The Fallible Study Bible

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Matthew12:43–45

An Unclean Spirit Returns

✦ Public-domain source — quoted & attributed⚙ AI synthesis — generated, verify

Matthew 12:43–45 — An Unclean Spirit Returns. 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.

43

When an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it passes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

de Hotan to akatharton pneuma exelthē apo tou anthrōpou dierchetai di’ anydrōn topōn zētoun anapausin kai ouch heuriskei

Word by word18 · parsed
δὲdeG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
Postpositive connective, untranslated in BSB; it carries the whole link to the preceding verses.
ὍτανHotanWhenG3752
√ ὅταν — whenever (implying hypothesis or more or less uncertainty)Conjunction
τὸtoanG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Neuter Singular
ἀκάθαρτονakathartonuncleanG169
√ ἀκάθαρτος — impure (ceremonially, morally (lewd) or specially, (demonic))AdjectiveNominative Neuter Singular
akathartos: impure, ceremonially or morally or demonically unclean The adjective is the standing Gospel term for the possessing spirit, and Gill notes it is also the rabbinic term. The word is not primarily about malice but about defilement: a thing that pollutes whatever it occupies. That matters for the parable, because the house in v. 44 will be described only as clean, never as occupied, and cleanness without a tenant is exactly what this word can undo.
πνεῦμαpneumaspiritG4151
√ πνεῦμα — a current of air, iNounNominative Neuter Singular
ἐξέλθῃexelthēcomes outG1831
√ ἐξέρχομαι — to issue (literally or figuratively)VerbAorist Subjunctive Active3rd Person Singular
exerchomai: to issue, to go out Aorist Subjunctive under ὅταν, so the departure is hypothetical and iterative. Note what the grammar does not say: it does not say the spirit was cast out. Benson supplies the force from elsewhere ("Not of his own accord, or willingly, but compelled by one that is stronger than he"), reading back to the binding of the strong man in v. 29; the verb by itself is neutral, and in v. 44 the spirit will speak as though the leaving were its own idea.
ἀπὸapoofG575
√ ἀπό — "off," iPreposition
τοῦtouaG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Singular
ἀνθρώπουanthrōpoumanG444
√ ἄνθρωπος — from G3700 (ὀπτάνομαι))NounGenitive Masculine Singular
διέρχεταιdierchetaiit passesG1330
√ διέρχομαι — to traverse (literally)VerbPresent Indicative Middle or Passive3rd Person Singular
dierchomai: to traverse Present Middle or Passive, durative: not one crossing but a continuing going-about. Pulpit weighs both senses: "Perhaps merely 'goes through,' with the connotation of distance traversed ... but probably 'goes about,' i.e. to different spots ... in restless wandering."
δι’di’throughG1223
√ διά — through (in very wide applications, local, causal, or occasional)Preposition
ἀνύδρωνanydrōnaridG504
√ ἄνυδρος — waterless, iAdjectiveGenitive Masculine Plural
anydros: waterless Rare (4 verses). Cambridge records the background plainly: "The waterless desert uninhabited by man was regarded by the Jews as the especial abode of evil spirits." Pulpit adds the practical reading: such places "supplied nothing wherewith he might refresh himself (Psalm 63:1), and which would, of course, have no houses (Psalm 107:4-7, 33-36)." The other three New Testament uses (2 Peter 2:17; Jude 12) apply the same word to false teachers, wells and clouds that promise water and have none.
τόπωνtopōnplacesG5117
√ τόπος — a spot (general in space, but limited by occupancyNounGenitive Masculine Plural
ζητοῦνzētounseekingG2212
√ ζητέω — to seek (literally or figuratively)VerbPresent Participle ActiveNominative Neuter Singular
zēteō: to seek Present Participle Active, Nominative Neuter Singular, agreeing with the neuter πνεῦμα: the seeking is continuous and is the spirit's own settled activity, not an episode.
ἀνάπαυσινanapausinrestG372
√ ἀνάπαυσις — intermissionNounAccusative Feminine Singular
anapausis: intermission, rest A rare noun (5 verses). Matthew uses it only twice: here, where it is sought and not found, and at Matthew 11:29, where Christ promises "you will find rest for your souls" using this same noun with this same verb εὑρίσκω. Two chapters apart, the same two words are set in exact opposition: the spirit seeks rest and does not find; the one who takes Christ's yoke finds it. Revelation 14:11 uses the noun a third way, of those who "have no rest day or night."
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
οὐχouchvvvG3756
√ οὐ — the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverbAdverb
εὑρίσκειheuriskeidoes not find [it]G2147
√ εὑρίσκω — to find (literally or figuratively)VerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
heuriskō: to find Present Indicative Active with the negative οὐχ: a standing failure, not a single disappointment. There is no object in the Greek; BSB rightly supplies "[it]." Poole draws the moral without sentiment: "The devil cannot be at rest where he hath no mischief to do to men."
44

Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ On its return, it finds the house vacant, swept clean, and put in order.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

tote legei epistrepsō Eis mou ton oikon hothen exēlthon kai elthon heuriskei scholazonta kai sesarōmenon kai kekosmēmenon

Word by word17 · parsed
τότεtoteThenG5119
√ τότε — the when, iAdverb
λέγειlegeiit saysG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
ἐπιστρέψωepistrepsōI will returnG1994
√ ἐπιστρέφω — to revert (literally, figuratively or morally)VerbFuture Indicative Active1st Person Singular
epistrephō: to revert, to turn back Future Indicative Active, 1st Person Singular. The verb is the ordinary New Testament word for conversion, used here of a demon's return. The parable's grim wit is that the only creature in it that makes a decisive turning is the unclean spirit.
ΕἰςEistoG1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
μουmouG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 1st Person Singular
τὸνtontheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
οἶκόνoikonhouseG3624
√ οἶκος — a dwelling (more or less extensive, literal or figurative)NounAccusative Masculine Singular
oikos: a dwelling, literal or figurative The governing image of the whole unit. Barnes states the equation: "The man is called his house, because the spirit had dwelt in him." Pulpit notes "the curious parallel to Matthew 10:25": the Pharisees had just called Christ the master of the house Beelzebub, and the parable quietly turns the charge around onto their own house.
ὅθενhothenvvvG3606
√ ὅθεν — from which place or source or cause (adverb or conjunction)Adverb
Adverb of source, "from where"; BSB folds it into the relative clause.
ἐξῆλθονexēlthonI leftG1831
√ ἐξέρχομαι — to issue (literally or figuratively)VerbAorist Indicative Active1st Person Singular
exerchomai: to issue, to go out The same verb as 12:43, now Aorist Indicative Active in the first person. In v. 43 the going out was reported of the spirit; here the spirit reports it of itself, and the shift of voice is the whole of its boast.
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἐλθὸνelthonOn its returnG2064
√ ἔρχομαι — to come or go (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively)VerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Neuter Singular
εὑρίσκειheuriskeiit finds [the house]G2147
√ εὑρίσκω — to find (literally or figuratively)VerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
σχολάζονταscholazontavacantG4980
√ σχολάζω — to take a holiday, iVerbPresent Participle ActiveAccusative Masculine Singular
scholazō: to be at leisure, unoccupied One of the rarest words in the unit, only 2 verses in the New Testament. Everything said of this house is negative or preparatory: emptied, swept, adorned. Nothing is said to be in it. Gill lists what the emptiness means: "it was empty of God, of the true knowledge of him, of the fear of him, and love to him; of Christ, of faith in him, affection for him, and hope on him." Cambridge turns it into a rule: "there must be no leisure in the Christian life."
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
σεσαρωμένονsesarōmenonswept cleanG4563
√ σαρόω — akin to G4951 (σύρω))VerbPerfect Participle Middle or PassiveAccusative Masculine Singular
saroō: to sweep A rare verb (3 verses). Perfect passive: the sweeping is done and its effect endures. Wycliffe's rendering, preserved by Pulpit, is "cleansed with besoms." The only other uses are Luke 11:25, the parallel to this parable, and Luke 15:8, where a woman sweeps her house precisely in order to find something. Here the sweeping finds and keeps nothing.
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
κεκοσμημένονkekosmēmenonput in orderG2885
√ κοσμέω — to put in proper order, iVerbPerfect Participle Middle or PassiveAccusative Masculine Singular
kosmeō: to put in proper order, to adorn The root of "cosmos" and of "cosmetic." A house made beautiful and ready. Benson reads the adorning as itself the trap: swept "from love, lowliness, meekness, and all the fruits of the Spirit, and adorned with levity and folly, vanity and sin." Pulpit reads it more soberly and, in context, more devastatingly: "It had no tenant, but it was fully prepared for one." The same verb dresses the bride's city at Revelation 21:2 and 21:19; the question the parable presses is who the adorning is for.
45

Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and dwell there. And the final plight of that man is worse than the first. So will it be with this wicked generation.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

tote poreuetai kai paralambanei meth’ heautou hepta hetera pneumata ponērotera heautou kai eiselthonta katoikei ekei kai ta eschata ekeinou tou anthrōpou ginetai cheirona tōn prōtōn houtōs kai estai tē tautē tē ponēra genea

Word by word33 · parsed
τότεtoteThenG5119
√ τότε — the when, iAdverb
πορεύεταιporeuetaiit goesG4198
√ πορεύομαι — to traverse, iVerbPresent Indicative Middle or Passive3rd Person Singular
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
παραλαμβάνειparalambaneibrings with itG3880
√ παραλαμβάνω — to receive near, iVerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
paralambanō: to receive near, to take along Present Indicative Active. The verb is the ordinary word for taking someone with you as a companion or associate. The spirit does not summon subordinates; it recruits partners, and the parable never says anything resisted it.
μεθ’meth’. . .G3326
√ μετά — properly, denoting accompanimentPreposition
ἑαυτοῦheautou. . .G1438
√ ἑαυτοῦ — him- (her-, it-, them-, also (in conjunction with the personal pronoun of the other persons) my-, thy-, our-, your-) self (selves), etcReflexive PronounGenitive Neuter 3rd Person Singular
ἑπτὰheptasevenG2033
√ ἑπτά — sevenAdjectiveAccusative Neuter Plural
hepta: seven Barnes: "Seven denotes a large but indefinite number. It was a favorite number with the Jews, and was used to denote 'completeness' or 'perfection.'" Benson agrees that the number stands for completeness "whether of good or bad things." Ellicott reads it concretely against Mary Magdalene's seven (Mark 16:9; Luke 8:2) as "a greater intensity of possession." Whichever way, the arithmetic is the point: one returns, eight remain.
ἕτεραheteraotherG2087
√ ἕτερος — (an-, the) other or differentAdjectiveAccusative Neuter Plural
heteros: other, different in kind Not ἄλλος (another of the same sort) but ἕτερος. The reinforcements are not more of the same; the comparative that follows says why.
πνεύματαpneumataspiritsG4151
√ πνεῦμα — a current of air, iNounAccusative Neuter Plural
πονηρότεραponēroteramore wickedG4190
√ πονηρός — hurtful, iAdjectiveAccusative Neuter PluralComparative
ponēros: hurtful, evil Comparative degree. Benson draws the inference the grammar forces: "Whence it appears that there are degrees of wickedness among the devils themselves." The comparative is not rhetorical inflation; it is the parable's claim that a relapse is not a return to the old level but a descent below it.
ἑαυτοῦheautouthan itselfG1438
√ ἑαυτοῦ — him- (her-, it-, them-, also (in conjunction with the personal pronoun of the other persons) my-, thy-, our-, your-) self (selves), etcReflexive PronounGenitive Neuter 3rd Person Singular
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
εἰσελθόνταeiselthontathey go inG1525
√ εἰσέρχομαι — to enter (literally or figuratively)VerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Neuter Plural
κατοικεῖkatoikei[and] dwellG2730
√ κατοικέω — to house permanently, iVerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
katoikeō: to house permanently Present Indicative Active, and singular against a plural participle. The contrast with v. 43 is the parable's spine: there the spirit passed through (διέρχεται) waterless places and found no rest; here it settles (κατοικεῖ) and stays. The rest it could not find in the desert it finds in a swept heart.
ἐκεῖekeithereG1563
√ ἐκεῖ — thereAdverb
καὶkaiAndG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
τὰtatheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Neuter Plural
ἔσχαταeschatafinal [plight]G2078
√ ἔσχατος — farthest, final (of place or time)AdjectiveNominative Neuter Plural
eschatos: farthest, final With πρώτων at 24 this forms the clause τὰ ἔσχατα χείρονα τῶν πρώτων, whose three carrying words the Verifier finds together again at 2 Peter 2:20 and, in a singular and inverted form, on the lips of the chief priests at Matthew 27:64. Poole, Gill and Pulpit all record the 2 Peter connection; Pulpit also notes the Matthew 27:64 parallel of form.
ἐκείνουekeinouofG1565
√ ἐκεῖνος — that one (or (neuter) thing)Demonstrative PronounGenitive Masculine Singular
τοῦtouthatG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Singular
ἀνθρώπουanthrōpoumanG444
√ ἄνθρωπος — from G3700 (ὀπτάνομαι))NounGenitive Masculine Singular
γίνεταιginetaiisG1096
√ γίνομαι — to cause to be ("gen"-erate), iVerbPresent Indicative Middle or Passive3rd Person Singular
ginomai: to cause to be, to become Present Middle or Passive. "Becomes," a thing in motion, not "is," a thing settled.
χείροναcheironaworseG5501
√ χείρων — from an obsolete equivalent (of uncertain derivation)AdjectiveNominative Neuter PluralComparative
cheirōn: worse A rare comparative (11 verses in the New Testament), and it carries the verdict of the parable. Of its other uses, two are this same clause form (2 Peter 2:20; Matthew 27:64) and one is the trajectory of 2 Timothy 3:13, evil men going on "from bad to worse." The word never describes an accident; it describes a direction.
τῶνtōnthan theG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Neuter Plural
πρώτωνprōtōnfirstG4413
√ πρῶτος — foremost (in time, place, order or importance)AdjectiveGenitive Neuter Plural
οὕτωςhoutōsSoG3779
√ οὕτω — in this way (referring to what precedes or follows)Adverb
καὶkai. . .G2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
Adverbial καί, "also"; BSB leaves it unrendered.
ἔσταιestaiwill it beG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbFuture Indicative Middle3rd Person Singular
τῇtēG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Feminine Singular
ταύτῃtautēwith thisG3778
√ οὗτος — the he (she or it), iDemonstrative PronounDative Feminine Singular
τῇtēG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Feminine Singular
πονηρᾷponērawickedG4190
√ πονηρός — hurtful, iAdjectiveDative Feminine Singular
ponēros: hurtful, evil The same root as the comparative at 9, now attached to the generation itself. See the divergence note: the repetition is structural, not stylistic.
γενεᾷgeneagenerationG1074
√ γενεά — a generationNounDative Feminine Singular
genea: a generation The application clause, and it is the reason the parable exists. Cambridge explains the logic of the contrast: "Christ has been speaking of 'this generation;' He now contrasts it with past generations. The Jews of former times were like a man possessed by a demon, the Jews of this day are like a man possessed by many demons." Ellicott ties the first possession to pre-exilic idolatry and the swept house to post-exilic scribal religion. Note that Luke's parallel (Luke 11:24-26) lacks this application clause entirely; Cambridge observes that "St Luke, as usual, omits the direct application to Israel."

