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Mark 3
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Mark 3
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 3
A Man with a Withered Hand. 1 [a]Again he entered the synagogue.(A) There was a man there who had a withered hand. 2 They watched him closely to see if he would cure him on the sabbath so that they might accuse him. 3 He said to the man with the withered hand, “Come up here before us.” 4 Then he said to them, “Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?” But they remained silent. 5 Looking around at them with anger and grieved at their hardness of heart, he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out and his hand was restored.(B) 6 [b]The Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel with the Herodians against him to put him to death.
The Mercy of Jesus. 7 [c]Jesus withdrew toward the sea with his disciples.(C) A large number of people [followed] from Galilee and from Judea. 8 Hearing what he was doing, a large number of people came to him also from Jerusalem, from Idumea, from beyond the Jordan, and from the neighborhood of Tyre and Sidon. 9 He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him. 10 He had cured many and, as a result, those who had diseases were pressing upon him to touch him.(D) 11 [d]And whenever unclean spirits saw him they would fall down before him and shout, “You are the Son of God.”(E) 12 He warned them sternly not to make him known.
The Mission of the Twelve. 13 (F)He went up the mountain[e] and summoned those whom he wanted and they came to him. 14 (G)He appointed twelve [whom he also named apostles] that they might be with him[f] and he might send them forth to preach 15 and to have authority to drive out demons: 16 [g][he appointed the twelve:] Simon, whom he named Peter; 17 James, son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James, whom he named Boanerges, that is, sons of thunder;(H) 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus; Thaddeus, Simon the Cananean, 19 and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him.
Blasphemy of the Scribes. 20 [h]He came home.[i] Again [the] crowd gathered, making it impossible for them even to eat.(I) 21 When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”(J) 22 The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,”[j] and “By the prince of demons he drives out demons.”(K)
Jesus and Beelzebul. 23 Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables, “How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand; that is the end of him. 27 But no one can enter a strong man’s house to plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house. 28 Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them.(L) 29 But whoever blasphemes against the holy Spirit[k] will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin.” 30 For they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.”
Jesus and His Family. 31 (M)His mother and his brothers arrived. Standing outside they sent word to him and called him. 32 A crowd seated around him told him, “Your mother and your brothers[l] [and your sisters] are outside asking for you.” 33 But he said to them in reply, “Who are my mother and [my] brothers?” 34 And looking around at those seated in the circle he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. 35 [For] whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”
Footnotes
- 3:1–5 Here Jesus is again depicted in conflict with his adversaries over the question of sabbath-day observance. His opponents were already ill disposed toward him because they regarded Jesus as a violator of the sabbath. Jesus’ question Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil? places the matter in the broader theological context outside the casuistry of the scribes. The answer is obvious. Jesus heals the man with the withered hand in the sight of all and reduces his opponents to silence; cf. Jn 5:17–18.
- 3:6 In reporting the plot of the Pharisees and Herodians to put Jesus to death after this series of conflicts in Galilee, Mark uses a pattern that recurs in his account of later controversies in Jerusalem (Mk 11:17–18; 12:13–17). The help of the Herodians, supporters of Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee and Perea, is needed to take action against Jesus. Both series of conflicts point to their gravity and to the impending passion of Jesus.
- 3:7–19 This overview of the Galilean ministry manifests the power of Jesus to draw people to himself through his teaching and deeds of power. The crowds of Jews from many regions surround Jesus (Mk 3:7–12). This phenomenon prepares the way for creating a new people of Israel. The choice and mission of the Twelve is the prelude (Mk 3:13–19).
- 3:11–12 See note on Mk 1:24–25.
- 3:13 He went up the mountain: here and elsewhere the mountain is associated with solemn moments and acts in the mission and self-revelation of Jesus (Mk 6:46; 9:2–8; 13:3). Jesus acts with authority as he summoned those whom he wanted and they came to him.
