Luke 11:17

17 And, knowing their thoughts, He said to them, "Every kingdom in which civil war rages goes to ruin: family attacks family and is overthrown.

Luke 11:17 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 11:17

But he knowing their thoughts
Being God omniscient,

said unto them;
the following parables, as they are called in ( Mark 3:23 ) or proverbial expressions, very pertinent to the purpose, and sufficient to set aside the base calumnies of the Pharisees:

every kingdom divided against itself, is brought to desolation;
in process of time, division will end in destruction; and as it does in the kingdoms of the world, of which there have been fatal instances, so it would in the kingdom of Satan, was there in it a division, which the calumny of the Pharisees supposes:

and an house divided against an house, falleth.
The Persic version renders it, "an house divided from the foundation, falls"; the sense is, a family, in which one part is opposed to the other, issues in the ruin of both; (See Gill on Matthew 12:25), (See Gill on Mark 3:24), (See Gill on Mark 3:25).

Luke 11:17 In-Context

15 But some among them said, "It is by the power of Baal-zebul, the Prince of the demons, that he expels the demons."

16 Others, to put Him to the test, asked Him for a sign in the sky.

17 And, knowing their thoughts, He said to them, "Every kingdom in which civil war rages goes to ruin: family attacks family and is overthrown.

18 And if Satan really has engaged in fierce conflict with himself, how shall his kingdom stand?--because you say that I expel demons by the power of Baal-zebul.

19 And if it is by the power of Baal-zebul that I expel the demons, by whom do your disciples expel them? They therefore shall be your judges.