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 spirit that cannot rest — 12:43

The parable begins with a connective the English drops. Pulpit insists on it: "St. Matthew does not bring this forward as a separate utterance; he wishes the connexion between it and the preceding to be seen." What precedes is Nineveh repenting at Jonah's preaching and the queen of the South coming from the ends of the earth, and Pulpit names the contrast directly: "There is a contrast between the behaviour of the Ninevites and the Queen of Sheba, and that of the Jews." Ellicott grants that the picture is drawn from observed phenomena told "in the language of the popular belief," and Cambridge records the belief without endorsing it: "The waterless desert uninhabited by man was regarded by the Jews as the especial abode of evil spirits." Barnes goes further than either and argues the Bible itself countenances the opinion, citing Isaiah 13:21, Jeremiah 50:39 and Revelation 18:2.

⚙ But the Greek puts its weight somewhere the background debate does not reach. ἀνύδρων is a privative word, a place defined by what it lacks, and ἀνάπαυσις is one of the rarest nouns in Matthew. Two chapters earlier, at Matthew 11:29, the same noun with the same verb εὑρίσκω stands in Christ's promise: you will find rest for your souls. Pulpit alone among the voices here flags the cross-reference, and it repays the flagging. The parable opens with a creature doing what the Beatitudes' opposite would do: seeking rest where there is no water, and not finding.

ii. The house at leisure — 12:44

Three perfect and present participles carry the second movement, and every one of them is good news read alone. The house is σχολάζοντα, σεσαρωμένον, κεκοσμημένον: at leisure, swept, adorned. Cambridge translates the first word with precision ("Properly, at leisure") and then draws the rule: "To have cast out a sin does not make a man safe from sin, there must be no leisure in the Christian life." Pulpit supplies the sentence that makes the movement turn: "It had no tenant, but it was fully prepared for one." Barnes, reading the man rather than the nation, says the tidiness means "the man was restored to his right mind, or was freed from the influence of the evil spirit"; he calls it "a lucid interval." Ellicott holds both readings at once and warns that the individual portrait is of a man "left to the routine of common life and conventional morality, with no higher spiritual influence to protect and guard him."

