22 Also, the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying: “He has Be·elʹze·bub, and he expels the demons by means of the ruler of the demons.”+ 23 So after calling them to him, he spoke to them with illustrations: “How can Satan expel Satan? 24 If a kingdom becomes divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand;+ 25 and if a house becomes divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 Also, if Satan has risen up against himself and has become divided, he cannot stand but is coming to an end. 27 In fact, no one who enters the house of a strong man is able to steal his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Only then can he plunder his house.

15 But some of them said: “He expels the demons by means of Be·elʹze·bub, the ruler of the demons.”+ 16 And others, to test him, began demanding a sign+ out of heaven from him. 17 Knowing their thinking,+ he said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself comes to ruin, and a house divided against itself falls. 18 In the same way, if Satan is also divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say I expel the demons by means of Be·elʹze·bub. 19 If I expel the demons by means of Be·elʹze·bub, by whom do your sons expel them? This is why they will be your judges. 20 But if it is by means of God’s finger+ that I expel the demons, the Kingdom of God has really overtaken you.*+ 21 When a strong, well-armed man guards his palace, his belongings remain secure. 22 But when someone stronger than he is comes against him and conquers him, that man takes away all his weapons in which he was trusting, and he divides up the things he took from him. 23 Whoever is not on my side is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.+