and Poole notes that the same weak, interrogative faith appears at John 7:31.
οὗτόςhoutos. . .G3778
√ οὗτος — the he (she or it), iDemonstrative PronounNominative Masculine Singular
ὁhotheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
υἱὸςhuiosSonG5207
√ υἱός — a "son" (sometimes of animals), used very widely of immediate, remote or figuratively, kinshipNounNominative Masculine Singular
huios: son, descendant "Son of David" is, as Ellicott puts it, "the most popular of all the synonyms of the Christ." Barnes grounds the inference in Isaiah 35:5, "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened." The crowd is reasoning from the sign to the title, which is precisely the reasoning the next verse must destroy.
ΔαυίδDauidof DavidG1138
√ Δαβίδ — Dabid (iNounGenitive Masculine Singular
24

But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “Only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, does this man drive out demons.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

de Hoi Pharisaioi akousantes eipon ei mē en tō Beelzeboul archonti tōn daimoniōn Houtos ouk ekballei ta daimonia

Word by word18 · parsed
δὲdeBut whenG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
ΟἱHoiG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Plural
ΦαρισαῖοιPharisaioi[the] PhariseesG5330
√ Φαρισαῖος — a separatist, iNounNominative Masculine Plural
ἀκούσαντεςakousantesheard thisG191
√ ἀκούω — to hear (in various senses)VerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Plural
akouō: to hear An aorist participle: they heard the crowd, not the miracle. Ellicott insists the words "appear to have been whispered by the Pharisees among the people. They were not addressed to Jesus." The charge is crowd management, which is why Barnes reads their motive as the collapse of "the authority and power of the Pharisees."
εἶπονeiponthey saidG2036
√ ἔπω — to speak or say (by word or writing)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
εἰeiOnlyG1487
√ εἰ — if, whether, that, etcConjunction
μὴmē. . .G3361
√ μή — (adverb) not, (conjunction) lestAdverb
ἐνenbyG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
en: in, at, by A function word bearing the weight of the whole dispute. It recurs at v. 27 and twice in v. 28; the argument of the unit is a contest over what Jesus is in.
τῷtōG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Masculine Singular
ΒεελζεβοὺλBeelzeboulBeelzebulG954
√ Βεελζεβούλ — dung-godNounDative Masculine Singular
Beelzeboul: dung-god A rare name: the Verifier finds it in only seven verses of the New Testament, and Matthew has already used it at 10:25, where Jesus predicted this exact slander against his household. Benson records the older Ekronite name Baal-zebub, "the lord or master of flies," and notes that the Greek form Beelzebul "signifies, the lord of a dunghill, and seems to be a contemptuous change of the former name." The insult may be Jewish rather than Philistine in origin.
ἄρχοντιarchonti[the] princeG758
√ ἄρχων — a first (in rank or power)NounDative Masculine Singular
archōn: a first in rank or power By naming a ruler the Pharisees concede a realm, and by conceding a realm they hand Jesus the premise of vv. 25 to 26. Ellicott's judgment is that the charge "is significant as showing that the Pharisees admitted the reality of the work of healing." Their explanation is the only one left once denial is impossible.
τῶνtōnG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Neuter Plural
δαιμονίωνdaimoniōnof demonsG1140
√ δαιμόνιον — a dæmonic beingNounGenitive Neuter Plural
ΟὗτοςHoutos{does} this [man]G3778
√ οὗτος — the he (she or it), iDemonstrative PronounNominative Masculine Singular
houtos: this one Contemptuous by tone, not by lexicon. Its echo of v. 23 makes the two verdicts on one man stand side by side in one demonstrative pronoun.
οὐκoukvvvG3756
√ οὐ — the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverbAdverb
ἐκβάλλειekballeidrive outG1544
√ ἐκβάλλω — to eject (literally or figuratively)VerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
τὰtaG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Neuter Plural
δαιμόνιαdaimoniademonsG1140
√ δαιμόνιον — a dæmonic beingNounAccusative Neuter Plural
25

Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

de Eidōs autōn tas enthymēseis eipen autois Pasa basileia meristheisa kath’ heautēs erēmoutai kai pasa polis ē oikia meristheisa kath’ heautēs ou stathēsetai