Gill's inventory of the emptiness is the sharpest thing said about this verse by any of the voices: the house is "empty of God, of the true knowledge of him, of the fear of him, and love to him; of Christ, of faith in him, affection for him, and hope on him." Henry compresses the same point: "the heart is swept by outward reformation, but garnished by preparation to comply with evil suggestions." And Poole states the principle flatly: "all other reformation proves but a sweeping and a garnishing, while the soul is empty of Christ." ⚙ The grammar backs them. The two decisive participles are passive perfects: the state stands, and the agent is unnamed and absent. Someone cleaned this house and then walked away from it.

iii. Seven worse, and the verdict on this generation — 12:45

The numbers do the theology. Barnes: "Seven denotes a large but indefinite number ... used to denote 'completeness' or 'perfection.'" Benson agrees, and draws the comparative's consequence: "Whence it appears that there are degrees of wickedness among the devils themselves." ⚙ Two grammatical details deserve more than they usually get. First, the participle εἰσελθόντα is plural while the verb κατοικεῖ is singular: eight enter, and the sentence says it settles, as though the occupation were one thing with eight heads. Second, κατοικέω means, in Strong's own words, "to house permanently." The spirit that could not rest in v. 43 rests now. The parable's whole motion is from διέρχεται to κατοικεῖ, from restless traversing to settled tenancy, and a swept and empty house is what makes the difference.

Then the application. Cambridge sets out the historical shape: "Israel had cast forth the demon of idolatry, the sin of its earlier history, but worse demons had entered in, the more insidious and dangerous sins of hypocrisy and hardness of heart." Ellicott fills in the middle term: after the exile "idolatry seemed banished for ever," and "the hypocrisy of the scribes was the garnishing of the house." Barnes reads the last state as fulfilled in the destruction of the city by the Romans; Ellicott sends the reader to Josephus for its measure. Pulpit refuses to soften the final clause: "This is more than a warning; it is a verdict." And he notes that the twofold πονηρός is deliberate, "this evil generation is already fit for the coming of the evil spirits." ⚙ A note of restraint is owed here. Cambridge itself observes that Luke's version of this parable (Luke 11:24-26) has no application clause about Israel at all; the national reading is Matthew's own framing, and the older commentators press it well past what Matthew says.

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. The parable is usually preached as a warning against backsliding, but the Greek locates the danger one step earlier than that. Nothing in v. 44 is dirty. The house is swept, adorned, and at leisure, and the spirit walks back into it precisely because of those three things, not in spite of them. The one thing the text withholds is an occupant. Two verbs frame the whole unit: διέρχεται in v. 43, the spirit passing through waterless places and finding no rest, and κατοικεῖ in v. 45, the spirit housed permanently. Between those two verbs stands one swept room. What the demon could not find in the desert it found in a tidied life, which means moral improvement, taken by itself, is not neutral ground; it is a vacancy. Matthew has just used ἀνάπαυσις, the very rest the spirit hunts, in Christ's own invitation at 11:29, where the one who takes his yoke finds it. The parable and the invitation are two answers to the same hunger, and the text gives no third. Poole, Henry and Gill all reached this conclusion from their own side: what keeps the house is not cleanness but a tenant. Where this reading would be wrong is if the swept house were meant as mere scene-setting rather than as the cause; the strongest objection is that parables are not to be pressed at every phrase, which is Poole's own caution, that "in parabolical speeches we must not make a severe scrutiny upon every phrase." The line set apart below is the tool's own sentence, not Scripture.

The unclean spirit does not need the house to be filthy; it only needs the house to be free.

