Bible Strands
Matthew 12:43
When an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it passes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jesus addresses a generation demanding signs, using a parabolic illustration to warn against superficial repentance. He speaks during a confrontation with religious leaders who attribute His exorcisms to demonic power.
The words — ἀκάθαρτον (akatharton) means unclean, and πνεῦμα (pneuma) means spirit, describing a defiled entity expelled from a host. ἐξέλθῃ (exelthē) translates as may go out, marking the precise moment of departure.
The thread — This illustration appears identically in Luke 11:24 and connects to demon encounters in Luke 8:28 and Matthew 8:29 where expelled spirits acknowledge Jesus’ authority.
Why it lands — The text states that an expelled spirit wanders arid regions seeking rest without finding it. It demands that readers recognize spiritual vacancy is inherently unstable and requires deliberate, lasting occupation.
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
When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.
Cross-references
- Luke 11:24 When an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it passes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’
- Luke 8:28 When the man saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before Him, shouting in a loud voice, “What do You want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You not to torture me!”
- Matthew 8:29 “What do You want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have You come here to torture us before the appointed time?”
- Amos 8:11 Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord GOD, when I will send a famine on the land—not a famine of bread or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD.
- Mark 5:7 And he shouted in a loud voice, “What do You want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You before God not to torture me!”
- Job 2:2 “Where have you come from?” said the LORD to Satan. “From roaming through the earth,” he replied, “and walking back and forth in it.”
- Isaiah 35:6 Then the lame will leap like a deer and the mute tongue will shout for joy. For waters will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.
- 1 Peter 5:8 Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
- Job 1:7 “Where have you come from?” said the LORD to Satan. “From roaming through the earth,” he replied, “and walking back and forth in it.”
- Isaiah 41:18 I will open rivers on the barren heights, and fountains in the middle of the valleys. I will turn the desert into a pool of water, and the dry land into flowing springs.