Mark 3:24

Greek (Tischendorf 8th ed.)

English Translation

If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.

World English Bible · Public Domain

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μερισθῇ

merízō

G3307

“to divide”

Verb, Aorist, Passive, Subjunctive, 3rd person, Singular

Appears 14× in the Greek New Testament
First appears at Matthew 12:25

Full Thayer's Definition

Origin: from G3313

TDNT: None

1. to divide a. to separate into parts, cut into pieces 1. to divide into parties, i.e. be split into factions b. to distribute 1. a thing among people 2. bestow, impart

About this verse

These counts appear in no published source. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged text and Lemma’s own curated glosses. What Lemma adds →

12: words
11: distinct lemmas
Gospels: section

Notable vocabulary

The rarest word here is μερισθῇ to divide G3307 — appearing just 14 times in the whole Greek New Testament.

Shared distinctive vocabulary

μερισθῇ to divide G3307 occurs in 13 verses of the Greek New Testament. Also found in:

Repetition

A word recurs within this verse:

βασιλεία kingdom G932 ×2

Cross-references

Topical passages linked to Mark 3:24 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.

Zechariah 11:14 Then I cut apart my other staff, even Union, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
2 Samuel 20:1 There happened to be there a base fellow, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite: and he blew the trumpet, and said, We have no portion in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to his tents, Israel.
2 Samuel 20:6 David said to Abishai, Now will Sheba the son of Bichri do us more harm than did Absalom: take your lord's servants, and pursue after him, lest he get him fortified cities, and escape out of our sight.
Isaiah 19:2–3 I will stir up the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight everyone against his brother, and everyone against his neighbor; city against city, [and] kingdom against kingdom.
Ezekiel 37:22 and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all; and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all;
1 Corinthians 1:10–13 Now I beg you, brothers, through the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfected together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
Judges 9:23–57 God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech:
Judges 12:1–6 The men of Ephraim were gathered together, and passed northward; and they said to Jephthah, Why did you pass over to fight against the children of Ammon, and didn't call us to go with you? we will burn your house on you with fire.

1 Kings 12:16–20 When all Israel saw that the king didn't listen to them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, Israel: now see to your own house, David. So Israel departed to their tents.
Isaiah 9:20–21 One shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm:
John 17:21 that they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that you sent me.
Ephesians 4:3–6 being eager to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Cross-references courtesy of OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).

Commentary

Notes on Mark 3:24 from classic Christian and Jewish commentators (each source and its license shown beneath its notes). The classic Christian expositions comment on the surrounding passage and are grouped to its opening verse, so a note may address several verses; the Jewish commentaries on the Tanakh (Rashi and others) are per-verse, so they appear only where the commentator wrote on this verse.

Lemma curates 59 commentaries, every one of them public domain or Creative Commons licensed, each selected and text-cleaned for this edition rather than reprinted as found. About our sources →

Expositor's Greek Testament

ed. W. Robertson Nicoll

Mar 3:24-25 set forth the principle or rationale embodied in two illustrations. The theory in question is futile because it involves suicidal action, which is not gratuitously to be imputed to any rational agents, to a kingdom (Mar 3:24 ), to a house (Mar 3:25 ), and therefore not to Satan (Mar 3:26 ).

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges

24. ἐφʼ ἑαυήν. “In relation to itself,” and so in itself. Neither A.V. nor R.V. makes any distinction between καθʼ ἑαυτῆς (Mat 12:25 bis) and ἐφʼ ἑαυτήν (Mk, Lk.). In Mt., Vulg. distinguishes καθʼ ἑαυτῆς, contra se, from ἐφʼ ἑαυτήν, adversus se; but here it is very capricious, si regnum in se dividatur … si domus super semet ipsam dispertiatur … si Satanas consurrexit in semet ipsum. Possibly no distinction is intended between σταθῆναι and στῆναι, and the readings are confused; σταθῆναι (without variant) is right in Mar 3:24, and στῆναι ([615][616][617][618] is right in Mar 3:26. In Mar 3:25, στῆναι ([619][620][621][622]) is preferable to σταθῆναι ([623][624][625] etc.). Cf. “They shall not be able to stand” (Psa 17:3; Psa 17:9; Psa 36:12), οὐ μὴ δυνῶνται στῆναι. Unity is strength; it is not only good and joyful (Psa 133:1), it is indispensable to success (Rev 17:17).

[615] Codex Sinaiticus. 4th cent. Discovered by Tischendorf in 1859 at the Monastery of St Katharine on Mount Sinai. Now at St Petersburg. The whole Gospel, ending at Mar 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1911.

[616] Codex Vaticanus. 4th cent., but perhaps a little later than א. In the Vatican Library almost since its foundation by Pope Nicolas V., and one of its greatest treasures. The whole Gospel, ending at Mar 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1889.

