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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Mat C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22 C23 C24 C25 C26 C27 C28
Mat 12 V1 V3 V5 V7 V9 V11 V13 V15 V17 V19 V21 V23 V27 V29 V31 V33 V35 V37 V39 V41 V43 V45 V47 V49
OET (OET-LV) And having_known the thoughts of_them, he_said to_them:
Every kingdom having_been_divided against itself is_being_desolated, and every city or house having_been_divided against itself ˓will˒_ not _be_being_stood.
OET (OET-RV) But Yeshua, knowing their thoughts, said, “Every kingdom that’s divided against itself is doomed, and any city or household that’s divided against itself will self-destruct.
In this section, Jesus healed a man whom demons had been controlling. The Pharisees said that he did it by the power of Satan. Doing something by the power of Satan is sorcery. Sorcery was punishable by death in the Jewish law. Jesus explained to them why it could not be true that he cast out demons by the power of Satan. He also warned them that they must not look at something he had done by the Holy Spirit’s power and say that Satan gave him the power to do it. This is blaspheming the Holy Spirit (12:31).
Here are some other possible headings for this section:
The Pharisees accuse Jesus of working with Satan
Jesus’ power is greater than Satan’s power
The power of Jesus comes from the Holy Spirit, not from Satan
There are parallel passages for this section in Mark 3:22–30 and Luke 11:14–23.
Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them,
¶ Jesus knew what they were thinking, so/and he said to them,
¶ Because Jesus knew what the Pharisees were thinking, he told them,
Knowing their thoughts: Jesus supernaturally knew what the Pharisees were thinking. Your translation should not imply that someone told Jesus what they were thinking.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
Jesus knew what they were thinking (GNT)
Jesus knew what the Pharisees were thinking (NCV)
Jesus said to them: It is implied that the reason Jesus said the words of 12:25–32 was because he knew what the Pharisees were thinking. In some languages, it may be natural to make the connection more explicit. For example:
Since Jesus knew what they were thinking, he said to them (GW)
so he said (NCV)
“Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste,
“Every country whose people fight against one another will destroy itself.
“If the people of a country fight one another, they will destroy/ruin their country.
Every kingdom divided against itself: This clause describes a civil war. It refers to any nation/country where the people within that country divide into groups and fight one another.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
Any kingdom divided by civil war (NLT)
Any country that divides itself into groups which fight each other (GNT)
Any kingdom where people fight each other (CEV)
will be laid waste: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as will be laid waste means “will be destroyed” or “will be ruined.” The two sides killing each other would cause the country to be destroyed/ruined. It is implied that few people will remain alive in that country.
The clause is passive. Here are some other ways to translate it:
Use a passive verb. For example:
will be ruined (NIV)
will be destroyed (NCV)
Use an active verb. For example:
If the people of a certain country fight against one another, they will destroy their country
and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.
Also, no town or family whose people fight against one another will remain/continue.
Any town or family whose people fight each other will destroy/ruin itself.
A city whose people fight against one another will be destroyed. A family whose members argue with one another will not stay together.
Verse 12:25c teaches the same principle as 12:25b.
and every city or household: The Greek word that the BSB literally translates as household is a figure of speech. It refers to the people in the house.
Here are some other ways to translate this word:
house (ESV)
family (GNT)
divided against itself will not stand: The Greek verb that the BSB literally translates as stand is a figure of speech. It refers to remaining or existing.
Here are some other ways to translate this verb:
will not last (GW)
will fall apart (NLT)
In some languages, it may be necessary to use a different verb to describe the destruction of a city and a family. For example:
A city whose people fight against one another will be destroyed. A family whose members argue with one another will not stay together.
Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-words-phrases
δὲ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: εἰδώς Δέ τάς ἐνθυμήσεις αὐτῶν εἶπεν αὐτοῖς Πάσα βασιλεία μερισθεῖσα καθʼ ἑαυτῆς ἐρημοῦται καί πάσα πόλις ἤ οἰκία μερισθεῖσα καθʼ ἑαυτῆς οὒ σταθήσεται)
Here, the word But introduces the next thing that happened. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word or phrase that introduces the next event, or you could leave But untranslated. Alternate translation: [Then]
Note 2 topic: writing-proverbs
πᾶσα βασιλεία μερισθεῖσα καθ’ ἑαυτῆς ἐρημοῦται, καὶ πᾶσα πόλις ἢ οἰκία μερισθεῖσα καθ’ ἑαυτῆς οὐ σταθήσεται
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: εἰδώς Δέ τάς ἐνθυμήσεις αὐτῶν εἶπεν αὐτοῖς Πάσα βασιλεία μερισθεῖσα καθʼ ἑαυτῆς ἐρημοῦται καί πάσα πόλις ἤ οἰκία μερισθεῖσα καθʼ ἑαυτῆς οὒ σταθήσεται)
Jesus uses or invents two proverbs in order to teach the Pharisees that his power cannot come from the same source as the demon’s power. Translate these proverbs in such a way that they will be recognized as proverbs and be meaningful in your language and culture. Alternate translation: [If a kingdom is divided against itself, it will be made desolate. Similarly, if a city or a house is divided against itself, it will not stand]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism
πᾶσα βασιλεία μερισθεῖσα καθ’ ἑαυτῆς ἐρημοῦται, καὶ πᾶσα πόλις ἢ οἰκία μερισθεῖσα καθ’ ἑαυτῆς οὐ σταθήσεται
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: εἰδώς Δέ τάς ἐνθυμήσεις αὐτῶν εἶπεν αὐτοῖς Πάσα βασιλεία μερισθεῖσα καθʼ ἑαυτῆς ἐρημοῦται καί πάσα πόλις ἤ οἰκία μερισθεῖσα καθʼ ἑαυτῆς οὒ σταθήσεται)
These two sentences mean basically the same thing. The second emphasizes the meaning of the first by repeating the same idea with different words. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could connect the sentences with a word other than and in order to show that the second sentence is repeating the first one, not saying something additional. Alternate translation: [Every kingdom divided against itself is made desolate; indeed, every city or house divided against itself will not stand]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
πᾶσα βασιλεία μερισθεῖσα καθ’ ἑαυτῆς ἐρημοῦται, καὶ πᾶσα πόλις ἢ οἰκία μερισθεῖσα καθ’ ἑαυτῆς οὐ σταθήσεται
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: εἰδώς Δέ τάς ἐνθυμήσεις αὐτῶν εἶπεν αὐτοῖς Πάσα βασιλεία μερισθεῖσα καθʼ ἑαυτῆς ἐρημοῦται καί πάσα πόλις ἤ οἰκία μερισθεῖσα καθʼ ἑαυτῆς οὒ σταθήσεται)
The words kingdom, city, and house represent the people who live in those places. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use equivalent expressions from your language or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [People in one kingdom who are divided against each other will be made desolate, and people in one city or house who are divided against each other will not stand]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
(Occurrence -1) μερισθεῖσα καθ’ ἑαυτῆς
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: εἰδώς Δέ τάς ἐνθυμήσεις αὐτῶν εἶπεν αὐτοῖς Πάσα βασιλεία μερισθεῖσα καθʼ ἑαυτῆς ἐρημοῦται καί πάσα πόλις ἤ οἰκία μερισθεῖσα καθʼ ἑαυτῆς οὒ σταθήσεται)
If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: [that attacks itself … that attacks itself]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
(Occurrence -1) ἐρημοῦται
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: εἰδώς Δέ τάς ἐνθυμήσεις αὐτῶν εἶπεν αὐτοῖς Πάσα βασιλεία μερισθεῖσα καθʼ ἑαυτῆς ἐρημοῦται καί πάσα πόλις ἤ οἰκία μερισθεῖσα καθʼ ἑαυτῆς οὒ σταθήσεται)
If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: [ruins itself] or [destroys itself]
Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
οὐ σταθήσεται
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: εἰδώς Δέ τάς ἐνθυμήσεις αὐτῶν εἶπεν αὐτοῖς Πάσα βασιλεία μερισθεῖσα καθʼ ἑαυτῆς ἐρημοῦται καί πάσα πόλις ἤ οἰκία μερισθεῖσα καθʼ ἑαυτῆς οὒ σταθήσεται)
The phrase will not stand means that the city or house will not exist much longer. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable phrase or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [will fall] or [will no longer exist]
12:22-45 The Messiah was rejected by the Pharisees, the teachers of religious law, and his own generation.
OET (OET-LV) And having_known the thoughts of_them, he_said to_them:
Every kingdom having_been_divided against itself is_being_desolated, and every city or house having_been_divided against itself ˓will˒_ not _be_being_stood.
OET (OET-RV) But Yeshua, knowing their thoughts, said, “Every kingdom that’s divided against itself is doomed, and any city or household that’s divided against itself will self-destruct.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.