Bible Strands
Matthew 12:25
Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jesus responds to the Pharisees' claim that he casts out demons by Beelzebul (v.24), addressing their accusation with a logical argument about internal division.
The words — enthymēseis (G1761) carries the sense of deliberate, reasoned thought — not a passing idea but a considered position, which is what Jesus reads in them.
The thread — The pattern of Jesus knowing unspoken thoughts recurs in Matthew 9:4; Jeremiah 17:10 grounds the divine capacity to examine the mind; Galatians 5:15 applies the same division principle to a community tearing itself apart.
Why it lands — It forces the reader to test their own reasoning: if your argument is self-contradicting, it cannot stand, regardless of how forcefully it is stated.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:
Cross-references
- Galatians 5:15 But if you keep on biting and devouring one another, watch out, or you will be consumed by one another.
- Jeremiah 17:10 I, the LORD, search the heart; I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve.
- Matthew 9:4 But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said, “Why do you harbor evil in your hearts?
- Isaiah 9:21 Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh; together they turn against Judah. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.
- Mark 3:23 So Jesus called them together and began to speak to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan?
- Luke 11:17 Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste, and a house divided against a house will fall.
- 1 Corinthians 2:11 For who among men knows the thoughts of man except his own spirit within him? So too, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
- Psalms 139:2 You know when I sit and when I rise; You understand my thoughts from afar.
- Mark 2:8 At once Jesus knew in His spirit that they were thinking this way within themselves. “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?” He asked.
- Hebrews 4:13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight; everything is uncovered and exposed before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.