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OET (OET-LV) And if the Satan/(Sāţān) is_throwing_out the Satan, he_was_divided against himself.
Therefore how ˓will˒_ the kingdom of_him _be_being_established?
OET (OET-RV) If Satan is driving out Satan, then he’s divided against himself and how could his kingdom possibly be established?
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.
If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself.
If Satan expels his own demons, he is fighting against himself.
If Satan forces one of his own demons out of a person, then his kingdom is divided and is fighting against itself.
If Satan drives out Satan: Notice that the word Satan occurs two times. Scholars agree that in the second occurrence of Satan, the word Satan is used to represent one or more of the demons over which he rules. There are two ways to interpret the first occurrence of Satan:
It is literal and refers to Satan himself. According to this interpretation, Jesus was saying that “if Satan casts out one of his own demons….” In this sense, Satan casts out Satan. So 12:26a is another example (like a kingdom, city, or house) of something that cannot stand if it is divided against itself. The application of these examples begins in 12:27. Here is an example of this interpretation:
if Satan forces out himself (NCV) (BSB, NCV, CEV)
It is figurative and represents one or more of Satan’s demons. According to this interpretation, the first occurrence of Satan has the same meaning as the second occurrence of Satan. Jesus was saying that “if one group in Satan’s kingdom fights against another group…” So, in 12:26a Jesus began to apply the principle that something divided against itself cannot stand. For example:
So if one group is fighting another in Satan’s kingdom (GNT)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). It is better to consider 12:26a as another example parallel with the examples of a kingdom, city, and house. Most English versions are literal and it is not possible to tell which interpretation they follow.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
if Satan forces out himself (NCV)
if Satan casts out one of his evil spirits
if the prince of evil spirits expels his own evil spirits
he is divided against himself: The phrase divided against himself has the same meaning as the phrase “divided against itself” in the examples above (12:25b–c).
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
he is fighting against himself (NLT96)
he is divided and fighting against himself (NLT)
his kingdom is divided and fighting against itself
How then can his kingdom stand?
Will his kingdom remain? Of course not!
Then his kingdom will certainly be ruined/destroyed.
How then can his kingdom stand?: This is a rhetorical question. Jesus used this rhetorical question to emphasize that Satan’s kingdom would certainly fall if it were divided.
Here are some other ways to translate this emphasis:
As a rhetorical question. For example:
How will his kingdom stand? It will not.
Would his kingdom continue? Of course not!
As a statement. For example:
His kingdom would certainly not stand/remain.
His own kingdom will not survive. (NLT)
Translate this emphasis in a way that is natural in your language.
Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-condition-contrary
εἰ ὁ Σατανᾶς τὸν Σατανᾶν ἐκβάλλει, ἐφ’ ἑαυτὸν ἐμερίσθη
if ¬the Satan (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί εἰ ὁ Σατανᾶς τόν Σατανᾶν ἐκβάλλει ἐφʼ ἑαυτόν ἐμερίσθη πῶς Οὖν σταθήσεται ἡ βασιλεία αὐτοῦ)
Jesus is making a conditional statement that sounds hypothetical, but he is already convinced that the condition is not true. He has concluded that Satan is not divided against himself, because Satan has not been divided against himself. Use a natural form in your language for introducing a condition that the speaker believes is not true. Alternate translation: [were Satan to cast out Satan, he would have been divided against himself]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
ὁ Σατανᾶς τὸν Σατανᾶν ἐκβάλλει
¬the Satan (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί εἰ ὁ Σατανᾶς τόν Σατανᾶν ἐκβάλλει ἐφʼ ἑαυτόν ἐμερίσθη πῶς Οὖν σταθήσεται ἡ βασιλεία αὐτοῦ)
In both places, Satan represents people who act by the power of Satan. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression from your language or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [Satan’s followers cast out Satan’s followers] or [those who act by Satan’s power cast out others who also act by Satan’s power]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
ἐφ’ ἑαυτὸν ἐμερίσθη
against (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί εἰ ὁ Σατανᾶς τόν Σατανᾶν ἐκβάλλει ἐφʼ ἑαυτόν ἐμερίσθη πῶς Οὖν σταθήσεται ἡ βασιλεία αὐτοῦ)
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: [he has attacked himself]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion
πῶς οὖν σταθήσεται ἡ βασιλεία αὐτοῦ
how (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί εἰ ὁ Σατανᾶς τόν Σατανᾶν ἐκβάλλει ἐφʼ ἑαυτόν ἐμερίσθη πῶς Οὖν σταθήσεται ἡ βασιλεία αὐτοῦ)
Jesus is using the question form to show that Satan’s kingdom will not stand if he is divided against himself. If you would not use the question form for this purpose in your language, you could translate this as a statement or an exclamation. Alternate translation: [His kingdom, then, will not stand.] or [His kingdom will certainly not stand!]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
σταθήσεται ἡ βασιλεία αὐτοῦ
˓will_be_being˒_established the kingdom ˱of˲_him
Here, the word stand means that the kingdom would exist for a long time. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable phrase or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [will his kingdom continue to exist] or [will his kingdom remain]
12:26 Jesus argued, in essence, “If I cast out demons under the influence of Satan, then Satan is dividing his camp, which obviously would be a foolish thing for Satan to do.”
OET (OET-LV) And if the Satan/(Sāţān) is_throwing_out the Satan, he_was_divided against himself.
Therefore how ˓will˒_ the kingdom of_him _be_being_established?
OET (OET-RV) If Satan is driving out Satan, then he’s divided against himself and how could his kingdom possibly be established?
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.