Mark 3
Amplified Bible
Jesus Heals on the Sabbath
3 Again Jesus went into a synagogue; and a man was there whose hand was [a]withered.(A) 2 The Pharisees were watching Jesus closely to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him [in the Jewish high court]. 3 He said to the man whose hand was withered, “Get up and come forward!” 4 He asked them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save a life or to kill?” But they kept silent. 5 After looking around at them with anger, grieved at the hardness and arrogance of their hearts, He told the man, “Hold out your hand.” And he held it out, and his hand was [completely] restored. 6 Then the Pharisees went out and immediately began conspiring with the [b]Herodians [to plot] against Him, as to how [c]they might [fabricate some legal grounds to] put Him to death.
7 Jesus withdrew to the sea with His disciples; and a large crowd from Galilee followed Him; and also people from Judea, 8 and from Jerusalem, and from Idumea, and [from the region] beyond the Jordan, and around Tyre and Sidon; a vast number of people came to Him because they were hearing about all [the things] that He was doing. 9 And He told His disciples to have a small boat stand ready for Him because of the many people, so that they would not crowd Him; 10 for He had healed many, and as a result all who had diseases pressed around Him to touch Him. 11 Whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, they fell down before Him and screamed out, “You are the Son of God!” 12 Jesus sternly warned them [again and again] not to tell who He was.
The Twelve Are Chosen
13 He went up on the hillside and called those whom He Himself wanted and chose; and they came to Him. 14 And He appointed [d]twelve [disciples], so that they would be with Him [for instruction] and so that He could send them out to preach [the gospel as apostles—that is, as His special messengers, personally chosen representatives], 15 and to have authority and power to cast out demons. 16 He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom He gave the name Peter),(B) 17 and James, the son of [e]Zebedee, and John the brother of James (to them He gave the name Boanerges, that is, “Sons of Thunder”); 18 and [He also appointed] Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew (Nathanael), and Matthew (Levi the tax collector), and Thomas, and [f]James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus (Judas the son of James), and Simon the Zealot; 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him.
20 Then He came to a [g]house [in Capernaum], and a crowd formed again, so [many people] that Jesus and His disciples could not even eat a meal [together]. 21 When His own family heard this they went to take custody of Him; for they were saying, “He is out of His mind.” 22 The scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by [h]Beelzebul (Satan),” and “He is driving out the demons by the [power of the] ruler of the demons.”(C) 23 So He called them to Himself and spoke to them in [i]parables, “How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided [split into factions and rebelling] against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot 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 go into a strong man’s house and steal his property unless he first overpowers and ties up the strong man, and then he will ransack and rob his house.(D)
28 “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and all the abusive and blasphemous things they say; 29 but whoever [j]blasphemes against the Holy Spirit and His power [by attributing the miracles done by Me to Satan] never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin [a sin which is unforgivable in this present age as well as in the age to come]”—(E) 30 [Jesus said this] because the scribes and Pharisees were [attributing His miracles to Satan by] saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”
31 Then His mother and His brothers arrived, and standing outside they sent word to Him and called for Him.(F) 32 A crowd was sitting around Him, and they said to Him, “Look! Your mother and Your brothers are outside asking for You.” 33 And He replied, “Who are My mother and My brothers?” 34 Looking at those who were sitting in a circle around Him, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! 35 For [k]whoever does the will of God [by believing in Me, and following Me], he is My brother and sister and mother.”
Footnotes
- Mark 3:1 The Greek word also means “to dry out” and may indicate that the condition resulted from disease or an accident.
- Mark 3:6 A secular political party of Jews that strongly supported Herod Antipas and Rome, and opposed the Pharisees on most issues.
- Mark 3:6 The Pharisees and Herodians set aside their religious and political differences to form a conspiracy.
- Mark 3:14 See notes Matt 10:2-4.
- Mark 3:17 It is believed that Salome, Zebedee’s wife and the mother of James and John, was a sister of Mary, the mother of Jesus.
- Mark 3:18 Also called James the Less or James the Younger. It is believed that his mother, Mary (Gr Maria), was a sister or sister-in-law of Mary, the mother of Jesus.
- Mark 3:20 Probably Simon Peter’s house; cf 2:1, 2.
- Mark 3:22 I.e. an idol worshiped in the Philistine city of Ekron: Baal Zebul, lord of the high places or Baal Zebub, lord of the flies.
- Mark 3:23 Parables ordinarily were used for clarification, but Jesus often used them to hide sacred truths from unbelievers (see 4:11, 12).
- Mark 3:29 Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is denying all the work of the Holy Spirit. This leads ultimately to rejecting the deity of Christ.
- Mark 3:35 A universal offer.
Mark 3
English Standard Version
A Man with a Withered Hand
3 (A)Again (B)he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. 2 And (C)they watched Jesus,[a] to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. 3 And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” 4 And he said to them, (D)“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 (E)looked around at them with anger, grieved at (F)their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” (G)He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6 (H)The Pharisees went out and immediately (I)held counsel with (J)the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.
A Great Crowd Follows Jesus
7 (K)Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and (L)a great crowd followed, from Galilee and Judea 8 and Jerusalem and (M)Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from around (N)Tyre and Sidon. When the great crowd heard all that he was doing, they came to him. 9 And he told his disciples to (O)have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they (P)crush him, 10 for (Q)he had healed many, so that all who had (R)diseases pressed around him (S)to touch him. 11 (T)And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they (U)fell down before him and cried out, “You are (V)the Son of God.” 12 And (W)he strictly ordered them not to make him known.
The Twelve Apostles
13 (X)And he went up on the mountain and called to him those (Y)whom he desired, and they came to him. 14 (Z)And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach 15 (AA)and have authority to cast out demons. 16 He appointed the twelve: (AB)Simon (to whom (AC)he gave the name Peter); 17 (AD)James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); 18 Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and (AE)Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot,[b] 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
20 Then he went (AF)home, and the crowd gathered again, (AG)so that they could not even eat. 21 (AH)And when (AI)his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He (AJ)is out of his mind.”
Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit
22 And (AK)the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, (AL)“He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.” 23 (AM)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 (AN)no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. (AO)Then indeed he may plunder his house.
28 (AP)“Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, 29 but whoever (AQ)blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— 30 for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”
Jesus' Mother and Brothers
31 (AR)And his mother and his (AS)brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. 32 And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers[c] are outside, seeking you.” 33 And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 And (AT)looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 (AU)For whoever (AV)does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
