Mark 3
Common English Bible
Healing on the Sabbath
3 Jesus returned to the synagogue. A man with a withered hand was there. 2 Wanting to bring charges against Jesus, they were watching Jesus closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. 3 He said to the man with the withered hand, “Step up where people can see you.” 4 Then he said to them, “Is it legal on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they said nothing. 5 Looking around at them with anger, deeply grieved at their unyielding hearts, he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he did, and his hand was made healthy. 6 At that, the Pharisees got together with the supporters of Herod to plan how to destroy Jesus.
Healing and throwing demons out
7 Jesus left with his disciples and went to the lake. A large crowd followed him because they had heard what he was doing. They were from Galilee, 8 Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and the area surrounding Tyre and Sidon. 9 Jesus told his disciples to get a small boat ready for him so the crowd wouldn’t crush him. 10 He had healed so many people that everyone who was sick pushed forward so that they could touch him. 11 Whenever the evil spirits saw him, they fell down at his feet and shouted, “You are God’s Son!” 12 But he strictly ordered them not to reveal who he was.
Jesus appoints twelve apostles
13 Jesus went up on a mountain and called those he wanted, and they came to him. 14 He appointed twelve and called them apostles. He appointed them to be with him, to be sent out to preach, 15 and to have authority to throw out demons. 16 He appointed twelve: Peter, a name he gave Simon; 17 James and John, Zebedee’s sons, whom he nicknamed Boanerges, which means “sons of Thunder”; 18 and Andrew; Philip; Bartholomew; Matthew; Thomas; James, Alphaeus’ son; Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean;[a] 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus.
Misunderstandings about Jesus
20 Jesus entered a house. A crowd gathered again so that it was impossible for him and his followers even to eat. 21 When his family heard what was happening, they came to take control of him. They were saying, “He’s out of his mind!”
22 The legal experts came down from Jerusalem. Over and over they charged, “He’s possessed by Beelzebul. He throws out demons with the authority of the ruler of demons.”
23 When Jesus called them together he spoke to them in a parable: “How can Satan throw Satan out? 24 A kingdom involved in civil war will collapse. 25 And a house torn apart by divisions will collapse. 26 If Satan rebels against himself and is divided, then he can’t endure. He’s done for. 27 No one gets into the house of a strong person and steals anything without first tying up the strong person. Only then can the house be burglarized. 28 I assure you that human beings will be forgiven for everything, for all sins and insults of every kind. 29 But whoever insults the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. That person is guilty of a sin with consequences that last forever.” 30 He said this because the legal experts were saying, “He’s possessed by an evil spirit.”
31 His mother and brothers arrived. They stood outside and sent word to him, calling for him. 32 A crowd was seated around him, and those sent to him said, “Look, your mother, brothers, and sisters are outside looking for you.”
33 He replied, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” 34 Looking around at those seated around him in a circle, he said, “Look, here are my mother and my brothers. 35 Whoever does God’s will is my brother, sister, and mother.”
Footnotes
- Mark 3:18 Or zealot
Mark 3
Expanded Bible
Jesus Heals a Man’s Hand(A)
3 Another time when Jesus went into a synagogue, a man with a ·crippled [paralyzed; deformed; shriveled] hand was there. 2 ·Some people [L They; C probably the Pharisees; see 2:24, 27] watched Jesus closely to see if he would heal the man on the Sabbath day so they could accuse him.
3 Jesus said to the man with the crippled hand, “Stand up here in ·the middle [front] of everyone.”
4 Then Jesus asked ·the people [L them; C probably the Pharisees], “Which is lawful [C according to the law of Moses] on the Sabbath day: to do good or to do evil, to save a life or to kill?” But they ·said nothing to answer him [remained silent].
5 Jesus was angry as he looked at them, and he felt very ·sad [distressed; grieved] because ·they were stubborn [of their hard hearts]. Then he said to the man, “·Hold out [stretch out] your hand.” The man ·held out [stretched out] his hand and it was ·healed [restored]. 6 Then the Pharisees left and [immediately] began ·making plans [plotting] with the Herodians [C a political group that supported king Herod and his family] about a way to ·kill [destroy] Jesus.
Many People Follow Jesus(B)
7 Jesus left with his ·followers [disciples] for the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed him. 8 Also many people came from Judea, from Jerusalem, from Idumea [C located to the south], from the lands across the Jordan River, and from the area of Tyre and Sidon [C located to the north]. When they heard what Jesus was doing, many people came to him. 9 When Jesus saw the crowds, he told his ·followers [disciples] to get a boat ready for him to keep people from ·crowding against [crushing] him. 10 He had healed many people, so all the sick were pushing toward him to touch him. 11 When ·evil [defiling; L unclean; see 1:23] spirits [within people] saw Jesus, they fell down before him and shouted, “You are the Son of God!” 12 But Jesus strongly ·warned [rebuked; ordered] them not to tell who he was.
