Matthew 12:25, Mark 3:25, Luke 11:17
Abraham Lincoln President said a house divided against itself cannot stand.
The original quote is from the Gospel of St. Mark: "If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand." It was borrowed by Abraham Lincoln.
Lincoln in the Gettysburg Address.
"A house divided against itself cannot stand"
Matthew 12:25 ( also mentioned in Mark 3 and Luke 11) And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand The following verse is similar. 25And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. It is clear Lincoln, who was known to read his Bible, was alluding to either of these, and applying the fairly straightforward principles contained therein to the situation then prevailing in the US.
He wasn't talking about war, he was talking about the slaves. It was a a bible quote. And Jesus knew their [the Pharisees'] thoughts, and said unto them, "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand." He was saying a nation can't be half in slavery and half free.
Abraham Lincoln
A house. A house divided amongst itself can't stand
"A house divided against itself cannot stand." I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved -- I do not expect the house to fall -- but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other. Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in the course of ultimate extinction; or its advocates will push it forward till it shall become alike lawful in all the States, old as well as new, North as well as South.What Lincoln means is that slavery will inevitablybe abolishedspread through out the entire United StatesThe source of the quote is the Bible, in Mark 3:25, which says, "And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand."The quote occurs in Lincoln's "House Divided" speech during the Lincoln Douglas debates.
Lincoln was quoting a Biblical reference. "A house divided against itself cannot stand." He was referring to the tensions within the USA, and the conflict between its two widely different societies, North and South.
He was making a reference to the 12 states that left the union. Hence "a house divided" and he meant that if it stayed that way the nation couldn't stay a nation.
It means that if you have two people in one home or family that quarrel and cannot get along, then the house or family is going to be weak and susceptible to problems. This is used in the New Testament about Satan and his demons.