He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
Parallel translations
- WEB “He who is not with me is against me, and he who doesn’t gather with me, scatters.
- KJV He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.
- NKJV He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.
- NASB The one who is not with Me is against Me; and the one who does not gather with Me scatters.
- NLT “Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me.
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
Jesus declares that there is no neutral ground: those not with him are against him.
Overview
In the cosmic conflict between God's kingdom and Satan's, every person must take a side. To refuse Christ is to oppose him; to fail to gather with him is to scatter. The Pharisees' rejection places them, despite their religion, on the wrong side.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Mark 9:40For whoever is not against us is for us.
- Luke 11:23He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
- Josh 24:15But if it is unpleasing in your sight to serve the LORD, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD!”
- Luke 9:50“Do not stop him,” Jesus replied, “for whoever is not against you is for you.”
- 1 Jn 2:19They went out from us, but they did not belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But their departure made it clear that none of them belonged to us.
- Matt 6:24No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
- 2 Cor 6:15–16What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?
- Rev 3:15–16I know your deeds; you are neither cold nor hot. How I wish you were one or the other!
- 1 Chr 12:17–18And David went out to meet them, saying, “If you have come to me in peace to help me, my heart will be united with you; but if you have come to betray me to my enemies when my hands are free of violence, may the God of our fathers see it and judge you.”
- Josh 5:13Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in His hand. Joshua approached Him and asked, “Are You for us or for our enemies?”
- Gen 49:10The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes and the allegiance of the nations is his.
- John 11:52and not only for the nation, but also for the scattered children of God, to gather them together into one.
- Hos 1:11Then the people of Judah and of Israel will be gathered together, and they will appoint for themselves one leader, and will go up out of the land. For great will be the day of Jezreel.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 12:30 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.