⚙

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 same parable in Luke, without the verdict on Israel verbal / quotation: confirmed

Luke 11:24-26 carries this parable almost word for word. Pulpit: "Parallel passage: Luke 11:24-26, almost verbally, but omitting the application at the end of our ver. 45." The Verifier confirms the verbal overlap at the level of vocabulary, including the rare ἄνυδρος and σαρόω. The difference matters as much as the sameness: Cambridge notes that "St Luke, as usual, omits the direct application to Israel," and that in Luke "the connection is different." So the national reading urged by Ellicott, Gill, Poole and Barnes rests on Matthew's framing clause alone, not on the parable itself.

Luke 11:24 · Luke 11:25 · Luke 11:26

basis: Verifier: Luke 11:24 shares G504 ἄνυδρος (rare, in 4 vv), G169 ἀκάθαρτος (in 30 vv), G1330 διέρχομαι (in 41 vv); Luke 11:25 shares G4563 σαρόω (rare, in 3 vv) and G2147 εὑρίσκω (in 167 vv); Luke 11:26 shares G4151 πνεῦμα, G5119 τότε, G2087 ἕτερος. Greek to Greek, synoptic parallel, rare shared lexemes

σχολάζω: the same leisure, given to prayer or given to a demon verbal / quotation: confirmed

σχολάζοντα (G4980) occurs in only two verses in the whole New Testament. Here it describes a house standing idle. At 1 Corinthians 7:5 Paul uses it of a married couple agreeing to abstain for a season so as to be at leisure for prayer. The word itself is morally empty: it names unoccupied time, which is then either filled or invaded. Cambridge, glossing this verse, turns it into a maxim: "there must be no leisure in the Christian life." ⚙ Read alongside Paul, the maxim needs correcting: there is a leisure the Christian life requires, and its whole safety lies in what it is emptied for.

1 Corinthians 7:5

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexeme G4980 σχολάζω, in only 2 verses in the New Testament, so these two passages are its entire canonical usage. Greek to Greek. No quotation is claimed in either direction; the link is lexical

ἀνάπαυσις: the rest the spirit hunts and Christ gives verbal / quotation: confirmed

The noun ἀνάπαυσις (G372) appears in only five verses. Matthew uses it twice: at 11:29, "you will find rest for your souls," and here at 12:43, where the unclean spirit seeks rest and does not find it. Both times the noun is paired with the verb εὑρίσκω, and both times the question is where rest is located. Revelation 14:11 supplies the third term, of those who "have no rest day or night," and Revelation 4:8 the fourth, of the living creatures who have no rest from praise. Pulpit is the voice that notices the Matthew 11 link, sending the reader to "Matthew 11:28, 29, notes" at the phrase "seeking rest." ⚙ The two Matthean uses are two chapters apart and read as deliberate: the same hunger, two destinations.

Matthew 11:29 · Revelation 14:11 · Revelation 4:8

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexeme G372 ἀνάπαυσις, rare (in 5 vv), with G2147 εὑρίσκω shared at Matthew 11:29. Greek to Greek, all New Testament. A lexical and thematic link, not a quotation

"The last state worse than the first": a formula that travels verbal / quotation: confirmed

The clause τὰ ἔσχατα χείρονα τῶν πρώτων recurs almost exactly at 2 Peter 2:20, of those who escape the world's defilements through the knowledge of Christ and are entangled again. Poole says the text "is thought to be well expounded by Peter, 2 Peter 2:20"; Gill cites the same verse; Pulpit puts it more carefully: "Our Lord's words are apparently quoted in 2 Peter 2:20," and adds, "Observe that the idea of pollution is found there as well as here." Pulpit also notices the form recurring on hostile lips at Matthew 27:64, where the chief priests fear that "the last deception will be worse than the first." ⚙ The three uses make a ladder: Christ says it of a generation, Peter of an apostate, and the chief priests say it of the resurrection they are trying to prevent.

2 Peter 2:20 · Matthew 27:64 · 2 Timothy 3:13

basis: Verifier: 2 Peter 2:20 and Matthew 27:64 each share G5501 χείρων (rare, in 11 vv) together with G2078 ἔσχατος and G4413 πρῶτος, the three words that make up the clause; 2 Timothy 3:13 shares G5501 with G4190 πονηρός. Greek to Greek, all New Testament. Pulpit calls 2 Peter 2:20 a quotation of Christ's words; 2 Peter names no source, so the direction of dependence is an inference, and the recorded basis here is lexical

ἄνυδρος: waterless places, waterless wells, waterless clouds verbal / quotation: confirmed

The privative adjective ἄνυδρος (G504) occurs in only four verses. Here and in Luke 11:24 it names the demon's haunt. In the other two it names false teachers: 2 Peter 2:17 calls them "springs without water," and Jude 12 "clouds without water, carried along by winds." ⚙ The shared word is doing the same work each time. It marks a thing that has the form of a source of life and none of the substance, which is exactly what a swept, adorned, empty house is in v. 44.