Word by word23 · parsed
δὲdeG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
ΕἰδὼςEidōsKnowingG1492
√ εἴδω — used only in certain past tenses, the others being borrowed from the equivalent G3700 (ὀπτάνομαι) and G3708 (ὁράω)VerbPerfect Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
eidō: to see, and so to know Perfect participle. Matthew has used this identical construction once before, at 9:4, in the only other place he pairs it with ἐνθυμήσεις, and there too the charge was blasphemy. Gill takes the grammar as christology: reading the inward frame of the mind "is a proof of his omniscience, and so of his deity."
αὐτῶνautōntheirG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Plural
τὰςtasG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Feminine Plural
ἐνθυμήσειςenthymēseisthoughtsG1761
√ ἐνθύμησις — deliberationNounAccusative Feminine Plural
enthymēsis: deliberation, inward reasoning A rare noun, four verses in all: here, Matthew 9:4, Acts 17:29 (of what human devising makes of God), and Hebrews 4:12, where the word of God is said to judge the ἐνθυμήσεις of the heart. Jesus does what Hebrews says the word of God does. The Pharisees have not yet spoken to him, only among the people, and he answers the deliberation rather than the sentence.
εἶπενeipen[Jesus] saidG2036
√ ἔπω — to speak or say (by word or writing)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
αὐτοῖςautoisto themG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
ΠᾶσαPasaEveryG3956
√ πᾶς — all, any, every, the wholeAdjectiveNominative Feminine Singular
βασιλείαbasileiakingdomG932
√ βασιλεία — properly, royalty, iNounNominative Feminine Singular
μερισθεῖσαmeristheisadividedG3307
√ μερίζω — to part, iVerbAorist Participle PassiveNominative Feminine Singular
merizō: to part, to divide A relatively uncommon verb (the Verifier counts thirteen verses). Its passive shape matters: no kingdom divides itself on purpose. Cambridge sets the frame the aorist implies: "Here Satan's kingdom is regarded as warring against the kingdom of God," so the division would be an act of war turned inward.
καθ’kath’againstG2596
√ κατά — (prepositionally) down (in place or time), in varied relations (according to the case (genitive, dative or accusative) with which it is joined)Preposition
ἑαυτῆςheautēsitselfG1438
√ ἑαυτοῦ — him- (her-, it-, them-, also (in conjunction with the personal pronoun of the other persons) my-, thy-, our-, your-) self (selves), etcReflexive PronounGenitive Feminine 3rd Person Singular
ἐρημοῦταιerēmoutaiwill be laid wasteG2049
√ ἐρημόω — to lay waste (literally or figuratively)VerbPresent Indicative Middle or Passive3rd Person Singular
erēmoō: to lay waste, to make desolate Rare, five verses. Three of the others stand in Revelation 18, where the great city is made desolate in one hour. The present tense here refuses to put the ruin safely in the future; the divided kingdom is being emptied out as Jesus speaks.
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
πᾶσαpasaeveryG3956
√ πᾶς — all, any, every, the wholeAdjectiveNominative Feminine Singular
πόλιςpoliscityG4172
√ πόλις — a town (properly, with walls, of greater or less size)NounNominative Feminine Singular
ἢēorG2228
√ ἤ — disjunctive, orConjunction
οἰκίαoikiahouseholdG3614
√ οἰκία — properly, residence (abstractly), but usually (concretely) an abode (literally or figuratively)NounNominative Feminine Singular
μερισθεῖσαmeristheisadividedG3307
√ μερίζω — to part, iVerbAorist Participle PassiveNominative Feminine Singular
καθ’kath’againstG2596
√ κατά — (prepositionally) down (in place or time), in varied relations (according to the case (genitive, dative or accusative) with which it is joined)Preposition
ἑαυτῆςheautēsitselfG1438
√ ἑαυτοῦ — him- (her-, it-, them-, also (in conjunction with the personal pronoun of the other persons) my-, thy-, our-, your-) self (selves), etcReflexive PronounGenitive Feminine 3rd Person Singular
οὐouvvvG3756
√ οὐ — the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverbAdverb
σταθήσεταιstathēsetaiwill not standG2476
√ ἵστημι — to stand (transitively or intransitively), used in various applications (literally or figuratively)VerbFuture Indicative Passive3rd Person Singular
histēmi: to stand, to be made to stand Future passive, not active: a household does not hold itself up. The same future passive closes v. 26 of Satan's kingdom, binding the general maxim to the particular case. Gill notes the maxim was already proverbial among the Jews: "every house, in which there is a division, at the end shall come to desolation."
26

If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand?

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

kai ei ho Satanas ekballei ton Satanan emeristhē eph’ heauton pōs oun autou hē basileia stathēsetai

Word by word16 · parsed
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
εἰeiIfG1487
√ εἰ — if, whether, that, etcConjunction
ὁhoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ΣατανᾶςSatanasSatanG4567
√ Σατανᾶς — the accuser, iNounNominative Masculine Singular
Satanas: the accuser The articular form in both cases makes Satan one person, not a class of spirits, and thereby turns the Pharisees' own demonology against them. Ellicott adds a careful qualification: Satan "is not personally identified with the demon" in this man, but the language implies "a seeming ubiquity, a solidarité, in the power of evil."
ἐκβάλλειekballeidrives outG1544
√ ἐκβάλλω — to eject (literally or figuratively)VerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
τὸνtonG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
ΣατανᾶνSatananSatanG4567
√ Σατανᾶς — the accuser, iNounAccusative Masculine Singular
ἐμερίσθηemeristhēhe is dividedG3307
√ μερίζω — to part, iVerbAorist Indicative Passive3rd Person Singular
merizō: to part, to divide Aorist passive indicative, the only finite form of this verb in the unit; vv. 25 uses participles twice. Moving from participle to indicative moves from maxim to verdict: if their charge is true, the thing has already happened.
ἐφ’eph’againstG1909
√ ἐπί — properly, meaning superimposition (of time, place, order, etcPreposition
ἑαυτὸνheautonhimselfG1438
√ ἑαυτοῦ — him- (her-, it-, them-, also (in conjunction with the personal pronoun of the other persons) my-, thy-, our-, your-) self (selves), etcReflexive PronounAccusative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
πῶςpōsHowG4459
√ πῶς — an interrogative particle of mannerAdverb
οὖνounthenG3767
√ οὖν — (adverbially) certainly, or (conjunctionally) accordinglyConjunction
oun: accordingly, therefore A function word carrying the inference.
αὐτοῦautou{can} hisG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
ἡhēG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Feminine Singular
βασιλείαbasileiakingdomG932
√ βασιλεία — properly, royalty, iNounNominative Feminine Singular
σταθήσεταιstathēsetaistandG2476
√ ἵστημι — to stand (transitively or intransitively), used in various applications (literally or figuratively)VerbFuture Indicative Passive3rd Person Singular
histēmi: to stand Future passive, repeating the last word of v. 25 exactly. The proverb and its application close on the same verb, so the structure of the argument is audible in the Greek before any of it is explained. JFB calls the whole "irresistible"; Poole grants Satan the prudence the argument needs, that "the devil is so wise" he will not undo his own realm.
27

And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive them out? So then, they will be your judges.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Kai ei egō ekballō ta daimonia en Beelzeboul en tini hymōn hoi huioi ekballousin dia touto autoi esontai hymōn kritai