- 3:14–15 He appointed twelve [whom he also named apostles] that they might be with him: literally “he made,” i.e., instituted them as apostles to extend his messianic mission through them (Mk 6:7–13). See notes on Mt 10:1 and 10:2–4.
- 3:16 Simon, whom he named Peter: Mark indicates that Simon’s name was changed on this occasion. Peter is first in all lists of the apostles (Mt 10:2; Lk 6:14; Acts 1:13; cf. 1 Cor 15:5–8).
- 3:20–35 Within the narrative of the coming of Jesus’ relatives (Mk 3:20–21) is inserted the account of the unbelieving scribes from Jerusalem who attributed Jesus’ power over demons to Beelzebul (Mk 3:22–30); see note on Mk 5:21–43. There were those even among the relatives of Jesus who disbelieved and regarded Jesus as out of his mind (Mk 3:21). Against this background, Jesus is informed of the arrival of his mother and brothers [and sisters] (Mk 3:32). He responds by showing that not family ties but doing God’s will (Mk 3:35) is decisive in the kingdom; cf. note on Mt 12:46–50.
- 3:20 He came home: cf. Mk 2:1–2 and see note on Mk 2:15.
- 3:22 By Beelzebul: see note on Mt 10:25. Two accusations are leveled against Jesus: (1) that he is possessed by an unclean spirit and (2) by the prince of demons he drives out demons. Jesus answers the second charge by a parable (Mk 3:24–27) and responds to the first charge in Mk 3:28–29.
- 3:29 Whoever blasphemes against the holy Spirit: this sin is called an everlasting sin because it attributes to Satan, who is the power of evil, what is actually the work of the holy Spirit, namely, victory over the demons.
- 3:32 Your brothers: see note on Mk 6:3.
Mark 3
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
Mark 3
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
The Man with a Withered Hand
3 Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand. 2 And they watched him, to see whether he would heal him on the sabbath, so that they might accuse him. 3 And he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Come here.” 4 And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. 5 And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6 The Pharisees went out, and immediately held counsel with the Hero′di-ans against him, how to destroy him.
A Multitude at the Seaside
7 Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and a great multitude from Galilee followed; also from Judea 8 and Jerusalem and Idume′a and from beyond the Jordan and from about Tyre and Sidon a great multitude, hearing all that he did, came to him. 9 And he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they should crush him; 10 for he had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed upon him to touch him. 11 And whenever the unclean spirits beheld him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” 12 And he strictly ordered them not to make him known.
Jesus Appoints the Twelve
13 And he went up into the hills, and called to him those whom he desired; and they came to him. 14 And he appointed twelve,[a] to be with him, and to be sent out to preach 15 and have authority to cast out demons: 16 Simon whom he surnamed Peter; 17 James the son of Zeb′edee and John the brother of James, whom he surnamed Bo-aner′ges, that is, sons of thunder; 18 Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean, 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
Jesus and Beelzebul
Then he went home; 20 and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. 21 And when his friends heard it, they went out to seize him, for they said, “He is beside himself.” 22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Be-el′zebul, and by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.” 23 And he called them to him, and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. 27 But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man; then indeed he may plunder his house.
28 “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— 30 for they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.”
The True Kindred of Jesus
31 And his mother and his brethren[b] came; and standing outside they sent to him and called him. 32 And a crowd was sitting about him; and they said to him, “Your mother and your brethren[c] are outside, asking for you.” 33 And he replied, “Who are my mother and my brethren?” 34 And looking around on those who sat about him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brethren! 35 Whoever does the will of God is my brother, and sister, and mother.”
Mark 3
Good News Translation
Mark 3
Good News Translation
The Man with a Paralyzed Hand(A)
3 Then Jesus went back to the synagogue, where there was a man who had a paralyzed hand. 2 Some people were there who wanted to accuse Jesus of doing wrong; so they watched him closely to see whether he would cure the man on the Sabbath. 3 Jesus said to the man, “Come up here to the front.” 4 Then he asked the people, “What does our Law allow us to do on the Sabbath? To help or to harm? To save someone's life or to destroy it?”