2 Peter 2:17 · Jude 1:12

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexeme G504 ἄνυδρος, rare (in 4 vv), so these passages plus Luke 11:24 are its whole New Testament range; Jude 1:12 also shares G1438 ἑαυτοῦ (in 294 vv, not evidential). Greek to Greek. The convergence of application is the tool's reading, not a quotation

κοσμέω: a house adorned for nobody, a city adorned for her husband structural / thematic: confirmed

κεκοσμημένον (G2885, in 10 vv) is the verb of putting in proper order and making beautiful. Matthew uses it of the virgins trimming their lamps at 25:7, where the adorning is done in expectation of a bridegroom who comes. Revelation 21:19 uses it of the foundations of the holy city, and 1 Peter 3:5 of holy women who adorned themselves by hope in God. In every one of those the adorning is for someone. ⚙ In Matthew 12:44 alone the house is adorned and the tenant who arrives is the one who left. The contrast is structural rather than quotational, and it is the tool's own observation; none of the voices in this brief draw it.

Matthew 25:7 · Revelation 21:19 · 1 Peter 3:5

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexeme G2885 κοσμέω (in 10 vv) at all three references, with G1565 ἐκεῖνος and G5119 τότε also shared at Matthew 25:7. Greek to Greek, but the lexeme is not rare enough on its own to carry a verbal claim and no quotation is involved, so the link is tiered structural

Demons in the desert: a belief the commentators report and partly defend flagged: verify source

Where does the picture of the waterless haunt come from? Cambridge and cautious voices report it as a Jewish belief; Ellicott calls it "the popular idea that the parched deserts of Syria and Arabia and Egypt were haunted by demons" and supports it from Tobit 8:3, where Asmodeus flees to upper Egypt. Benson cites Isaiah 13:21, noting that "instead of satyrs, the LXX. read δαιμονια, demons," and adds Revelation 18:2. Barnes goes furthest, arguing that "the Bible gives countenance to the opinion," citing Isaiah 13:21, Jeremiah 50:39 and Revelation 18:2, though he then concedes: "It is not 'proved' by this passage that evil spirits actually 'dwell' in deserts. It is proved only that such was the opinion of the Jews." ⚙ That concession is the honest position, and Benson's own wording shows why: the demons at Isaiah 13:21 appear because "instead of satyrs, the LXX. read δαιμονια," which is a translation decision about a Hebrew word, not the Hebrew word itself. Ellicott's supporting text, Tobit 8:3, lies outside the canon this project works from. The picture is well attested as a belief held in the first century, which is all the parable needs; it is not thereby a doctrine the parable teaches.

Isaiah 13:21 · Jeremiah 50:39 · Revelation 18:2

basis: No Verifier lexeme basis: Isaiah 13:21 and Jeremiah 50:39 are Hebrew, so no shared Strong's number with this Greek unit is possible, and Revelation 18:2 was not returned among the computed candidates. The connection rests on commentator citation (Ellicott, Benson, Barnes, Gill, Cambridge) and on the Septuagint rendering δαιμονια at Isaiah 13:21 where the English versions read "satyrs" (Benson records exactly this), which is a translation choice, not the Hebrew text; Ellicott's supporting reference to Tobit 8:3 is deuterocanonical. Flagged so the reader can weigh the provenance

⚙Christ in the Unittypology · verify

AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.

The stronger one who binds, and the house that must be inhabited ancient/widely-held

Sixteen verses earlier in the same discourse Christ describes entering a strong man's house and binding him first (Matthew 12:29); JFB explicitly links that parable with this one. Benson reads v. 43 in that light: the spirit goes out "not of his own accord, or willingly, but compelled by one that is stronger than he." But v. 44 shows what a binding without an indwelling leaves behind. Henry states the conclusion: "when he returns, he finds Christ is not there to shut him out," and again, "Every heart is the residence of unclean spirits, except those which are temples of the Holy Ghost, by faith in Christ." Poole: the devil "ordinarily succeeds where Christ hath not prepossessed the soul." Gill's catalogue of the emptiness is christological throughout: empty "of Christ, of faith in him, affection for him, and hope on him." ⚙ The remedy the parable implies but does not state is the one Christ states elsewhere in his own terms: not a swept house but an inhabited one, "we will come to him and make Our home with him" (John 14:23), the body as a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). This is the reading of Henry, Poole and Gill alike.