Word by word20 · parsed
ΚαὶKaiAndG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
εἰeiifG1487
√ εἰ — if, whether, that, etcConjunction
ἐγὼegōIG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounNominative 1st Person Singular
egō: I, me The emphatic pronoun is the pivot of the whole argumentum ad hominem. The Pulpit Commentary sets the logic out plainly: "You acknowledge that they work miracles by God's help, and you do not acknowledge that I do."
ἐκβάλλωekballōdrive outG1544
√ ἐκβάλλω — to eject (literally or figuratively)VerbPresent Indicative Active1st Person Singular
τὰtaG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Neuter Plural
δαιμόνιαdaimoniademonsG1140
√ δαιμόνιον — a dæmonic beingNounAccusative Neuter Plural
ἐνenbyG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
ΒεελζεβοὺλBeelzeboulBeelzebulG954
√ Βεελζεβούλ — dung-godNounDative Masculine Singular
ἐνenbyG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
τίνιtiniwhomG5101
√ τίς — an interrogative pronoun, who, which or what (in direct or indirect questions)Interrogative / Indefinite PronounDative Masculine Singular
ὑμῶνhymōn{do} yourG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 2nd Person Plural
οἱhoiG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Plural
υἱοὶhuioisonsG5207
√ υἱός — a "son" (sometimes of animals), used very widely of immediate, remote or figuratively, kinshipNounNominative Masculine Plural
huios: son, and so disciple Whether these sons actually cast out demons is left open by the Greek and disputed by the commentators. Ellicott thinks the question "requires for its logical validity the admission that the children of the accusers did really cast out demons"; Benson, following Macknight, answers that "it is sufficient that the Jews thought they were expelled"; Poole doubts the exorcists entirely, noting that at Acts 19:13 the seven sons of Sceva failed disastrously. Cambridge is content that "in either case the argument of Jesus was unanswerable."
ἐκβάλλουσινekballousindrive them outG1544
√ ἐκβάλλω — to eject (literally or figuratively)VerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
διὰdiaSo thenG1223
√ διά — through (in very wide applications, local, causal, or occasional)Preposition
dia: through, because of With the accusative, causal: the verdict follows from the inconsistency, not merely after it.
τοῦτοtouto. . .G3778
√ οὗτος — the he (she or it), iDemonstrative PronounAccusative Neuter Singular
αὐτοὶautoitheyG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounNominative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
ἔσονταιesontaiwill beG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbFuture Indicative Middle3rd Person Plural
ὑμῶνhymōnyourG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 2nd Person Plural
κριταὶkritaijudgesG2923
√ κριτής — a judge (genitive case or specially)NounNominative Masculine Plural
kritēs: a judge The noun, not the verb: the sons become a standing tribunal, not a single act of judging. Barnes: "They condemn you and your argument. They are conclusive witnesses against the force of your reasoning." The irony is that the Pharisees came as prosecutors and have just appointed their own bench.
28

But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

de ei egō ekballō ta daimonia en Pneumati Theou ara hē basileia tou Theou ephthasen eph’ hymas

Word by word17 · parsed
δὲdeButG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
εἰeiifG1487
√ εἰ — if, whether, that, etcConjunction
ἐγὼegōIG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounNominative 1st Person Singular
ἐκβάλλωekballōdrive outG1544
√ ἐκβάλλω — to eject (literally or figuratively)VerbPresent Indicative Active1st Person Singular
τὰtaG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Neuter Plural
δαιμόνιαdaimoniademonsG1140
√ δαιμόνιον — a dæmonic beingNounAccusative Neuter Plural
ἐνenbyG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
ΠνεύματιPneumati[the] SpiritG4151
√ πνεῦμα — a current of air, iNounDative Neuter Singular
pneuma: a current of air, breath, spirit Anarthrous and instrumental, standing exactly where Beelzeboul stood in vv. 24 and 27 with the same preposition ἐν. The unit's whole dispute is compressed into the contrast of two objects of one small word. Luke's parallel substitutes "the finger of God," which Ellicott traces back to the two tables written with "the finger of God" at Exodus 31:18; JFB notes that Matthew's form "tells us the living Personal Agent was made use of."
ΘεοῦTheouof GodG2316
√ θεός — figuratively, a magistrateNounGenitive Masculine Singular
theos: God Without the article here and with it in the phrase "kingdom of God" two clauses later. The genitive is of source: the Spirit is God's and the kingdom is God's, so the one proves the other.
ἄραarathenG686
√ ἄρα — a particle denoting an inference more or less decisive (as follows)Conjunction
ara: therefore, an inference more or less decisive Strong's own hedge, "more or less decisive," is honest and worth keeping: Jesus is drawing a conclusion, not making an announcement. Everything he has argued since v. 25 has been clearing the ground so that this inference is the only one left.
ἡhētheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Feminine Singular
βασιλείαbasileiakingdomG932
√ βασιλεία — properly, royalty, iNounNominative Feminine Singular
τοῦtouG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Singular
ΘεοῦTheouof GodG2316
√ θεός — figuratively, a magistrateNounGenitive Masculine Singular
ἔφθασενephthasenhas comeG5348
√ φθάνω — to be beforehand, iVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
phthanō: to be beforehand, to arrive Aorist indicative: whichever sense of the root is taken, the tense says the arrival is done. This is one of the strongest statements of realised kingdom in the Gospels, and it is spoken not to disciples but to opponents. Gill identifies the kingdom here as "the Gospel dispensation, which both Christ and John had declared to be at hand," and Poole ties it to Daniel 2:44.
ἐφ’eph’uponG1909
√ ἐπί — properly, meaning superimposition (of time, place, order, etcPreposition
epi: upon, superimposition With the accusative: not near you, but onto you.
ὑμᾶςhymasyouG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative 2nd Person Plural
29

Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and steal his possessions, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Ē pōs dynatai tis eiselthein eis tou ischyrou tēn oikian kai harpasai autou ta skeuē ean mē prōton dēsē ton ischyron kai tote diarpasei autou tēn oikian

