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King James Version
Matthew 12:27
Bible Study Resources
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And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive them out? For this reason they will be your judges.
And if I by Beelzebub cast out deuils, by whom doe your children cast them out? Therefore they shall be your Iudges.
And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.
"And if by Beelzebul I cast out the demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they will be your judges.
You say that I use the power of Beelzebul to force out demons. If that is true, then what power do your people use to force out demons? So they will be your judges.
"If I cast out the demons by [the help of] Beelzebul (Satan), by whom do your sons drive them out? For this reason they will be your judges.
Also if I through Beelzebub cast out deuils, by whom doe your children cast them out? Therefore they shall be your iudges.
"If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges.
And if I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges.
And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive them out? So then, they will be your judges.
If I use the power of Beelzebul to force out demons, whose power do your own followers use to force them out? Your followers are the ones who will judge you.
Besides, if I drive out demons by Ba‘al-Zibbul, by whom do your people drive them out? So, they will be your judges!
And if *I* cast out demons by Beelzebub, your sons, by whom do they cast [them] out? For this reason *they* shall be your judges.
You say that I use the power of Satan to force out demons. If that is true, then what power do your people use when they force out demons? So your own people will prove that you are wrong.
So if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by what do your sons cast them out? for this reason they will be your judges.
You say that I drive out demons because Beelzebul gives me the power to do so. Well, then, who gives your followers the power to drive them out? What your own followers do proves that you are wrong!
And if I expel demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons expel them? For this reason they will be your judges!
And if I throw out the demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Because of this, they shall be your judges.
And if I by Beelzebub cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges.
And if I by Beelzebub send evil spirits out of men, by whom do your sons send them out? So let them be your judges.
If I by Ba`al-Zibbul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.
If I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own followerssons">[fn] drive them out? That is why they will be your judges!
And if I by Beelzebub cast forth demons, your sons, by whom do they cast them forth ? On this account they shall be your judges.
And if I by Beelzebub cast out demons, by whom do your children cast them out? Wherefore they will be your judges.
Also if I by Beelzebub cast out deuils, by whom do your children cast them out? Therfore they shalbe your iudges.
And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges.
If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.
And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges.
And if it is by Baal-zebul's power that I expel the demons, by whose power do your disciples expel them? They therefore shall be your judges.
And if Y in Belsabub caste out deuelis, in `whom youre sones casten out? Therfor thei schulen be youre domes men.
And if I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges.
And if I by Beelzebub cast out demons, by whom do your children expel [them]? therefore they shall be your judges.
And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges.
And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges.
And if I am empowered by Satan, what about your own exorcists? They cast out demons, too, so they will condemn you for what you have said.
If I put out demons by Satan, by whom do your followers put them out? So your followers will say if you are guilty.
If I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own exorcists cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.
And, if, I, in Beelzebul, am casting out the demons, In whom are, your sons, casting them out? Wherefore, they, shall be, judges of you.
And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges.
And if I cast out demons by Be-el'zebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges.
Also if I by ye helpe of Belzebub cast oute devyls: by whose helpe do youre chyldren cast them out? Therfore they shalbe youre iudges.
`And if I, by Beelzeboul, do cast out the demons, your sons -- by whom do they cast out? because of this they -- they shall be your judges.
But yf I cast out deuils thorow Beelzebub, thorow whom do youre childre cast them out? Therfore shal they be youre iudges.
and if I by Beelzebub exorcize devils, by whom do your children exorcize them? wherefore even they shall be your judges.
If I drive out demons by the devil's power, by what power do y'all drive them out? Y'alls followers are doin' the same thing I am, so what does that say about them?
