What Does Matthew 12:24 Mean in the King James?
But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The accusation admits that release is happening while locating its source in the very rule it displaces.
THE MEANING
The verse shows a pattern that remains visible now: release can be seen plainly and still be attributed to the power it is removing. The accusation turns the act into a claim about who rules, while the change itself remains in view.
THE ROOT
ἐκβάλλει
ekbállei
GROWS FROM
βαλ- (from βάλλω, ballō)
To throw or cast; ἐκβάλλει means to throw out.
“cast out” in this verse is ekbállei. The action is concrete: the demons are being thrown beyond the boundary. The charge concedes this removal, then places its source under the ruler of the very powers being removed.
ALSO GROWS
apobállō: To throw away, cast off.
ἀποβάλλω
Hebrews 10:35 uses this verb for casting away confidence, showing how the same root can describe what is removed or relinquished.
ekbolē: A throwing out; a casting overboard.
ἐκβολή
Acts 27:18 uses this noun for cargo thrown out of a ship, preserving the root’s physical image of removal.
ἄρχοντι
árchonti
GROWS FROM
ἀρχ-
arch-
To begin or take the first place; by extension, to lead or rule.
“prince” in this verse is árchonti. The title assigns first authority to the source named in the accusation. The charge turns an act of removal into a claim about which power governs.
ALSO GROWS
archē: Beginning, first place, or rule.
ἀρχή
The shared root ties authority to the question of who stands first or holds primacy.
archō: To begin, lead, or rule.
ἄρχω
This verb carries the root’s movement from taking the lead to exercising rule, illuminating the authority assigned to the prince.
THE PATTERN
An entrenched order can name the disruption it cannot control as the danger.
And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel?And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him?And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city,THE THREAD
But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.The same Greek verb, ἐκβάλλω (ekbállō), appears in both verses: the demons are cast out. The next verse makes the disputed point explicit, the act’s meaning turns on its source, and its result is the arrival of God’s governance.
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