Word by word27 · parsed
ἪĒOr [again]G2228
√ ἤ — disjunctive, orConjunction
πῶςpōshowG4459
√ πῶς — an interrogative particle of mannerAdverb
δύναταίdynataicanG1410
√ δύναμαι — to be able or possibleVerbPresent Indicative Middle or Passive3rd Person Singular
τιςtisanyoneG5100
√ τὶς — some or any person or objectInterrogative / Indefinite PronounNominative Masculine Singular
εἰσελθεῖνeiseltheinenterG1525
√ εἰσέρχομαι — to enter (literally or figuratively)VerbAorist Infinitive Active
εἰςeis. . .G1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
τοῦtouG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Singular
ἰσχυροῦischyroua strong [man’s]G2478
√ ἰσχυρός — forcible (literally or figuratively)AdjectiveGenitive Masculine Singular
ischyros: forcible, strong The Verifier counts the adjective in twenty-seven verses. Its articular use here creates a figure the whole parable turns on. Poole states the premise the argument needs: "there is none, save God only, who is stronger than he," and therefore "if I were not God, I could never cast out this strong man." That is Poole's inference, not Matthew's statement, but it is the one the logic invites.
τὴνtēnG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Feminine Singular
οἰκίανoikianhouseG3614
√ οἰκία — properly, residence (abstractly), but usually (concretely) an abode (literally or figuratively)NounAccusative Feminine Singular
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἁρπάσαιharpasaistealG726
√ ἁρπάζω — to seize (in various applications)VerbAorist Infinitive Active
harpazō: to seize, to snatch away A relatively uncommon verb, fourteen verses. John 10:12 uses it of the wolf snatching the sheep, and pairs it there with σκορπίζω, the scattering verb that ends v. 30 here. The two halves of Jesus' closing image, plunder and scatter, sit together in that one verse of John.
αὐτοῦautouhisG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
τὰtaG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Neuter Plural
σκεύηskeuēpossessionsG4632
√ σκεῦος — a vessel, implement, equipment or apparatus (literally or figuratively [specially, a wife as contributing to the usefulness of the husband])NounAccusative Neuter Plural
skeuos: a vessel, implement, equipment The word Paul uses for a chosen instrument, and Benson notices the link: the vessels of the strong one's house are "called Satan's vessels metaphorically, as Paul is called Christ's chosen vessel, Acts 9:15." If Benson is right, the deliverance of v. 22 is a vessel changing owners, not merely a sickness lifted.
ἐὰνeanunlessG1437
√ ἐάν — a conditional particleConjunction
μὴmē. . .G3361
√ μή — (adverb) not, (conjunction) lestAdverb
πρῶτονprōton{he} firstG4412
√ πρῶτον — firstly (in time, place, order, or importance)AdverbSuperlative
δήσῃdēsēties upG1210
√ δέω — to bind (in various applications, literally or figuratively)VerbAorist Subjunctive Active3rd Person Singular
deō: to bind A single aorist act on which everything after depends. Gill projects it forward to Revelation 20, "as he will in the latter day bind him and shut him up in prison a thousand years"; that is Gill's eschatology reading back into the parable, and the text here claims only the present binding that the exorcism itself demonstrates.
τὸνtontheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
ἰσχυρόνischyronstrong [man]G2478
√ ἰσχυρός — forcible (literally or figuratively)AdjectiveAccusative Masculine Singular
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
τότεtoteThenG5119
√ τότε — the when, iAdverb
διαρπάσειdiarpaseihe can plunderG1283
√ διαρπάζω — to seize asunder, iVerbFuture Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
diarpazō: to seize asunder, to plunder thoroughly Future indicative, and emphatic. The Pulpit Commentary reads the force exactly: "This is more than merely the conclusion. It is an emphatic statement that he will do this, yes, utterly plunder the whole house." Jesus' answer to the charge ends not in defence but in a threat against the one he is accused of serving.
αὐτοῦautouhisG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
τὴνtēnG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Feminine Singular
οἰκίανoikianhouseG3614
√ οἰκία — properly, residence (abstractly), but usually (concretely) an abode (literally or figuratively)NounAccusative Feminine Singular
30

He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Ho ōn mē met’ emou estin kat’ emou kai ho mē synagōn met’ emou skorpizei

Word by word15 · parsed
ὉHoHe whoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ὢνōnisG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbPresent Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
eimi: to be, to exist An articular present participle of being, not of doing, and it governs the first half of the verse while the finite ἐστιν supplies the verdict: the one being not with me is against me. Nothing is predicated of what the man has done. The Pulpit Commentary reads the two halves as disposition and energy, and the grammar bears that out, since only the second clause (συνάγων) names an activity at all. This is why the saying cannot be softened into counsel: a third position is not refused to the bystander, it is shown never to have existed. The parallel at Luke 9:50 states the same exclusive disjunction from the other side, which is how Ellicott reconciles them as opposite poles of one truth.
μὴmēnotG3361
√ μή — (adverb) not, (conjunction) lestAdverb
μετ’met’withG3326
√ μετά — properly, denoting accompanimentPreposition
meta: accompaniment Function word: the preposition of being alongside.
ἐμοῦemouMeG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 1st Person Singular
ἐστινestinisG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
κατ’kat’againstG2596
√ κατά — (prepositionally) down (in place or time), in varied relations (according to the case (genitive, dative or accusative) with which it is joined)Preposition
kata: down, against The same preposition that governed the divided kingdom in v. 25, καθ' ἑαυτῆς. The house that stands divided κατά itself and the man who stands κατά Christ are being described with one word, which quietly puts the uncommitted hearer inside the doomed household of the parable.
ἐμοῦemouMeG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 1st Person Singular
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ὁhohe whoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
μὴmē{does} notG3361
√ μή — (adverb) not, (conjunction) lestAdverb
συνάγωνsynagōngatherG4863
√ συνάγω — to lead together, iVerbPresent Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
synagō: to lead together, to gather The harvest verb. Barnes reads the whole saying from that setting: "This is taken from the practice of persons in harvest. He that did not gather with him, or aid him, scattered abroad." The one who will not help bring in the sheaves is not idle; he is working the other way.
μετ’met’withG3326
√ μετά — properly, denoting accompanimentPreposition
ἐμοῦemouMeG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 1st Person Singular
σκορπίζειskorpizeiscattersG4650
√ σκορπίζω — to dissipate, iVerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
skorpizō: to dissipate, to scatter Rare, five verses, and one of them is John 10:12, where the wolf both snatches (ἁρπάζει) and scatters (σκορπίζει) the flock. Set beside Matthew 12:29, the two verbs of this passage's last two verses are the wolf's two verbs. Ellicott handles the apparent clash with Luke 9:50, "he that is not against us is for us," by treating the two sayings as "the opposite poles of the same truth."

The verse-by-verse work is done. What follows gathers the whole unit. All three layers below are machine-generated (⚙). Weigh them; they have no authority.

