“He who is not with me is against me, and he who doesn’t gather with me, scatters.
Parallel translations
- KJV He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.
- BSB He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
- 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 on our side.
- Luke 11:23“He that is not with me is against me. He who doesn’t gather with me scatters.
- Josh 24:15If it seems evil to you to serve Yahweh, choose today whom you will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh.”
- Luke 9:50Jesus said to him, “Don’t forbid him, for he who is not against us is for us.”
- 1 Jn 2:19They went out from us, but they didn’t belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have continued with us. But they left, that they might be revealed that none of them belong to us.
- Matt 6:24“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can’t serve both God and Mammon.
- 2 Cor 6:15–16What agreement has Christ with Belial? Or what portion has a believer with an unbeliever?
- Rev 3:15–16“I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot.
- 1 Chr 12:17–18David went out to meet them, and answered them, “If you have come peaceably to me to help me, my heart will be united with you; but if you have come to betray me to my adversaries, since there is no wrong in my hands, may the God of our fathers see this and rebuke it.”
- Josh 5:13When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man stood in front of him with his sword drawn in his hand. Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our enemies?”
- Gen 49:10The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs. To him will the obedience of the peoples be.
- John 11:52and not for the nation only, but that he might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.
- Hos 1:11The children of Judah and the children of Israel will be gathered together, and they will appoint themselves one head, and will go up from the land; for great will be the day of Jezreel.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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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 12:30 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.