Matthew 12:24

The NET Bible®

But when the Pharisees heard this they said, "He does not cast out demons except by the power of Beelzebul, the ruler of demons!"

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
When the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man drives out demons only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.”

King James Version (1611)
But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doeth not cast out deuils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the deuils.

King James Version
But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.

English Standard Version
But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, "It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons."

New American Standard Bible
But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, "This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons."

New Century Version
When the Pharisees heard this, they said, "Jesus uses the power of Beelzebul, the ruler of demons, to force demons out of people."

Amplified Bible
But the Pharisees heard it and said, "This man casts out demons only by [the help of] Beelzebul (Satan) the prince of the demons."

Geneva Bible (1587)
But when the Pharises heard it, they saide, This man casteth the deuils no otherwise out, but through Beelzebub the prince of deuils.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, "This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons."

Legacy Standard Bible
But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, "This man does not cast out demons except by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons."

Berean Standard Bible
But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, "Only by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons, does this man drive out demons."

Contemporary English Version
When the Pharisees heard this, they said, "He forces out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons!"

Complete Jewish Bible
But when the P'rushim heard of it, they said, "It is only by Ba‘al-Zibbul" — the ruler of the demons — "that this man drives out demons."

Darby Translation
But the Pharisees, having heard [it], said, This [man] does not cast out demons, but by Beelzebub, prince of demons.

Easy-to-Read Version
When the Pharisees heard this, they said, "This man uses the power of Satan to force demons out of people. Satan is the ruler of demons."

George Lamsa Translation
But when the Pharisees heard of it, they said, This man does not cast out demons, except by Beelzebub, the prince of demons.

Good News Translation
When the Pharisees heard this, they replied, "He drives out demons only because their ruler Beelzebul gives him power to do so."

Lexham English Bible
But the Pharisees, when they heard it, said, "This man does not expel demons except by Beelzebul the ruler of demons!"

Literal Translation
But hearing, the Pharisees said, This One does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, ruler of the demons.

American Standard Version
But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This man doth not cast out demons, but by Beelzebub the prince of the demons.

Bible in Basic English
But the Pharisees, hearing of it, said, This man only sends evil spirits out of men by Beelzebub, the ruler of evil spirits.

Hebrew Names Version
But when the Perushim heard it, they said, "This man does not cast out demons, except by Ba`al-Zibbul, the prince of the demons."

International Standard Version
But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, "This man drives out demons only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons."Matthew 9:34; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
But the Pharishee, when they heard, said, This (man) doth not cast forth demons unless by Beelzebub, the prince of the devils.

Murdock Translation
But when the Pharisees heard [fn] , they said: This man doth not cast out demons, except by Beelzebub the prince of demons.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
But when the Pharisees hearde it, they sayde: This [felowe] driueth the deuils no otherwise out, but by Beelzebub the prince of the deuils.

English Revised Version
But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This man doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.

World English Bible
But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, "This man does not cast out demons, except by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons."

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
But the Pharisees hearing it said, This fellow casteth not out devils but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.

Weymouth's New Testament
The Pharisees heard it and said, "This man only expels demons by the power of Baal-zebul, the Prince of demons."

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
But the Farisees herden, and seiden, He this casteth not out feendis, but in Belsabub, prince of feendis.

Update Bible Version
But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This man does not cast out demons, but by Beelzebul the prince of the demons.

Webster's Bible Translation
But when the Pharisees heard [it], they said, This [man] doth not cast out demons, but by Beelzebub the prince of the demons.

New King James Version
Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, "This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, [fn] the ruler of the demons."

New Living Translation
But when the Pharisees heard about the miracle, they said, "No wonder he can cast out demons. He gets his power from Satan, the prince of demons."

New Life Bible
But when the proud religious law-keepers heard it, they said, "This Man puts out demons only by Satan, the leader of demons."

New Revised Standard
But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, "It is only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons, that this fellow casts out the demons."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
But, the Pharisees, hearing it, said, This one, doth not cast out the demons, save in Beelzebul ruler of the demons.

Douay-Rheims Bible
But the Pharisees hearing it, said: This man casteth not out devils but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.

Revised Standard Version
But when the Pharisees heard it they said, "It is only by Be-el'zebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons."

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
But when the Pharises hearde that they sayde: This felow dryveth ye devyls no nother wyse oute but by the helpe of Belzebub ye chefe of the devyls.

Young's Literal Translation
but the Pharisees having heard, said, `This one doth not cast out demons, except by Beelzeboul, ruler of the demons.'

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But whan the Pharises herde that, they sayde: He dryueth the deuyls out none other wyse, but thorow Beelzebub the chefe of the deuyls.