⚙

Grand Commentary — the unit, read whole

synthesis · verify

AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.

i. The man who could not ask — 22

The unit opens with a person who contributes nothing to his own deliverance. The Greek makes this structural: δαιμονιζόμενος is a present participle in the middle or passive, someone being worked upon; προσηνέχθη is aorist passive, he was carried, using the ordinary verb for bringing an offering to an altar. Benson supplies the missing subject from the parallels, that he was brought "by the person's friends," and presses a pastoral point the text does not make but does not exclude: "Many, no doubt, supposed these defects to be merely natural: but the Spirit of God saw otherwise." Ellicott compares the simpler case at Matthew 9:32 and judges that here "the phenomena of the suspension of conscious sensation and volition were more complicated." The Pulpit Commentary preserves Chrysostom's reading of the double closure, that the devil "had shut up each entrance by which be might come to faith," though Gill, weighing the same Greek word κωφός (which covers both deaf and mute), concludes the man could probably hear, since neither the loss nor the restoration of hearing is mentioned. The brief holds both; we do not adjudicate. What the grammar will not allow is the reading in which the man believes his way out. He is object throughout, until Gill's sentence turns him into a subject: "He had his sight to behold his Saviour, and a tongue to praise his name."

ii. One demonstrative, two verdicts — 23 to 24

Matthew sets the crowd's question and the Pharisees' charge on the same word. In v. 23 the people say οὗτός, "this one," and in v. 24 the Pharisees say Οὗτος, "this one." The Pulpit Commentary is the voice that catches it: "'This man' is at once the object of hope in the minds of the multitudes, and of the deepest opposition on the part of the Pharisees." The crowd's question is built with Μήτι, the particle that expects the answer no; JFB reads it as faith that will not expose itself, the people "saving themselves from the wrath of the ecclesiastics." Poole calls it the first conviction drawn from the miracles and grants that "their faith in it appears but weak." Against this, the official verdict. Ellicott observes that the words were whispered among the people, not addressed to Jesus, and that the charge concedes the miracle: the Pharisees "admitted the reality of the work of healing which they had witnessed, and were driven to explain it by assuming demoniacal agency." JFB makes the same concession explicit, that the enemies "were unable to deny the reality of His miracles," and adds a second concession that will cost them the argument: they "believed in an organized infernal kingdom of evil, under one chief." Barnes locates the motive in institutional survival, that without some account of these facts the influence of the Pharisees "would be at an end." ⚙ The one grammatical detail that binds this movement to the next is the preposition. They say he casts out demons ἐν Beelzeboul. That small word will be repeated back to them twice, once in v. 27 and once in v. 28 with a different object.

ii b. Three answers to one slander — 25 to 28

The Pulpit Commentary lays out the structure better than any summary of ours: first an argument that such an act on Satan's part "would be self-destructive"; then an argumentum ad hominem from the Pharisees' own disciples; then the conclusion that the kingdom of God has come. The first answer begins with sight, not speech: Εἰδὼς, a perfect participle of the verb whose root is seeing, applied to ἐνθυμήσεις, their inward deliberations, a noun the Verifier finds in only four New Testament verses. They have not addressed him; he answers their reasoning. Barnes states the theological consequence flatly, that "to know the thoughts of the heart belongs only to God, Psalm 139:2; Jeremiah 17:10," and Gill draws the same line to its end, that this "is a proof of his omniscience, and so of his deity, and consequently of his Messiahship." Then the maxim, which Gill shows was already a Jewish proverb: "every house, in which there is a division, at the end shall come to desolation." Cambridge sharpens what kind of division is meant: "Not that civil disputes destroy a nation, but a nation disunited, rent by factions, in the presence of a common enemy must fall." ⚙ Two grammatical facts that the English levels are worth naming. First, ἐρημοῦται is present, "is being laid waste," while σταθήσεται is future: the desolation of the divided kingdom has already begun. Second, ἐμερίσθη in v. 26 is aorist passive, "he was divided," so that on their own premise the ruin is behind Satan, not ahead of him. Ellicott's note on the article settles the referent: "It is not that one Satan casts out another, but that he, on the assumption of the Pharisees, casts out himself." The second answer turns on the pronoun ἐγὼ, emphatic and unnecessary, and on the school-word υἱοὶ, which JFB traces to the Old Testament idiom of "the sons of the prophets." Whether those sons really expelled demons is openly disputed in the brief: Ellicott holds the argument "requires for its logical validity the admission" that they did; Benson, citing Macknight, answers that it is enough that the Jews thought so; Poole doubts them altogether and points to the failure of the sons of Sceva at Acts 19:13. Cambridge refuses to be detained: "In either case the argument of Jesus was unanswerable." The third answer is the point of the whole. ἐν Πνεύματι Θεοῦ stands exactly where Beelzeboul stood, with no article, and the Pulpit Commentary flags the absence. Luke's parallel substitutes "the finger of God," which Ellicott carries back to the tables written with the finger of God at Exodus 31:18, while JFB notes what Matthew's form adds, that "the living Personal Agent was made use of." Then ἔφθασεν, aorist, whose root sense Cambridge renders "surprised you by coming, came upon you unawares." JFB's paraphrase is the high-water mark of the unit: "then is his Destroyer already in the midst of you, and that kingdom which is destined to supplant his is already rising on its ruins."

iii. The bound man and the open house — 29

The parable is not decoration; it is the answer to the question the Pharisees never asked, namely how the exorcism happened at all. τοῦ ἰσχυροῦ has the article, "the strong one," a known figure. Ellicott assigns the terms: the house is "the world at large, or the spirits of individual men," the vessels "the demons or subordinate powers of evil," the binding "the check given to the tyranny of Satan by emancipating the possessed sufferers," and the spoiling "the final victory over him." Benson offers a second allegory, in which the vessels are the wicked, "called Satan's vessels metaphorically, as Paul is called Christ's chosen vessel, Acts 9:15," or else the lusts by which he keeps possession. The Pulpit Commentary grounds it nearer the narrative, making the vessels "those afflicted by him," which points back to the man of v. 22, and insists that the last clause is not a conclusion but a threat: "an emphatic statement that he will do this, yes, utterly plunder the whole house." ⚙ The Greek supports that reading. ἁρπάσαι is an infinitive of simple seizing; διαρπάσει is the intensified compound in the future indicative. The question ends in an assertion. The one caution we would enter against the older expositors is chronological: Poole argues "if I were not God, I could never cast out this strong man," and Gill reaches forward to the binding of Revelation 20. Both may be true, but neither is what Matthew says here. What Matthew says is that a binding has already happened, and the evidence for it is standing in the room, seeing and speaking.

iv. No third place to stand — 30

The unit ends by turning on the audience. Cambridge states the logic that ties the verse to the argument: "Satan is not divided against himself, neither can Christ be. Neutrality is impossible in the Christian life." Benson is blunter: "there are no neuters in this war." Ellicott handles the obvious objection, the saying at Luke 9:50 that "he that is not against us is for us," by treating the two as "the opposite poles of the same truth," and then applies them: the exorcist the disciples forbade "was fighting against the devil in the name of Christ, and was therefore with Him. The Pharisees were hindering and slandering that work, and therefore were on the side of Satan." The Pulpit Commentary is careful about who is being addressed, and prefers the bystanders to the Pharisees, on the ground that the Pharisees were not in fact neutral and knew it. ⚙ The Greek carries two structural echoes into the close. κατ’ ἐμοῦ uses the preposition that described the kingdom divided καθ’ ἑαυτῆς in v. 25, so the uncommitted hearer is quietly placed inside the doomed household of the parable. And σκορπίζει, the last word, is the verb that the Pulpit Commentary says "almost leaves the simile of the σκεύη, and regards the persons signified": the vessels of v. 29 have become people, and the man who will not help carry them out is helping to scatter them.

