If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
Parallel translations
- WEB If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
- KJV And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
- BSB If a kingdom is divided against itself, it 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 apart my other staff, even Union, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
- Isa 19:2–3I will stir up the Egyptians against the Egyptians, and they will fight everyone against his brother, and everyone against his neighbor; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.
- 2 Sam 20:1There happened to be there a base fellow, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite; and he blew the trumpet, and said, “We have no portion in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse. Every man to his tents, Israel!”
- 2 Sam 20:6David said to Abishai, “Now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom did. Take your lord’s servants, and pursue after him, lest he get himself fortified cities, and escape out of our sight.”
- 1 Cor 1:10–13Now I beg you, brothers, through the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfected together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
- Ezek 37:22and I will make them one nation in the land, on 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 12:1–6The men of Ephraim were gathered together, and passed northward; and they said to Jephthah, “Why did you pass over to fight against the children of Ammon, and didn’t call us to go with you? We will burn your house around you with fire!”
- Isa 9:20–21One will devour on the right hand, and be hungry; and he will eat on the left hand, and they will not be satisfied. Everyone will eat the flesh of his own arm:
- Eph 4:3–6being eager to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
- 1 Kgs 12:16–20When all Israel saw that the king didn’t listen to them, the people answered the king, saying, “What portion have we in David? We don’t have an inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, Israel! Now see to your own house, David.” So Israel departed to their tents.
- John 17:21that they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that you 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.