And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
Parallel translations
- WEB If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
- BSB If a kingdom is divided against itself, it cannot stand.
- NKJV If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
- NASB And if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
- NLT “A kingdom divided by civil war will collapse.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand. It matters because it proves Satan would not undermine his own rule by casting out his own demons.
Overview
Jesus uses a self-evident principle to dismantle the scribes' charge: internal division brings collapse. If his exorcisms were Satanic, Satan's kingdom would be tearing itself apart. The argument prepares for Jesus' claim that he is in fact plundering Satan's domain by a greater power, the Spirit of God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Zech 11:14Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
- Isa 19:2–3And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.
- 2 Sam 20:1And there happened to be there a man of Belial, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite: and he blew a trumpet, and said, We have no part in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to his tents, O Israel.
- 2 Sam 20:6And David said to Abishai, Now shall Sheba the son of Bichri do us more harm than did Absalom: take thou thy lord’s servants, and pursue after him, lest he get him fenced cities, and escape us.
- 1 Cor 1:10–13Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
- Ezek 37:22And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all:
- Judg 12:1–6And the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and went northward, and said unto Jephthah, Wherefore passedst thou over to fight against the children of Ammon, and didst not call us to go with thee? we will burn thine house upon thee with fire.
- Isa 9:20–21And he shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm:
- Eph 4:3–6Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
- 1 Kgs 12:16–20So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents.
- John 17:21That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
- Judg 9:23–57Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech:
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Christ at the center
Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'
How Mark 3:24 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.