Read under Sola Scriptura — this tool’s own fallible reading (⚙)

⚙ This is the tool's own fallible reading, offered to be tested against the text and the named voices above. The passage is usually read as a defence, and the commentators treat it as one: Jesus rebuts a slander with three arguments and a parable. But the grammar keeps refusing to stay defensive. The desolation verb in v. 25 is present, not future. The division verb in v. 26 is aorist, already accomplished. The kingdom verb in v. 28 is aorist, already arrived, and it lands upon the accusers with a preposition of descent. The plundering verb in v. 29 is future indicative, a plain statement of what will be done to the strong one's house. Read that way, the unit is not a man clearing his name; it is an announcement of a raid already in progress, made to the householder's friends while the first stolen property stands in the doorway seeing and speaking. This is why v. 30 cannot be softened into a general maxim about commitment. The saying about gathering and scattering is not advice; it is the plundering of v. 29 restated as a summons. The vessels are being carried out of the house, and everyone in the room is either carrying or blocking the door. Two things this reading must not claim. It cannot say that Matthew here explains how the strong one was bound, since Matthew does not: Poole's inference that only God could bind him and Gill's leap to Revelation 20 are theology brought to the text, and the text supplies only the fact and the evidence. And it cannot resolve whether the Pharisees' sons truly cast out demons, because the brief's own voices disagree and the argument, as Cambridge says, holds either way. A stated gap is better than a filled one.

Not a defence but an inventory: the house has already been entered, and the first vessel carried out is standing there, seeing and speaking. (⚙ This line is the tool's own synthesis. It is not Scripture.)

⚙

Canonical Threads — out to the whole of Scripture

cross-refs · verify

AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.

The strong one's house in the synoptic parallel verbal / quotation: confirmed

Mark 3:27 carries the same saying in nearly identical words, and the Verifier confirms the lexical overlap: ἰσχυρός (G2478, the strong one), οἰκία (G3614, house) and τότε (G5119, then). Poole sets Luke's fuller form beside it, "When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: but when a stronger than he shall come upon him and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted," and judges that "the sense is the same, though the words be multiplied." The Pulpit Commentary agrees that "Mark is practically identical with Matthew" and suggests Luke's vivid version "is perhaps the original form of the saying." That last is an editorial judgment about sources, not a textual fact, and we mark it as such.

Mark 3:27 · Luke 11:21

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexemes with Mark 3:27, G2478 ἰσχυρός (in 27 vv), G3614 οἰκία (in 85 vv), G5119 τότε (in 158 vv); both are Greek New Testament texts and the passage is the recognised synoptic parallel of one saying. Luke 11:21 is included on the commentators' testimony (Poole, Pulpit) as the fuller form, not on a Verifier-computed lexeme basis.

Beelzeboul: the name Jesus had already given his household verbal / quotation: confirmed

The name Βεελζεβούλ (G954) is rare, standing in only seven verses of the New Testament. Two of them are in this unit (vv. 24 and 27), three are in Luke's parallel, and one is Matthew 10:25, where Jesus told the Twelve that if the master of the house has been called Beelzeboul, so will his household. The slander of Matthew 12:24 is therefore the fulfilment of a warning Matthew has already recorded. Benson traces the name's history, from the Ekronite idol Baal-zebub, "the lord or master of flies," to the Greek form Beelzebul, "the lord of a dunghill," which he takes to be "a contemptuous change of the former name." Strong's own gloss for G954 is "dung-god." Benson's etymology is a scholar's reconstruction, not a datum of the text, and we flag it as his.

Matthew 10:25 · Luke 11:15 · Luke 11:18

basis: Verifier: shared rare Greek lexeme G954 Βεελζεβούλ (in 7 vv) with Matthew 10:25, Luke 11:15 and Luke 11:18; Luke 11:15 and 11:18 add G1140 δαιμόνιον (in 55 vv) and G1544 ἐκβάλλω (in 75 vv). All refs are Greek New Testament, so the shared-lexeme basis is available and the rarity of G954 carries the verbal tier.

Reading the deliberations of the heart verbal / quotation: confirmed

ἐνθύμησις (G1761) is one of the rarest nouns in this unit, found in four New Testament verses. Matthew uses it twice and both times of Jesus reading an unspoken charge of blasphemy: here at 12:25 and earlier at 9:4. Acts 17:29 uses it of the devising of human art and imagination that shapes idols. Hebrews 4:12 says the word of God is a discerner of the ἐνθυμήσεις of the heart. Barnes names the prerogative without naming this link: "To know the thoughts of the heart belongs only to God, Psalm 139:2; Jeremiah 17:10." Gill makes the same move christologically, calling it "a proof of his omniscience, and so of his deity." ⚙ The observation we add is only that the vocabulary is consistent: the noun Hebrews assigns to the searching word of God is the noun Matthew assigns twice to Jesus' searching of his accusers.

Matthew 9:4 · Acts 17:29 · Hebrews 4:12

basis: Verifier: shared rare Greek lexeme G1761 ἐνθύμησις (in 4 vv) with Matthew 9:4, Acts 17:29 and Hebrews 4:12; Matthew 9:4 also shares G1492 εἴδω (in 296 vv) and Hebrews 4:12 shares G4151 πνεῦμα (in 344 vv). All Greek New Testament, so shared Strong's numbers are a valid basis. The link is lexical, not a quotation of one text by another.