But they did not say a thing. 5 Jesus was angry as he looked around at them, but at the same time he felt sorry for them, because they were so stubborn and wrong. Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and it became well again. 6 So the Pharisees left the synagogue and met at once with some members of Herod's party, and they made plans to kill Jesus.
A Crowd by the Lake
7 Jesus and his disciples went away to Lake Galilee, and a large crowd followed him. They had come from Galilee, from Judea, 8 from Jerusalem, from the territory of Idumea, from the territory on the east side of the Jordan, and from the region around the cities of Tyre and Sidon. All these people came to Jesus because they had heard of the things he was doing. 9 (B)The crowd was so large that Jesus told his disciples to get a boat ready for him, so that the people would not crush him. 10 He had healed many people, and all the sick kept pushing their way to him in order to touch him. 11 And whenever the people who had evil spirits in them saw him, they would fall down before him and scream, “You are the Son of God!”
12 Jesus sternly ordered the evil spirits not to tell anyone who he was.
Jesus Chooses the Twelve Apostles(C)
13 Then Jesus went up a hill and called to himself the men he wanted. They came to him, 14 and he chose twelve, whom he named apostles. “I have chosen you to be with me,” he told them. “I will also send you out to preach, 15 and you will have authority to drive out demons.”
16 These are the twelve he chose: Simon (Jesus gave him the name Peter); 17 James and his brother John, the sons of Zebedee (Jesus gave them the name Boanerges, which means “Men of Thunder”); 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Patriot, 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus.
Jesus and Beelzebul(D)
20 Then Jesus went home. Again such a large crowd gathered that Jesus and his disciples had no time to eat. 21 When his family heard about it, they set out to take charge of him, because people were saying, “He's gone mad!”
22 (E)Some teachers of the Law who had come from Jerusalem were saying, “He has Beelzebul in him! It is the chief of the demons who gives him the power to drive them out.”
23 So Jesus called them to him and spoke to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a country divides itself into groups which fight each other, that country will fall apart. 25 If a family divides itself into groups which fight each other, that family will fall apart. 26 So if Satan's kingdom divides into groups, it cannot last, but will fall apart and come to an end.
27 “No one can break into a strong man's house and take away his belongings unless he first ties up the strong man; then he can plunder his house.
28 “I assure you that people can be forgiven all their sins and all the evil things they may say.[a] 29 (F)But whoever says evil things against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, because he has committed an eternal sin.” (30 Jesus said this because some people were saying, “He has an evil spirit in him.”)
Jesus' Mother and Brothers(G)
31 Then Jesus' mother and brothers arrived. They stood outside the house and sent in a message, asking for him. 32 A crowd was sitting around Jesus, and they said to him, “Look, your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, and they want you.”
33 Jesus answered, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” 34 He looked at the people sitting around him and said, “Look! Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does what God wants is my brother, my sister, my mother.”
Footnotes
- Mark 3:28 evil things they may say; or evil things they may say against God.
Mark 3
New American Standard Bible
Mark 3
New American Standard Bible
Jesus Heals on the Sabbath
3 (A)He (B)entered a synagogue again; and a man was there whose hand was withered. 2 And (C)they were watching Him [a]closely to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, (D)so that they might accuse Him. 3 He *said to the man with the withered hand, “[b]Get up and come forward!” 4 And He *said to them, “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do harm, to save a life or to kill?” But they kept silent. 5 After (E)looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He *said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6 The Pharisees went out and immediately began [c]conspiring with the (F)Herodians against Him, as to how they might put Him to death.
