When an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it passes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it.
Parallel translations
- WEB When an unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he passes through waterless places, seeking rest, and doesn’t find it.
- KJV When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.
- NKJV “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.
- NASB “Now when the unclean spirit comes out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it.
- NLT “When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, seeking rest but finding none.
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 describes an unclean spirit that, having left a person, wanders seeking rest and finds none.
Overview
This parable begins a warning about partial reform without genuine renewal. An empty life, merely cleaned but not filled with God, remains vulnerable. The point applies to a generation reformed outwardly yet rejecting the Messiah.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Luke 11:24–26When an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it passes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’
- Luke 8:28–32When the man saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before Him, shouting in a loud voice, “What do You want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You not to torture me!”
- Matt 8:29“What do You want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have You come here to torture us before the appointed time?”
- Mark 5:7–13And he shouted in a loud voice, “What do You want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You before God not to torture me!”
- Amos 8:11–13Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord GOD, when I will send a famine on the land—not a famine of bread or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD.
- Job 2:2“Where have you come from?” said the LORD to Satan. “From roaming through the earth,” he replied, “and walking back and forth in it.”
- Isa 35:6–7Then the lame will leap like a deer and the mute tongue will shout for joy. For waters will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.
- 1 Pet 5:8Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
- Ezek 47:8–12And he said to me, “This water flows out to the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah. When it empties into the Sea, the water there becomes fresh.
- Isa 41:18I will open rivers on the barren heights, and fountains in the middle of the valleys. I will turn the desert into a pool of water, and the dry land into flowing springs.
- Job 1:7“Where have you come from?” said the LORD to Satan. “From roaming through the earth,” he replied, “and walking back and forth in it.”
- Ps 63:1A Psalm of David, when he was in the Wilderness of Judah. O God, You are my God. Earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You. My body yearns for You in a dry and weary land without water.
- Acts 8:13Even Simon himself believed and was baptized. He followed Philip closely and was astounded by the great signs and miracles he observed.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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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 12:43 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.