¹³Therefore if you, although you^* are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father from heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”

A House Divided Cannot Stand

¹⁴And he was expelling a mute demon.^b Now it happened that when^* the demon came out, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowds were astonished. ¹⁵But some of them said, “By Beelzebul the ruler of demons he expels demons!” ¹⁶And others, in order to^* test him,^* were demanding from him a sign from heaven. ¹⁷But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household^c falls. ¹⁸So if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I expel demons by Beelzebul. ¹⁹But if I expel demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons expel them?^* For this reason they will be your judges! ²⁰But if I expel demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you! ²¹When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his possessions are safe.^d

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Footnotes

*Here “although” is supplied as a component of the participle (“are”) which is understood as concessive
bSome manuscripts have “a demon, and it was mute”
*Here “when” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“came out”)
*Here “in order to” is supplied as a component of the participle (“test”) which is understood as purpose
*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
cLiterally “house against house”
*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
dLiterally “in peace”