And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils.

And the scribes that came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and, By the prince of the demons casteth he out the demons.

And the scribes who were come down from Jerusalem, said: He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of devils he casteth out devils.

And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem, said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the demons he casteth out demons.

and the scribes who are from Jerusalem having come down, said, 'He hath Beelzeboul,' and, 'By the ruler of the demons he doth cast out the demons.'

And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He has Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casts he out devils.

The Scribes, too, who had come down from Jerusalem said, "He has Baal-zebul in him; and it is by the power of the Prince of the demons that he expels the demons."

And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem, said, He has Beelzebub, and, By the ruler of evil spirits he sends evil spirits out of men.

And the scribes who had descended from Jerusalem said, "Because he has Beelzebub, and because by the prince of demons does he cast out demons."

The teachers of the Law, who had come down from Jerusalem, said, "He has Beelzebul in him! He drives the demons out by the help of their chief."

Then was brought to him. Luke explains from the effect, that the devil by which the man was possessed was dumb; but Matthew says, that a twofold plague had been inflicted on the man. Many persons, no doubt, are blind and deaf on account of natural defects; but it is evident, that this man had become blind, and had been deprived of the use of speech, though there was no defect in his optical nerves, [1] or in the proportion of his tongue. We need not wonder that so much liberty should be allowed to Satan in injuring the bodily senses, when God justly permits him to corrupt or pervert all the faculties of the soul.

Footnotes

1 - "Aux nerfs appelez Optiques, qui sont les conduits de la veue;"-- "in what are called the Optical nerves, which are the conductors of vision."

And the scribes - See the notes at Matthew 12:24-32. The occasion of their saying this was, that he had healed a man possessed with a devil. The scribes, who came from Jerusalem to watch his conduct, charged him with having made a compact or agreement with the prince of the devils.

He hath Beelzebub - See on Matthew 12:24-26 (note).

And the Scribes which came down from Jerusalem,.... Or, "but the Scribes", &c. who had an aversion to Christ, and a different opinion of him: these were they, who having heard much of the doctrine and miracles of Christ, came down from Jerusalem, which lay in the upper, and higher part of the land of Israel, into Galilee, a low country, to make their observations upon him; and take every advantage they could against him, being men, in their way, letter learned, and artful, and cunning: these
said, he hath Beelzebub: or, as the Syriac and Persic versions render it, "Beelzebub is in him": sometimes they call him Beelzebub; sometimes say that he cast out devils by him; and here, that he had him, or was in him; Beelzebub possessed him, and assisted him, and there was a confederacy and familiarity between them:
and by the prince of devils casteth he out devils; for so they reckoned Beelzebub to be; See Gill on Matthew 10:25, Matthew 12:24.

It was plain that the doctrine of Christ had a direct tendency to break the devil's power; and it was as plain, that casting of him out of the bodies of people, confirmed that doctrine; therefore Satan could not support such a design. Christ gave an awful warning against speaking such dangerous words. It is true the gospel promises, because Christ has purchased, forgiveness for the greatest sins and sinners; but by this sin, they would oppose the gifts of the Holy Ghost after Christ's ascension. Such is the enmity of the heart, that unconverted men pretend believers are doing Satan's work, when sinners are brought to repentance and newness of life.

The scribes . . . said. For notes on the charge of the scribes, Beelzebub, and the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, see Matthew. 12:22-37. Compare Luke 11:14-23.
From Jerusalem. The men who were leaders in this effort to destroy the influence of Jesus were a delegation from the very religious bodies at Jerusalem that finally sent him to death.

The scribes and Pharisees, Matthew 12:22; who had come down from Jerusalem - Purposely on the devil's errand. And not without success. For the common people now began to drink in the poison, from these learned, good, honourable men! He hath Beelzebub - at command, is in league with him: And by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils - How easily may a man of learning elude the strongest proof of a work of God! How readily can he account for every incident without ever taking God into the question. Matthew 12:24; Luke 11:15.