2 Kings 1:3

1:3 But the Lord’s angelic messenger told Elijah the Tishbite, “Get up, go to meet the messengers from the king of Samaria. Say this to them: ‘You must think there is no God in Israel! That explains why you are on your way to seek an oracle from Baal Zebub the god of Ekron. ¹ 

2 Kings 1:6

1:6 They replied, ²  “A man came up to meet us. He told us, “Go back to the king who sent you and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: “You must think there is no God in Israel! That explains why you are sending for an oracle from Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron. ³  Therefore you will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die.”’”

2 Kings 1:16

1:16 Elijah ⁴  said to the king, ⁵  “This is what the Lord says, ‘You sent messengers to seek an oracle from Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron. You must think there is no God in Israel from whom you can seek an oracle! ⁶  Therefore you will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die.’” ⁷ 

Matthew 10:25

10:25 It is enough for the disciple to become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house ‘Beelzebul,’ how much more will they defame the members of his household!

Matthew 12:24-27

12:24 But when the Pharisees ⁸  heard this they said, “He does not cast out demons except by the power of Beelzebul, ⁹  the ruler ¹⁰  of demons!” 12:25 Now when Jesus ¹¹  realized what they were thinking, he said to them, ¹²  “Every kingdom divided against itself is destroyed, ¹³  and no town or house divided against itself will stand. 12:26 So if ¹⁴  Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 12:27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons ¹⁵  cast them ¹⁶  out? For this reason they will be your judges.

Mark 3:22

3:22 The experts in the law ¹⁷  who came down from Jerusalem ¹⁸  said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” ¹⁹  and, “By the ruler ²⁰  of demons he casts out demons.”

Luke 11:15

11:15 But some of them said, “By the power of Beelzebul, ²¹  the ruler ²²  of demons, he casts out demons.”

[1:3]  ¹ tn Heb “Is it because there is no God in Israel [that] you are going to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron?” The translation seeks to bring out the sarcastic tone of the rhetorical question.

[1:6]  ² tn Heb “said to him.”

[1:6]  ³ tn Heb “Is it because there is no God in Israel [that] you are sending to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron?” The translation seeks to bring out the sarcastic tone of the rhetorical question. In v. 3 the messengers are addressed (in the phrase “you are on your way” the second person plural pronoun is used in Hebrew), but here the king is addressed (in the phrase “you are sending” the second person singular pronoun is used).

[1:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “him”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “Because you sent messengers to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, is there no God in Israel to inquire of his word?”

[1:16]  ⁷ sn For the third time in this chapter we read the Lord’s sarcastic question to king and the accompanying announcement of judgment. The repetition emphasizes one of the chapter’s main themes. Israel’s leaders should seek guidance from their own God, not a pagan deity, for Israel’s sovereign God is the one who controls life and death.

[12:24]  ⁸ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[12:24]  ⁹ tn Grk “except by Beelzebul.”

[12:24]  ¹⁰ tn Or “prince.”

[12:25]  ¹¹ tc The majority of mss read ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς (Jo Ihsous, “Jesus”), which clarifies who is the subject of the sentence. Although the shorter text is attested in far fewer witnesses (̲¹ א B D 892* sy^s,c sa bo), both the pedigree of the mss and the strong internal evidence (viz., scribes were not prone to intentionally delete the name of Jesus) argue for the omission of Jesus’ name. The name has been included in the translation, however, for clarity.

[12:25]  ¹² sn Jesus here demonstrated the absurdity of the thinking of the religious leaders who maintained that he was in league with Satan and that he actually derived his power from the devil. He first teaches (vv. 25-28) that if he casts out demons by the ruler of the demons, then in reality Satan is fighting against himself, with the result that his kingdom has come to an end. He then teaches (v. 29) about tying up the strong man to prove that he does not need to align himself with the devil because he is more powerful. Jesus defeated Satan at his temptation (4:1-11) and by his exorcisms he clearly demonstrated himself to be stronger than the devil. The passage reveals the desperate condition of the religious leaders, who in their hatred for Jesus end up attributing the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan (a position for which they will be held accountable, 12:31-32).

[12:25]  ¹³ tn Or “is left in ruins.”

[12:26]  ¹⁴ tn This first class condition, the first of three “if” clauses in the following verses, presents the example vividly as if it were so. In fact, all three conditions in these verses are first class. The examples are made totally parallel. The expected answer is that Satan’s kingdom will not stand, so the suggestion makes no sense. Satan would not seek to heal.

[12:27]  ¹⁵ sn Most read your sons as a reference to Jewish exorcists (cf. “your followers,” L&N 9.4), but more likely this is a reference to the disciples of Jesus themselves, who are also Jewish and have been healing as well (R. J. Shirock, “Whose Exorcists are they? The Referents of οἱ υἱοὶ ὑμῶν at Matthew 12:27/Luke 11:19,” JSNT 46 [1992]: 41-51). If this is a reference to the disciples, then Jesus’ point is that it is not only him, but those associated with him whose power the hearers must assess. The following reference to judging also favors this reading.

[12:27]  ¹⁶ tn The pronoun “them” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[3:22]  ¹⁷ tn Or “The scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.

[3:22]  ¹⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[3:22]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “He has Beelzebul.”

[3:22]  ²⁰ tn Or “prince.”

[11:15]  ²¹ tn Grk “By Beelzebul.”

[11:15]  ²² tn Or “prince.”