Mace New Testament (1729)
but the Pharisees upon hearing this said, he exorcizes devils, by virtue only of Beelzebub the prince of the devils.

THE MESSAGE
But the Pharisees, when they heard the report, were cynical. "Black magic," they said. "Some devil trick he's pulled from his sleeve."

Simplified Cowboy Version
But when the religious know-it-alls heard them ask this, they said, "Jesus can only do this because he has Satan's power!"

Contextual Overview

²² Then they brought to him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute. Jesus healed him so that he could speak and see. ²³ All the crowds were amazed and said, "Could this one be the Son of David?" ²⁴ But when the Pharisees heard this they said, "He does not cast out demons except by the power of Beelzebul, the ruler of demons!" ²⁵ Now when Jesus realized what they were thinking, he said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself is destroyed, and no town or house divided against itself will stand. ²⁶ So if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? ²⁷ And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges. ²⁸ But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has already overtaken you. ²⁹ How else can someone enter a strong man's house and steal his property, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can thoroughly plunder the house. ³⁰ Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. ³¹ For this reason I tell you, people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

when: Matthew 9:34, Mark 3:22, Luke 11:15

Beelzebub: Gr. Beelzebul, and so, Matthew 12:27

Reciprocal: 2 Kings 1:2 - Baalzebub 2 Chronicles 18:26 - this fellow Psalms 22:6 - a reproach Psalms 31:18 - speak Psalms 35:20 - quiet Psalms 89:51 - footsteps Psalms 94:4 - shall Psalms 109:20 - them Matthew 3:7 - the Pharisees Matthew 5:22 - Whosoever Matthew 10:25 - If Matthew 12:45 - seven Matthew 26:61 - This Luke 2:35 - that Luke 11:20 - the kingdom John 7:20 - Thou John 7:32 - Pharisees heard John 8:48 - thou John 9:29 - as for Hebrews 12:3 - contradiction James 2:7 - blaspheme James 3:6 - a world

Gill's Notes on the Bible

But when the Pharisees heard it,.... Very probably not the same that went out, and held a council against Christ to destroy him,

Matthew 12:14 but others that were come from Judea and Jerusalem, and were with him in the house, and saw the miracle: these, when they heard what the people said, and how ready they were to believe, and own Jesus to be the Messiah, in order to prevent it, being filled with envy and malice,

they said, this fellow doth not cast out devils but by Beelzebub, the prince of devils. They could not deny the miracle, or that it was one; but to deprive him of the glory of it, and even reproach him for it, and to bring him into contempt with the people, they not only speak of him in a scornful manner, ουτος, "this" sorry man, "this" vile fellow; but ascribe the miracle he wrought to familiarity with the devil, to diabolical influence and skill in magic art: they pretended he was in confederacy with Satan, and was carrying on his interest: and therefore, that he might gain credit and reputation, the prince of devils suffered the inferior ones to remove at his word: and of these their ancestors, the Jews have learnt to fix this vile imputation, and blasphemous piece of slander upon Christ; who, they say o, brought enchantments, or witchcrafts, out of Egypt, in the cuttings of his flesh, whereby he performed the things he did. Concerning Beelzebub, See Gill "Mt 10:25" here called "the prince of devils"; it being a prevailing notion among the Jews, that there is one devil who is the head of all the rest, and who is by them sometimes called Asmodeus: they say p, when Solomon sinned against the Lord, he sent to him מלכא דשידי

אשמדאי, "Asmodeus the king of the devils", and drove him from his throne, and so elsewhere q: and sometimes Samael, who is styled r Samael the prince, מלכא דשדים, "the king of devils"; and the angel Samael, the wicked, ראש כל השטנים, "the head of all the Satans", or devils s: and we often read t of שר הגיהנם, "the prince of hell"; by whom the same is meant, as here, by Beelzebub; for if anyone devil is more wicked, odious, and execrable than the rest, the chief of them may be thought to be so; for which reason he is here mentioned.

o T. Hieros. Sabbat, fol. 13. 4. T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 104. 2. p Targum in Eccl. i. 12. q T. Bab. Pesach, fol. 110. 1. Gittin, fol. 68. 1. & Raziel, fol. 41. 2. r Zohar in Deut. fol. 120. 3. s Debarim Rabba, fol. 245. 3. t T. Bab. Sanhedrim, fol. 52. 1. Imre Binah in Zohar in Gen. fol. 22. 3.

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:

1. To concede to the people that here was a “miracle,” or a work above mere human power.
2. 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 12:24. Beelzebub — See Matthew 10:25.