7 (G)Jesus withdrew to the sea with His disciples; and (H)a large multitude from Galilee followed, and also from Judea, 8 and from Jerusalem, and from (I)Idumea, and beyond the Jordan, and the vicinity of (J)Tyre and Sidon, a great number of people heard about everything that He was doing and came to Him. 9 (K)And He told His disciples to see that a boat would be ready for Him because of the [d]masses, so that they would not crowd Him; 10 for He had (L)healed many, with the result that all those who had (M)diseases pushed in around Him in order to (N)touch Him. 11 And whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, they would fall down before Him and shout, “You are (O)the Son of God!” 12 And He (P)strongly warned them not to [e]reveal who He was.
The Twelve Are Chosen
13 And He *went up on (Q)the mountain and *(R)summoned those whom He Himself wanted, and they came to Him. 14 And He appointed twelve, so that they would be with Him and that He could send them out to preach, 15 and to have authority to cast out the demons. 16 And He appointed the twelve: (S)Simon (to whom He gave the name Peter), 17 [f]James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of [g]James (to them He gave the name Boanerges, which means, “Sons of Thunder”); 18 and Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, [h]James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, and Simon the [i]Zealot; 19 and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.
20 And He *came [j](T)home, and the (U)crowd *gathered again, (V)to such an extent that they could not even eat [k]a meal. 21 And when (W)His own [l]people heard about this, they came out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, “(X)He has lost His senses.” 22 The scribes who came down (Y)from Jerusalem were saying, “He [m]is possessed by [n](Z)Beelzebul,” and “(AA)He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.” 23 (AB)And so He called them to Himself and began speaking to them in (AC)parables: “How can (AD)Satan cast out Satan? 24 And if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 And if (AE)Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but [o]he is finished! 27 (AF)But no one can enter the strong man’s house and plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man, and then he will plunder his house.
28 “(AG)Truly I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons and daughters of men, and whatever blasphemies they commit; 29 but (AH)whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— 30 because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”
31 (AI)Then His mother and His brothers *came, and while standing outside they sent word to Him, calling for Him. 32 And a crowd was sitting around Him, and they *said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are outside looking for You.” 33 Answering them, He *said, “Who are My mother and My brothers?” 34 And looking around at those who were sitting around Him, He *said, “(AJ)Here are My mother and My brothers! 35 For whoever (AK)does the will of God, this is My brother, and sister, and mother.”
Footnotes
- Mark 3:2 Or maliciously
- Mark 3:3 Lit Arise into the midst
- Mark 3:6 Lit giving counsel
- Mark 3:9 Lit crowd
- Mark 3:12 Lit make Him known
- Mark 3:17 Or Jacob
- Mark 3:17 Or Jacob
- Mark 3:18 Or Jacob
- Mark 3:18 Or Cananaean
- Mark 3:20 Lit into a house
- Mark 3:20 Lit bread
- Mark 3:21 Or family
- Mark 3:22 Lit has Beelzebul
- Mark 3:22 One early ms Beezebul; some early ancient versions Beelzebub
- Mark 3:26 Lit he has an end
Mark 3
New International Version
Mark 3
New International Version
Jesus Heals on the Sabbath
3 Another time Jesus went into the synagogue,(A) and a man with a shriveled hand was there. 2 Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely(B) to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath.(C) 3 Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.”
4 Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent.
5 He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. 6 Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians(D) how they might kill Jesus.(E)
Crowds Follow Jesus(F)
7 Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed.(G) 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.(H) 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,(I) so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him.(J) 11 Whenever the impure spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.”(K) 12 But he gave them strict orders not to tell others about him.(L)
Jesus Appoints the Twelve(M)
13 Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him.(N) 14 He appointed twelve[a](O) that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach 15 and to have authority to drive out demons.(P) 16 These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter),(Q) 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(R)(S)
20 Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered,(T) so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat.(U) 21 When his family[b] heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”(V)
22 And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem(W) said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul!(X) By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.”(Y)
23 So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables:(Z) “How can Satan(AA) 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.(AB) 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.”(AC)
30 He said this because they were saying, “He has an impure spirit.”
31 Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived.(AD) Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.”
33 “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked.
34 Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
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Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)
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Good News Translation (GNT) 
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New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
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