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Mark 3:7-30
New Living Translation
Mark 3:7-30
New Living Translation
Crowds Follow Jesus
7 Jesus went out to the lake with his disciples, and a large crowd followed him. They came from all over Galilee, Judea, 8 Jerusalem, Idumea, from east of the Jordan River, and even from as far north as Tyre and Sidon. The news about his miracles had spread far and wide, and vast numbers of people came to see him.
9 Jesus instructed his disciples to have a boat ready so the crowd would not crush him. 10 He had healed many people that day, so all the sick people eagerly pushed forward to touch him. 11 And whenever those possessed by evil[a] spirits caught sight of him, the spirits would throw them to the ground in front of him shrieking, “You are the Son of God!” 12 But Jesus sternly commanded the spirits not to reveal who he was.
Jesus Chooses the Twelve Apostles
13 Afterward Jesus went up on a mountain and called out the ones he wanted to go with him. And they came to him. 14 Then he appointed twelve of them and called them his apostles.[b] They were to accompany him, and he would send them out to preach, 15 giving them authority to cast out demons. 16 These are the twelve he chose:
Simon (whom he named Peter),
17 James and John (the sons of Zebedee, but Jesus nicknamed them “Sons of Thunder”[c]),
18 Andrew,
Philip,
Bartholomew,
Matthew,
Thomas,
James (son of Alphaeus),
Thaddaeus,
Simon (the zealot[d]),
19 Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him).
Jesus and the Prince of Demons
20 One time Jesus entered a house, and the crowds began to gather again. Soon he and his disciples couldn’t even find time to eat. 21 When his family heard what was happening, they tried to take him away. “He’s out of his mind,” they said.
22 But the teachers of religious law who had arrived from Jerusalem said, “He’s possessed by Satan,[e] the prince of demons. That’s where he gets the power to cast out demons.”
23 Jesus called them over and responded with an illustration. “How can Satan cast out Satan?” he asked. 24 “A kingdom divided by civil war will collapse. 25 Similarly, a family splintered by feuding will fall apart. 26 And if Satan is divided and fights against himself, how can he stand? He would never survive. 27 Let me illustrate this further. Who is powerful enough to enter the house of a strong man and plunder his goods? Only someone even stronger—someone who could tie him up and then plunder his house.
28 “I tell you the truth, all sin and blasphemy can be forgiven, 29 but anyone who blasphemes the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. This is a sin with eternal consequences.” 30 He told them this because they were saying, “He’s possessed by an evil spirit.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 3:11 Greek unclean; also in 3:30.
- 3:14 Some manuscripts do not include and called them his apostles.
- 3:17 Greek whom he named Boanerges, which means Sons of Thunder.
- 3:18 Greek the Cananean, an Aramaic term for Jewish nationalists.
- 3:22 Greek Beelzeboul; other manuscripts read Beezeboul; Latin version reads Beelzebub.
Mark 3:7-30
New International Version
Mark 3:7-30
New International Version
Crowds Follow Jesus(A)
7 Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed.(B) 8 When they heard about all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon.(C) 9 Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the people from crowding him. 10 For he had healed many,(D) so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him.(E) 11 Whenever the impure spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.”(F) 12 But he gave them strict orders not to tell others about him.(G)
Jesus Appoints the Twelve(H)
13 Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him.(I) 14 He appointed twelve[a](J) that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach 15 and to have authority to drive out demons.(K) 16 These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter),(L) 17 James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means “sons of thunder”), 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
Jesus Accused by His Family and by Teachers of the Law(M)(N)
20 Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered,(O) so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat.(P) 21 When his family[b] heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”(Q)
22 And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem(R) said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul!(S) By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.”(T)
23 So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables:(U) “How can Satan(V) drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. 27 In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house.(W) 28 Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.”(X)
30 He said this because they were saying, “He has an impure spirit.”
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.