Laid waste: the verb of the divided kingdom and the fallen city verbal / quotation: confirmed

ἐρημόω (G2049, to lay waste, to make desolate) stands in five New Testament verses. One is Matthew 12:25, one is Luke's parallel at 11:17, and two are Revelation 18:17 and 18:19, where the merchants and shipmasters cry over the great city because in one hour she was made desolate. The root is the word behind erēmos, wilderness. Cambridge reads the maxim's setting as warfare: "Here Satan's kingdom is regarded as warring against the kingdom of God." ⚙ Our own note is on tense. Matthew's ἐρημοῦται is present, not future, so the desolation is under way rather than merely threatened, and Revelation shows the same verb at the end of the process. We record this as a lexical and thematic link and claim no quotation in either direction.

Luke 11:17 · Revelation 18:17 · Revelation 18:19

basis: Verifier: shared rare Greek lexeme G2049 ἐρημόω (in 5 vv) with Luke 11:17, Revelation 18:17 and Revelation 18:19; Luke 11:17 also shares G1438 ἑαυτοῦ and G1492 εἴδω, Revelation 18:17 shares G2476 ἵστημι (in 149 vv). All Greek New Testament. Rarity of G2049 carries the verbal tier; no text quotes another.

Snatching and scattering: the wolf's two verbs structural / thematic: confirmed

The last two verses of this unit close on ἁρπάζω (G726, to seize, fourteen verses) in v. 29 and σκορπίζω (G4650, to scatter, five verses) in v. 30. John 10:12 puts both in a single clause, of the wolf that snatches the sheep and scatters the flock. Cambridge, without reaching for John, reads the same figure: "The metaphor of gathering and scattering may be from collecting and scattering a flock of sheep." The Pulpit Commentary goes further and names John 11:52, where συνάγειν and σκορπίζειν also stand together, adding that "the figure there, however, appears to be taken from sheep." ⚙ We record this as pattern rather than quotation. Matthew's image is a household being plundered and John's is a flock being scattered; the shared vocabulary is real, the shared scene is not.

John 10:12 · Luke 11:23 · John 11:52

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexemes with John 10:12, G726 ἁρπάζω (in 14 vv) and G4650 σκορπίζω (in 5 vv), and with Luke 11:23, G4650 σκορπίζω (in 5 vv) and G4863 συνάγω (in 59 vv). Downgraded from verbal despite the rarity of G4650 because Matthew's figure is a plundered house and John's a scattered flock: the words are shared, the image is not, and neither text cites the other. John 11:52 is included on the Pulpit Commentary's testimony, not on a Verifier-computed basis.

Taking the prey from the mighty: Isaiah 49 behind the strong one typological

Two of the brief's commentators hear Isaiah 49 under v. 29. Gill cites Isaiah 49:24 as he identifies the strong man: "by the strong man, is meant the devil, see Isaiah 49:24." The Pulpit Commentary is more cautious and keeps its hedge: "Observe that there is probably a tacit reference to Isaiah 49:25, which at any rate now received a fulfilment." Isaiah asks whether the prey can be taken from the mighty, and answers that the captives of the mighty shall be taken away. ⚙ This cannot be tiered verbal. Isaiah is Hebrew and Matthew is Greek, so no shared Strong's number can be computed between them, and Matthew gives no citation formula, no "that it might be fulfilled," which he supplies freely elsewhere in this very chapter. What remains is a figural correspondence that two named expositors heard and one of them hedged. We record it at that strength and no higher.

Isaiah 49:24 · Isaiah 49:25

basis: Cross-Testament (Hebrew to Greek), so shared Strong's lexemes are not computable and no verbal tier is available. Basis is the figural correspondence of the mighty one's prey being taken, named by Gill (Isaiah 49:24) and by the Pulpit Commentary (Isaiah 49:25, hedged as 'probably a tacit reference'). Matthew supplies no citation formula. Widely held among the expositors in this brief, but an interpretive reading, not a quotation.

The finger of God and the Spirit of God typological

Where Matthew 12:28 has "in Spirit of God," Luke 11:20 has "by the finger of God." Ellicott traces the phrase back through Ezekiel 3:14, "the hand of the Lord was strong upon me," to Exodus 31:18 and the tables of stone written with "the finger of God." Barnes makes the same connection more briefly, glossing the Spirit here as "the power of God, in Luke, by the finger of God. Compare Exodus 8:19; Psalm 8:3," and the Pulpit Commentary lists the same three Old Testament texts. Exodus 8:19 is the magicians' confession at the plague of lice, the point at which the court sorcerers give up and say "This is the finger of God." ⚙ If the Exodus allusion stands behind Luke's wording, the scene is pointed: rival practitioners of power concede that the contest is over. But Matthew does not use Luke's phrase, and no Hebrew-to-Greek lexeme link is computable, so this remains an inference drawn from Luke's parallel rather than from Matthew's own text.

Luke 11:20 · Exodus 8:19 · Exodus 31:18

basis: Cross-Testament (Hebrew to Greek) for the Exodus refs, so no shared Strong's basis is computable and the verbal tier is unavailable. Luke 11:20 is a Verifier candidate sharing G1140 δαιμόνιον (in 55 vv), G1544 ἐκβάλλω (in 75 vv) and G932 βασιλεία (in 154 vv) with this unit. The Exodus link runs only through Luke's wording, and is named by Ellicott, Barnes and the Pulpit Commentary.

⚙Christ in the Unittypology · verify

AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.

The stronger one who enters the house ancient/widely-held

Every named expositor in this brief identifies the strong one as Satan and the binder as Christ. Ellicott: the binding is "the check given to the tyranny of Satan by emancipating the possessed sufferers from their thraldom," and the spoiling of the house "implies the final victory over him." Benson turns the parable into the question Jesus is really asking: "How could I cast out Satan, and destroy his works, if I did not first overcome him?" Poole supplies the premise that makes the parable a christological claim: there is "none, save God only, who is stronger than he," and therefore "if I were not God, I could never cast out this strong man." Gill lists the conquest in stages, that Christ "attacked him, and dispossessed him of the bodies of men," then enters the souls of men and "leads him captive, who led others." Cambridge compresses the whole to a sentence: "Not only is Satan not an ally, but he is an enemy and a vanquished enemy." ⚙ The one discipline we would add is about timing. Matthew's δήσῃ is aorist and prior; the binding is presupposed by the exorcism, not promised for later. Gill's projection forward to the thousand years of Revelation 20 and Poole's inference of full deity from the parable are both defensible theology, but both go beyond what Matthew here asserts. What Matthew asserts is that the house has been entered, and that the proof is a man who can see.