Matthew 12:29 · John 14:23 · 1 Corinthians 6:19

The rest the demon cannot find is a person ancient/widely-held

The rare noun ἀνάπαυσις stands in only two places in Matthew, and they answer each other. At 11:29 Christ says, take my yoke and "you will find rest for your souls"; at 12:43 the unclean spirit passes through waterless places "seeking rest and does not find it." Same noun, same verb, opposite outcome. Pulpit makes the cross-reference at exactly this phrase, sending the reader to the notes on Matthew 11:28, 29. ⚙ The parable therefore does not present two options, cleanness or filth, but two locations of rest: in Christ, or in a man. The creature that finds no rest in the wilderness finds it by settling permanently (κατοικεῖ) in a human life, which is the demonic counterfeit of the indwelling the gospel offers. Revelation 14:11 shows where the counterfeit ends: no rest, day or night.

Matthew 11:28 · Matthew 11:29 · Revelation 14:11

The last state, and the one case where the last is better than the first novel

The clause of this unit's verdict, the last things worse than the first, comes back on the lips of the chief priests at Matthew 27:64: seal the tomb, "or the last deception will be worse than the first." Pulpit notes the parallel of form without pressing it. ⚙ Pressing it is this tool's own reading, and is offered as such. The parable ends its generation in a descending comparative, ἔσχατα worse than πρῶτα, with no mechanism in the story to reverse it: a house cannot tenant itself. The one event that breaks the comparative is the one the guard was posted to prevent. In Matthew's narrative the same idiom is spoken twice, once as a verdict on unbelief and once as a fear about the resurrection, and only the second is falsified: the last state of the sealed tomb is not worse than the first but empty, and the angel's word at 28:6 reverses the comparative that this parable could not. The inversion between Matthew 12:45 and 27:64 is the tool's own observation, drawn from the shared Greek idiom that the Verifier records, and not from any voice in this brief; it is marked novel for that reason.

Matthew 27:64 · Matthew 28:6

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)
  • 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)

Text. Scripture is BSB (CC0). Greek surface forms, transliterations, parses and Strong's numbers are from the Berean interlinear as supplied in the brief; the lexical glosses are Strong's own, and several of them are truncated in the source (for example G504 appears as "waterless, i"), so where a gloss is expanded in the notes above the expansion is marked as reading rather than quotation.

Sources. Ten public-domain commentators were available for this unit. Eight are quoted: Ellicott, Benson, Henry, Barnes, Poole, Gill, Cambridge and Pulpit. Two are not, for honest reasons. The Geneva entries for all three verses contain only the verse text and the heading "EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)" with no comment attached. The JFB entry for all three verses offers no exposition of this parable at all: it refers the reader to the note on Luke 11:21-26 and then discusses the incident of Luke 11:27-28, so quoting it here would misrepresent what it says about these verses. Henry's entry is a single block covering 12:38-45 rather than a verse-by-verse note. Benson's entry is capped in the brief; the excerpt used falls well inside the visible portion.

What is uncertain. Three things. First, the application: Matthew alone attaches "So will it be with this wicked generation"; Luke's parallel has no such clause, as Cambridge observes, so the national interpretation pressed hard by Ellicott, Gill, Poole and Barnes rests on Matthew's frame and is read by those authors through their own period's assumptions. Second, the desert demonology: Barnes argues the Bible supports it and then concedes it proves only "that such was the opinion of the Jews"; the thread on that point is flagged accordingly. Third, the dependence claimed between Matthew 12:45 and 2 Peter 2:20: Pulpit says Christ's words are "apparently quoted" there, Poole and Gill assume the link, but 2 Peter names no source, so the direction of dependence is an inference and the badge records only the lexical overlap. The grammatical observations offered as ⚙ (the plural participle with singular verb at 12:45, the passive perfects at 12:44, the two Matthean uses of ἀνάπαυσις) are read directly off the parse supplied in the brief and can be checked there.

✦ = 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)