If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand?
Parallel translations
- WEB If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?
- KJV And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?
- NKJV If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?
- NASB And if Satan is casting out Satan, he has become divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand?
- NLT And if Satan is casting out Satan, he is divided and fighting against himself. His own kingdom will not survive.
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
If Satan were casting out Satan, his kingdom would be self-destructing and could not stand.
Overview
Jesus presses the absurdity of the charge to its logical end. Satan does not work against his own interests, so the exorcisms cannot be the devil's doing. The only remaining explanation is that a greater power, God's own Spirit, is at work.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Col 1:13He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of His beloved Son,
- 1 Jn 5:19We know that we are of God, and that the whole world is under the power of the evil one.
- Rev 20:2–3He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.
- John 12:31Now judgment is upon this world; now the prince of this world will be cast out.
- Matt 4:10“Away from Me, Satan!” Jesus declared. “For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”
- Rev 9:11They were ruled by a king, the angel of the Abyss. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek it is Apollyon.
- Rev 16:10And the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness, and men began to gnaw their tongues in anguish
- 2 Cor 4:4The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
- John 16:11and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world has been condemned.
- Rev 12:9And the great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
- John 14:30I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming, and he has no claim on Me.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 12:26 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
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