Mark 3:27 · Luke 11:21 · Isaiah 49:24 · Colossians 2:15

The kingdom that arrived before anyone was ready ancient/widely-held

Verse 28 is the christological centre of the unit, and it is stated as an inference rather than a proclamation: ἄρα, therefore. The Spirit clause is anarthrous and instrumental, standing in the slot the Pharisees had filled with Beelzeboul, so the two rival accounts of one deed are set out in one grammatical frame. Then the verb. ἔφθασεν has in its root the sense of getting there first; Cambridge renders the clause "surprised you by coming, came upon you unawares," and Ellicott says the word "describes a coming suddenly, unlooked for, sooner than men expected," adding that "that kingdom had burst upon men unawares." The Pulpit Commentary records the competing reading, that in Hellenistic usage it means simply "it has actually come as far as you," and prefers that sense; we leave the two standing. JFB draws the christology out of the syntax: "then is his Destroyer already in the midst of you, and that kingdom which is destined to supplant his is already rising on its ruins." Poole ties the claim to Daniel 2:44 and Psalm 2:6, the kingdom that shall never be destroyed and the King set on the holy hill. ⚙ What the aorist forbids is a purely future kingdom. The kingdom's arrival is announced in the past tense, to people who did not want it, on the evidence of one healed man. The preposition is not "to" but ἐφ’, upon.

Luke 11:20 · Daniel 2:44 · Matthew 3:2

The Son of David who opens the eyes of the blind ancient/widely-held

The crowd's title is not random. Ellicott calls Son of David "the most popular of all the synonyms of the Christ," and notes that the blind man of Matthew 9:27 had used it too, which puts the same confession twice in the mouths of those whose sight Jesus restores. Barnes gives the reasoning behind the crowd's inference: "They were acquainted with the prophecy in Isaiah 35:5, 'Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped,' and they inferred that he must be the promised Messiah who was able to do this." Gill adds that "the son of David" was already a standing messianic title among the Jews, "because he was promised to David, was to be raised up of his seed." ⚙ Our own observation is structural rather than novel: Matthew has built this unit so that the sign (a blind and mute man speaking and seeing), the popular title (Son of David), and the official charge (Beelzeboul) all attach to the same deed, and the argument of vv. 25 to 29 exists to decide which of the two verdicts the deed will bear. The messianic reading of Isaiah 35:5 applied to Jesus is ancient and widely held; the claim that Matthew has deliberately arranged the two verdicts around one demonstrative pronoun is our reading of his composition, offered to be tested.

Isaiah 35:5 · Matthew 9:27 · Matthew 1:1

Apparatus & Provenance

The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). Hebrew/Greek text, transliteration, morphology and Strong’s are transcribed from the Berean interlinear (CC0) + Strong’s lexicons (PD); the literal renderings, divergence notes, word notes and all synthesis are this tool’s own work (⚙) — fallible; verify them.

Named voices, quoted verbatim from public-domain works:

  • Albert Barnes, Notes on the Bible (1834)
  • Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, — (1880s)
  • Charles Ellicott, Commentary for English Readers (1878)
  • Geneva Study Bible, Marginal Notes (1599)
  • Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory (1871)
  • John Gill, Exposition of the Entire Bible (1746–63)
  • Joseph Benson, Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1810s)
  • Matthew Henry, Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible (1706)
  • Matthew Poole, Annotations upon the Holy Bible (1685)
  • The Pulpit Commentary, Spence & Exell, eds. (1880s)

⚙ Honesty notes for this unit. Text. The English base is the BSB (CC0); the interlinear, parses and Strong's numbers come from the Berean data in the brief, and no reading here departs from them. Two textual points are recorded by the commentators and neither is resolved in the brief: at v. 22 the Pulpit Commentary notes that Westcott and Hort's margin reads "then was brought" while their text reads "then they brought," and at v. 24 it argues that the article before ἄρχοντι should be omitted. Our literal rendering follows the interlinear as given.

Where the sources disagree. Three real disputes run through this brief and we have not flattened any of them. First, whether the healed man could hear: Chrysostom, quoted by the Pulpit Commentary, assumes not; Gill argues he could, since no restoration of hearing is mentioned. Second, whether the Pharisees' "sons" genuinely cast out demons: Ellicott says the argument requires it, Benson (following Macknight) says it does not, Poole doubts it outright and cites the failure of the sons of Sceva at Acts 19:13, and Cambridge declines to decide. Third, the sense of ἔφθασεν in v. 28: Ellicott and Cambridge take the root sense of anticipation, the Pulpit Commentary prefers the plain Hellenistic "has arrived." Fourth, and smaller, the addressee of v. 30: the Pulpit Commentary lays out both options and prefers the bystanders over the Pharisees.

Chronology. Ellicott opens by calling the passage "a stumbling-block in the way of harmonists," since Luke places it after the feeding of the five thousand and Mark immediately after the mission of the Twelve. JFB weighs the same evidence and leaves the timing "uncertain." We make no harmonisation.

What we claim and what we do not. The cross-reference tiers were set from the Verifier's computed bases. Four threads are tiered verbal on rare shared Greek lexemes (G954, seven verses; G1761, four verses; G2049, five verses) or on a recognised synoptic parallel; none of them is a quotation of one text by another, and each basis says so. The Isaiah 49 and Exodus threads are tiered typological because Hebrew-to-Greek pairs cannot share Strong's numbers and Matthew supplies no citation formula; the Pulpit Commentary's own hedge ("probably a tacit reference") is preserved rather than upgraded. The John 10:12 thread was downgraded from verbal to structural despite the rarity of σκορπίζω, because the shared vocabulary sits inside two different images. Colossians 2:15 in the first Christ note is cited by Barnes for the sense of the word "spoil" and is offered as a theological resonance, not as a computed lexical link.

Our own layer. Everything marked ⚙ is synthesis and fallible: the observations about present versus future tense in v. 25, the aorist of ἐμερίσθη in v. 26, the repetition of κατά from v. 25 into v. 30, and the sola reading of the unit as an inventory of a raid rather than a defence. Gill's extension of the binding to Revelation 20 and Poole's inference of full deity from the parable are their readings, labelled as such, and go beyond what Matthew asserts in these nine verses.

✦ = human, public-domain source, quoted and named. ⚙ = machine synthesis, to be verified. Flagged cross-references are left visible on purpose — the verifier working in the open. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)