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.