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
Beelzebub: Matthew 12:24
by whom: Mark 9:38, Mark 9:39, Luke 9:49, Luke 9:50, Luke 11:19, Acts 19:13-16
they: Matthew 12:41, Matthew 12:42, Luke 19:22, Romans 3:19
Reciprocal: Numbers 23:23 - no enchantment
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils,.... As the Pharisees asserted, and would have the people believe; for this is not allowed, only for argument sake supposed:
by whom do your children cast them out? meaning not the apostles and disciples of Christ, the children of the Jews, to whom Christ gave power of casting out devils, and who had exercised it in his name; and therefore argues, if they in his name cast out devils, why could he not do it himself, without the help of Satan? wherefore these would be judges against them: but, no doubt, the Pharisees had no better opinion of the disciples, and of their ejection of devils, than of Christ; wherefore, it is not likely, that our Lord should argue with them from hence: but rather, he means, some among themselves, who pretended to have a power of exorcising and ejecting of devils, either in the name of Jesus, as some of them did, Mark 9:38 or in the name of their kings, righteous men, prophets and patriarchs, as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob w; and which practice, perhaps, they took up and made pretensions to, in imitation of Christ and his apostles; so as Christ healed men possessed of devils, they also affected to do the same. A story is reported x,
"concerning Ben Talmion, that a miracle was wrought by R. Eleazar bar Jose, who healed a king's daughter at Rome, in whose body the devil entered, whose name was Ben Talmion; and they brought him (the Jew) to the king's treasury, to take what he would, but he would take nothing from thence, but letters, in which were written the decrees they had decreed against Israel; and when he found them, he tore them to pieces, and there he saw the vessels of the house of the sanctuary, in the treasury.''
Now since the Jews pretended to do these things, Christ asks them, by whom they cast out devils? Whether by the Spirit of God, or by Beelzebub? They would doubtless say by the former, and not the latter, which would show their great partiality; for admitting that the like actions were done by them, as by him, why not by the same power? Why should their ejection of devils be ascribed to God, and his to Beelzebub?
Therefore they shall be your judges; who will rise up against you, and condemn you one day, for this unequal judgment you now pass; and which was just the reverse of the true state of the case: for he cast out devils by the Spirit of God, which they imputed to the assistance of Beelzebub; their children cast out devils, or pretended to do so, and it was by the help of Satan; and yet they ascribed it to a divine power, even though they made use of the name of Satan, under that of Beelzebub, or Asmodeus, their exorcising, of which take the following form y.
"By the authority of the glorious and fearful name, I adjure thee Asmodeus, "king of the devils", and all thy company, &c. that ye hurt not, nor put in fear, nor trouble such an one, the son of such an one, but that ye help him, and sustain him (or deliver him) out of every distress and anguish, and from every evil thing, and from all diseases, that enter into the two hundred and forty eight members, &c.''
w Justin Martyr, adv. Tryphon. p. 311. x In Gloss. in T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 57. 1. Meilah, fol. 17. 2. y Raziel, fol. 41. 2.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil - See the notes at Matthew 4:24. The same account, substantially, is found in Mark 3:22-27, and Luke 11:14-26.
Matthew 12:23
Is not this the Son of David? - That is, Is not this the promised “descendant” of David, the Messiah? They were acquainted with the prophecy in Isaiah 35:5, “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped,” and they inferred that he must be the promised Messiah who was able to do this. This inference was drawn by the common people, and not by the proud and haughty Pharisees. It is not uncommon that people of plain common sense, though unlearned, see the true meaning of the Bible, while those who are filled with pride and science, falsely so called, are blinded.
Matthew 12:24
But when the Pharisees heard it ... - It was necessary for the Pharisees, who had determined to reject Jesus of Nazareth, to account in “some” way for the miracles he had performed.
Here was a manifest miracle, an exertion of power unquestionably superior to what people could put forth. The common people were fast drawing the proper inference from it, and coming into the belief that this was the Messiah. The authority and power of the Pharisees were declining. Unless, therefore, some way should be devised of accounting for these facts, their influence would be at an end. Whatever way of accounting for them was adopted, it was necessary that they should acknowledge that there was “superhuman power.” The people were fully persuaded of this, and no man could deny it. They therefore ascribed it to the prince of the devils - to Beelzebub. In this they had two objects:
- To concede to the people that here was a “miracle,” or a work above mere human power.
