² Now Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria, and lay sick; so he sent messengers, telling them, “Go, inquire of ^(A)Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, ^(B)whether I shall recover from this sickness.”

²⁵ It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. ^(A)If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign^[a] those of his household.

²⁴ But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, ^(A)“It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.”

²⁷ And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, ^(A)by whom do ^(B)your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.

Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit

²² And ^(A)the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, ^(B)“He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.”

¹⁵ But some of them said, “He casts out demons ^(A)by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,”

¹⁸ And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. ¹⁹ And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, ^(A)by whom do ^(B)your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.