KJV: But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.
YLT: but the Pharisees having heard, said, 'This one doth not cast out demons, except by Beelzeboul, ruler of the demons.'
Darby: But the Pharisees, having heard it, said, This man does not cast out demons, but by Beelzebub, prince of demons.
ASV: But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This man doth not cast out demons, but by Beelzebub the prince of the demons.
Οἱ | - |
Parse: Article, Nominative Masculine Plural Root: ὁ Sense: this, that, these, etc. |
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Φαρισαῖοι | the Pharisees |
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Plural Root: Φαρισαῖος Sense: A sect that seems to have started after the Jewish exile. |
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ἀκούσαντες | having heard |
Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Plural Root: ἀκουστός Sense: to be endowed with the faculty of hearing, not deaf. |
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εἶπον | said |
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Plural Root: λέγω Sense: to speak, say. |
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Οὗτος | This [man] |
Parse: Demonstrative Pronoun, Nominative Masculine Singular Root: οὗτος Sense: this. |
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ἐκβάλλει | casts out |
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular Root: ἐκβάλλω Sense: to cast out, drive out, to send out. |
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δαιμόνια | demons |
Parse: Noun, Accusative Neuter Plural Root: δαιμόνιον Sense: the divine power, deity, divinity. |
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τῷ | - |
Parse: Article, Dative Masculine Singular Root: ὁ Sense: this, that, these, etc. |
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Βεελζεβοὺλ | Beelzebul |
Parse: Noun, Dative Masculine Singular Root: Βεελζεβούλ Sense: a name of Satan, the prince of evil spirits. |
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ἄρχοντι | prince |
Parse: Noun, Dative Masculine Singular Root: ἄρχων Sense: a ruler, commander, chief, leader. |
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τῶν | of the |
Parse: Article, Genitive Neuter Plural Root: ὁ Sense: this, that, these, etc. |
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δαιμονίων | demons |
Parse: Noun, Genitive Neuter Plural Root: δαιμόνιον Sense: the divine power, deity, divinity. |
Greek Commentary for Matthew 12:24
Already (Matthew 9:32-34) we have had in Matthew the charge that Jesus is in league with the prince of demons, though the incident may be later than this one. See note on Matthew 10:25 about “Beelzebub.” The Pharisees feel that the excited condition of the crowds and the manifest disposition to believe that Jesus is the Messiah (the Son of David) demand strenuous action on their part. They cannot deny the fact of the miracles for the blind and dumb men both saw and spoke (Matthew 12:22). So in desperation they suggest that Jesus works by the power of Beelzebub the prince of the demons. [source]
Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Matthew 12:24
The etymology of the word is also unknown, whether “lord of a dwelling” with a pun on “the master of the house” See note on Matthew 12:24. [source]
These blistering words come as a climax and remind one of the Baptist (Matthew 3:17) and of the time when the Pharisees accused Jesus of being in league with Beelzebub (Matthew 12:24). They cut to the bone like whip-cords. [source]
Demons, not devils. The codex Bezae omits this verse, but it is probably genuine. The Pharisees are becoming desperate and, unable to deny the reality of the miracles, they seek to discredit them by trying to connect Jesus with the devil himself, the prince of the demons. They will renew this charge later (Matthew 12:24) when Jesus will refute it with biting sarcasm. [source]
The phrase means literally “those from the side of him (Jesus).” It could mean another circle of disciples who had just arrived and who knew of the crowds and strain of the Galilean ministry who now come at this special juncture. But the idiom most likely means the kinspeople or family of Jesus as is common in the lxx. The fact that in Mark 3:31 “his mother and his brothers” are expressly mentioned would indicate that they are “the friends” alluded to in Mark 3:21. It is a mournful spectacle to think of the mother and brothers saying, He is beside himself Second aorist active indicative intransitive. The same charge was brought against Paul (Acts 26:24; 2 Corinthians 5:13). We say that one is out of his head. Certainly Mary did not believe that Jesus was in the power of Beelzebub as the rabbis said already. The scribes from Jerusalem are trying to discount the power and prestige of Jesus (Mark 3:22). See notes on Matthew 9:32-34; and note on Matthew 10:25; and note on Matthew 12:24 for Beelzebub and Beelzebul. Mary probably felt that Jesus was overwrought and wished to take him home out of the excitement and strain that he might get rest and proper food. See my The Mother of Jesus: Her Problems and Her Glory. The brothers did not as yet believe the pretensions and claims of Jesus (John 7:5). Herod Antipas will later consider Jesus as John the Baptist redivivus, the scribes treat him as under demonic possession, even the family and friends fear a disordered mind as a result of overstrain. It was a crucial moment for Jesus. His family or friends came to take him home, to lay hold of him (kratēsai), forcibly if need be. [source]
Blasphemous accusation here in Judea as in Galilee (Mark 3:22; Matthew 12:24, Matthew 12:27). See notes on Matthew for discussion of the form of this name and the various items in the sin against the Holy Spirit involved in the charge. It was useless to deny the fact of the miracles. So they were explained as wrought by Satan himself, a most absurd explanation. [source]
On the spur of the moment in their rage and fury they can think of no meaner things to say. They know, of course, that Jesus was not a Samaritan, but he had acted like a Samaritan in challenging their peculiar spiritual privileges (John 4:9, John 4:39). The charge of having a demon was an old one by the Pharisees (Matthew 12:24) and it is repeated later (John 10:20). [source]