- To throw all possible contempt on Jesus. Beelzebub, or Beelzebul, as it is in the Greek, and correctly rendered in the margin, was an opprobrious name given to the leader of the devils as an expression of supreme contempt. See the notes at Matthew 10:25.
Matthew 12:25, Matthew 12:26
And Jesus knew their thoughts ... - To know the thoughts of the heart belongs only to God, Psalms 139:2; Jeremiah 17:10.
Every kingdom ... - Their subtle and cunning device was completely foiled, and Jesus made their argument recoil on their own heads. A kingdom or a family can prosper only by living in harmony. The different parts and members must unite in promoting the same objects. If divided - if one part undoes what the other does - it must fall. So with the kingdom of Satan. It is your doctrine that Satan has “possessed” these whom I have cured. It is also your doctrine that he has helped me to cure them. If so, then he has helped me to undo what he had done. He has aided me to cast himself out - that is, to oppose and discomfit himself. At this rate, how can there be any stability in his kingdom? It must fall, and Satan must have less than human prudence.
Matthew 12:27
By whom do your children cast them out? - Your disciples; your followers.
See the notes at Matthew 1:1. Christ was not satisfied by showing them the intrinsic absurdity of their argument. He showed them that it might as well be applied to them as to him. your disciples, taught by you and encouraged by you, pretend to cast out devils. If your argument be true that a man who casts out devils must be in league with the devil, then “your disciples” have made a covenant with him also. You must therefore either give up this argument, or admit that the working of miracles is proof of the assistance of God.
Therefore they shall be your judges - They condemn you and your argument. They are conclusive witnesses against the force of your reasoning.
Matthew 12:28
But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God ... - The Spirit of God, here, means the “power” of God - in Luke, by the “finger” of God.
Compare Exodus 8:19; Psalms 8:3. If this work is not by the aid of Satan, then it is by the aid of God. Then his kingdom, or “reign,” is come, Matthew 3:2. The reign of Satan over people, and the reign of God are in opposition. If God expels Satan from his dominion over people, then his reign has come.
Matthew 12:29
Or else ... - The Saviour makes use of a new illustration to confute the Pharisees, drawn from breaking into a house.
A man could not break into the house of a strong man and take his property unless he had rendered the man himself helpless. If he had taken his goods, it would therefore be sufficient proof that he had bound the man. So I, says he, have taken this “property - this possessed person” - from the dominion of Satan. It is clear proof that I have subdued “Satan himself,” the “strong” being that had him in possession. The words “or else” mean “or how:” “How, or in what way, can one, etc.”
Spoil his goods - The word “spoil” commonly means, now, to corrupt, injure, or destroy. Here it means “to plunder,” to take with violence, as it commonly does in the Bible. See Colossians 2:8, Colossians 2:15; Exodus 3:22.
Matthew 12:30
He that is not with me ... - In addition to his other arguments, Jesus urges this general principle, that there can be but two parties in the universe.
If anyone did not act with him, he was against him. If he gathered not with him, he scattered. This is taken from the practice of persons in harvest. He that did not gather with him, or “aid” him, scattered abroad, or opposed him. The application of this was, “As I have not united with Satan, but opposed him, there can be no league between us.” The charge, therefore, is a false one.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Matthew 12:27. By whom do your children cast them out? — Children, or sons of the prophets, means the disciples of the prophets; and children or sons of the Pharisees, disciples of the Pharisees. From Acts 19:13; Acts 19:14, it is evident there were exorcists among the Jews, and, from our Lord's saying here, it is also evident that the disciples of the Pharisees did cast out demons, or, at least, those who educated them wished to have it believed that they had such a power. Our Lord's argument here is extremely conclusive: If the man who casts out demons proves himself thereby to be in league with and influenced by Satan, then your disciples, and you who taught them, are all of you in league with the devil: ye must either give up your assertion, that I cast out demons by Beelzebul, or else admit this conclusion, in its fullest force and latitude, that ye are all children of the devil, and leagued with him against God.
Envy causes persons often to condemn in one, what they approve in another.
