Mark 3:20-30
English Standard Version
20 Then he went (A)home, and the crowd gathered again, (B)so that they could not even eat. 21 (C)And when (D)his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He (E)is out of his mind.”
Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit
22 And (F)the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, (G)“He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.” 23 (H)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 (I)no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. (J)Then indeed he may plunder his house.
28 (K)“Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, 29 but whoever (L)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.”
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Mark 3:20-30
New Living Translation
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,[a] 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.”
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- 3:22 Greek Beelzeboul; other manuscripts read Beezeboul; Latin version reads Beelzebub.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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.