Jesus Chooses His Twelve Apostles(C)
13 Then Jesus went up ·on a mountain [to the hills] and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. 14 Jesus ·chose [appointed] twelve [C paralleling the twelve tribes of Israel] and called them apostles[a] [C “apostle” means a messenger, or someone sent with a commission]. He wanted them to be with him, and he wanted to send them out to preach 15 and to have the authority to ·force [drive; cast] demons out of people. 16 These are the twelve he ·chose [appointed]: Simon (Jesus named him Peter), 17 James and John, the sons of Zebedee (Jesus named them Boanerges, which [C in Aramaic] means “Sons of Thunder”), 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot [C either religiously zealous, or a (former) member of the revolutionary movement known as Zealots], 19 and Judas Iscariot [C Iscariot probably means “man of Kerioth”], who later ·turned against [betrayed] Jesus.
Some People Say Jesus Is Possessed by an Evil Spirit(D)
20 Then Jesus went ·home [into a house], but again a crowd gathered. There were so many people that Jesus and his followers could not eat. 21 When his ·family [own people] heard this, they went to ·get [seize; take charge of] him because they thought he was out of his mind. 22 But the ·teachers of the law [scribes] from Jerusalem were saying, “·Beelzebul [C another name for Satan] is ·living inside [possessing] him! He uses power from the ·ruler [prince] of demons to ·force [drive; cast] demons out of people.”
23 So Jesus called the people together and ·taught them with stories [L spoke to them in parables; C Greek parabolē, which can mean stories and analogies of various kinds]. He said, ·“Satan will not force himself out of people. [L “How can Satan drive out Satan?] 24 A kingdom that is ·divided [at war with itself] cannot ·continue [stand], 25 and a ·family [household; L house] that is divided cannot ·continue [stand]. 26 And if Satan ·is [rises; rebels] against himself and ·fights against his own people [is divided], he cannot ·continue [stand]; that is the end of Satan. 27 No one can enter a strong man’s house and ·steal [seize; plunder] his things unless he first ·ties up [binds] the strong man [Is. 49:24–25]. Then he can ·steal [seize; plunder] things from the house. [C Satan is the strong man and his possessions are the people Jesus is freeing from Satan’s power.] 28 I tell you the truth, all sins that people do and all ·the things people say against God [blasphemies] can be forgiven. 29 But anyone who ·speaks against [blasphemes] the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of ·a sin that continues forever [a sin with eternal consequences; L an eternal sin].”
30 Jesus said this because the teachers of the law said that he had an ·evil [defiling; L unclean] spirit inside him.
Jesus’ True Family(E)
31 Then Jesus’ mother and ·brothers [or brothers and sisters; C the Greek word can mean “siblings”; cf. 6:3] arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to tell him to come out. 32 Many people were sitting around Jesus, and they said to him, “Your mother and brothers[b] are ·waiting [looking; asking] for you outside.”
33 Jesus asked, “Who are my mother and my brothers [and sisters]?” 34 Then he looked at those sitting around him and said, “·Here are [Look; T Behold,] my mother and my brothers [and sisters]! 35 My true brother and sister and mother are those who do ·what God wants [the will of God].”
Mark 3
King James Version
3 And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand.
2 And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him.
3 And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth.
4 And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace.
5 And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.
6 And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.
7 But Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea: and a great multitude from Galilee followed him, and from Judaea,
8 And from Jerusalem, and from Idumaea, and from beyond Jordan; and they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they had heard what great things he did, came unto him.
9 And he spake to his disciples, that a small ship should wait on him because of the multitude, lest they should throng him.
10 For he had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon him for to touch him, as many as had plagues.
11 And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God.
12 And he straitly charged them that they should not make him known.
13 And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him.
14 And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach,
15 And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils:
16 And Simon he surnamed Peter;
17 And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder:
18 And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite,
19 And Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him: and they went into an house.
20 And the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.
21 And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself.
22 And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils.
23 And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan?
24 And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
25 And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.
26 And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.
27 No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.
28 Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme:
29 But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation.
30 Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.
31 There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him, calling him.
32 And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee.
33 And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren?
34 And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!
35 For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
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