[617] Codex Ephraemi. 5th cent. A palimpsest: the original writing has been partially rubbed out, and the works of Ephraem the Syrian have been written over it; but a great deal of the original writing has been recovered; of Mark we have Mar 1:17 to Mar 6:31, Mar 8:5 to Mar 12:29, Mar 13:19 to Mar 16:20. In the National Library at Paris.

[618] Codex Regius. 8th cent. An important witness. At Paris. Contains Mar 1:1 to Mar 10:15; Mar 10:30 to Mar 15:1; Mar 15:20 to Mar 16:20, but the shorter ending is inserted between Mar 16:8 and Mar 16:9, showing that the scribe preferred it to the longer one.

[619] Codex Vaticanus. 4th cent., but perhaps a little later than א. In the Vatican Library almost since its foundation by Pope Nicolas V., and one of its greatest treasures. The whole Gospel, ending at Mar 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1889.

[620] Codex Cyprius. 9th cent. One of the seven uncials which have the Gospels complete, the others being אBMSUΩ. At Paris.

[621] Codex Regius. 8th cent. An important witness. At Paris. Contains Mar 1:1 to Mar 10:15; Mar 10:30 to Mar 15:1; Mar 15:20 to Mar 16:20, but the shorter ending is inserted between Mar 16:8 and Mar 16:9, showing that the scribe preferred it to the longer one.

[622] Codex Petropolitanus. 9th cent. Gospels almost complete. Mar 16:18-20 is in a later hand.

[623] Codex Sinaiticus. 4th cent. Discovered by Tischendorf in 1859 at the Monastery of St Katharine on Mount Sinai. Now at St Petersburg. The whole Gospel, ending at Mar 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1911.

[624] Codex Alexandrinus. 5th cent. Brought by Cyril Lucar, Patriarch of Constantinople, from Alexandria, and afterwards presented by him to King Charles I. in 1628. In the British Museum. The whole Gospel. Photographic facsimile, 1879.

[625] Codex Boreelianus. Once in the possession of John Boreel. 9th cent. At Utrecht. Contains Mk 1–41; Mar 2:8-23; Mar 3:5 to Mar 11:6; Mar 11:27 to Mar 14:54; Mar 15:6-39; Mar 16:19-20.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

John Gill's Exposition

And if a house be divided against itself,.... Any family, small or great,

that house cannot stand; its contentions and discords will soon bring it down from a comfortable and flourishing situation, to a very distressed one; See Gill on Mat 12:25.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Trapp's Complete Commentary

John Trapp

24 And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.

Ver. 24. {See Trapp on "Mat 12:25"} {See Trapp on "Mat 12:26"}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary

Kingdom against kingdom. As this is true in all kingdoms and states where civil dissensions obtaineth, so it is especially verified in heresies and heretics which have always divisions among themselves, as a punishment for their abandoning the Church, the pillar and ground of truth, the only centre of peace and unity.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Whedon's Commentary on the Bible

Daniel D. Whedon

24. That kingdom cannot stand — And hence Satan would be too wise to endanger his own kingdom by entering into confederacy with me, who am driving his demons from among men.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

International Critical Commentary

24. καὶ ἐὰν βασιλεία ἐφʼ ἑαυτὴν μερισθῇ—And if a kingdom is divided against itself. This is the analogy which lies nearest at hand. Indeed, it may be called the generic statement of the preceding principle. Satan and his subjects constitute a kingdom, and what is true of any kingdom is applicable to them. There is no difference between human kingdoms and this kingdom of evil spirits, which would invalidate this common truth. In the form in which this analogy is stated, it contains the reason why it is morally impossible for Satan to cast out Satan. It is, that such division leads to destruction. The condition is here a general one, not confined to any time.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Vincent's Word Studies in the New Testament

Marvin R. Vincent

And. Note the way in which the sayings are linked by this conjunction; an impressive rhetorical progression.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Lesson kit

Teaching starters — assembled from the data on this page, not authored interpretation. Every prompt links to the verse data it draws on. Edit before teaching.

Mark, in the Gospels, opens this verse with 12 words (11 distinct Greek lemmas). Its most distinctive word is merízō (“to divide”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.

Discussion questions

What does “to divide” (merízō) contribute to the verse as a whole?
Matthew 12:25 shares the word «to divide» with this verse. How do the two illuminate each other?
“kingdom” occurs 2× in this one verse. What is the effect of the repetition?
The translations on this page render this verse differently — a whole-verse word diff, not a word-by-word alignment. What might account for the different wordings?
Reading how Expositor's Greek Testament and Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges read this verse, where do the two commentators agree and where do they part?

Things to notice

These translations choose different wording for 4 words in this verse.
“kingdom” occurs 2× in this single verse.
11 distinct Greek lemmas span 12 words in this verse.