Matthew 12:43-45

The Return of the Unclean Spirit

12:43 “When ¹  an unclean spirit ²  goes out of a person, ³  it passes through waterless places ⁴  looking for rest but ⁵  does not find it. 12:44 Then it says, ‘I will return to the home I left.’ ⁶  When it returns, ⁷  it finds the house ⁸  empty, swept clean, and put in order. ⁹  12:45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there, so ¹⁰  the last state of that person is worse than the first. It will be that way for this evil generation as well!”

Luke 11:24-26

Response to Jesus’ Work

11:24 “When an unclean spirit ¹¹  goes out of a person, ¹²  it passes through waterless places ¹³  looking for rest but ¹⁴  not finding any. Then ¹⁵  it says, ‘I will return to the home I left.’ ¹⁶  11:25 When it returns, ¹⁷  it finds the house ¹⁸  swept clean and put in order. ¹⁹  11:26 Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there, so ²⁰  the last state of that person ²¹  is worse than the first.” ²² 

Hebrews 6:4-8

6:4 For it is impossible in the case of those who have once been enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, become partakers of the Holy Spirit, 6:5 tasted the good word of God and the miracles of the coming age, 6:6 and then have committed apostasy, ²³  to renew them again to repentance, since ²⁴  they are crucifying the Son of God for themselves all over again ²⁵  and holding him up to contempt. 6:7 For the ground that has soaked up the rain that frequently falls on ²⁶  it and yields useful vegetation for those who tend it receives a blessing from God. 6:8 But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is useless and about to be cursed; ²⁷  its fate is to be burned.

Hebrews 10:26-27

10:26 For if we deliberately keep on sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins is left for us, ²⁸  10:27 but only a certain fearful expectation of judgment and a fury ²⁹  of fire that will consume God’s enemies. ³⁰ 

¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

² sn Unclean spirit refers to an evil spirit.

³ tn Grk “man.” This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"), referring to both males and females. This same use occurs in v. 45.

⁴ sn The background for the reference to waterless places is not entirely clear, though some Jewish texts suggest spirits must have a place to dwell, but not with water (Luke 8:29-31; Tob 8:3). Some suggest that the image of the desert or deserted cities as the places demons dwell is where this idea started (Isa 13:21; 34:14).

⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

⁶ tn Grk “I will return to my house from which I came.”

⁷ tn Grk “comes.”

⁸ tn The words “the house” are not in Greek but are implied.

⁹ sn The image of the house empty, swept clean, and put in order refers to the life of the person from whom the demon departed. The key to the example appears to be that no one else has been invited in to dwell. If an exorcism occurs and there is no response to God, then the way is free for the demon to return. Some see the reference to exorcism as more symbolic; thus the story’s only point is about responding to Jesus. This is possible and certainly is an application of the passage.

¹⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the concluding point of the story.

¹¹ sn This is a reference to an evil spirit. See Luke 4:33.

¹² tn Grk “man.” This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"), referring to both males and females.

¹³ sn The background for the reference to waterless places is not entirely clear, though some Jewish texts suggest spirits must have a place to dwell, but not with water (Luke 8:29-31; Tob 8:3). Some suggest that the image of the desert or deserted cities as the places demons dwell is where this idea started (Isa 13:21; 34:14).

¹⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

¹⁵ tc ‡ Most mss, including a few early and important ones (Ì⁴⁵ א* A C D W Ψ Ë^1,13 Ï lat), lack τότε (tote, “then”). Other mss, including some early and important ones (Ì⁷⁵ א² B L Θ Ξ 070 33 579 892 1241 pc co), have the adverb. Although the external evidence better supports the longer reading, the internal evidence is on the side of the shorter, for conjunctions and adverbs were frequently added by copyists to remove asyndeton and to add clarification. The shorter reading is thus preferred. The translation, however, adds “Then” because of English stylistic requirements. NA²⁷ has τότε in brackets indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

¹⁶ tn Grk “I will return to my house from which I came.”

¹⁷ tn Grk “comes.”

¹⁸ tn The words “the house” are not in Greek but are implied.

¹⁹ sn The image of the house swept clean and put in order refers to the life of the person from whom the demon departed. The key to the example appears to be that no one else has been invited in to dwell. If an exorcism occurs and there is no response to God, then the way is free for the demon to return. Some see the reference to exorcism as more symbolic; thus the story’s only point is about responding to Jesus. This is possible and certainly is an application of the passage.

²⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the concluding point of the story.

²¹ tn Grk “man.” This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"), referring to both males and females.

²² sn The point of the story is that to fail to respond is to risk a worse fate than when one started.

²³ tn Or “have fallen away.”

²⁴ tn Or “while”; Grk “crucifying…and holding.” The Greek participles here (“crucifying…and holding”) can be understood as either causal (“since”) or temporal (“while”).

²⁵ tn Grk “recrucifying the son of God for themselves.”

²⁶ tn Grk “comes upon.”

²⁷ tn Grk “near to a curse.”

²⁸ tn Grk “is left,” with “for us” implied by the first half of the verse.

²⁹ tn Grk “zeal,” recalling God’s jealous protection of his holiness and honor (cf. Exod 20:5).

³⁰ tn Grk “the enemies.”