19 and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.

A House Divided Cannot Stand

20 And he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they were not even able to eat a meal. 21 And when[a] his family[b] heard this,[c] they went out to restrain him, for they were saying, “He has lost his mind!”

22 And the scribes who had come down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul!” and “By the ruler of the demons he expels the demons!” 23 And he called them to himself and[d] was speaking to them in parables, “How can Satan expel Satan? 24 And if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom is not able to 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 is not able to stand, but is at an end! 27 But no one is able to enter into the house of a strong man and[e] plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man, and then he can thoroughly plunder his house.

28 “Truly I say to you that all the sins and the blasphemies will be forgiven the sons of men, however much they blaspheme. 29 But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit does not have forgiveness forever,[f] but is guilty of an eternal sin”— 30 because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

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Footnotes

  1. Mark 3:21 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“heard”) which is understood as temporal
  2. Mark 3:21 Literally those “close to him”
  3. Mark 3:21 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  4. Mark 3:23 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“called”) has been translated as a finite verb
  5. Mark 3:27 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“enter”) has been translated as a finite verb
  6. Mark 3:29 Literally “for the age”

19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Jesus Accused by His Family and by Teachers of the Law(A)(B)

20 Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered,(C) so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat.(D) 21 When his family[a] heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”(E)

22 And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem(F) said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul!(G) By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.”(H)

23 So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables:(I) “How can Satan(J) 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.(K) 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.”(L)

30 He said this because they were saying, “He has an impure spirit.”

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Footnotes

  1. Mark 3:21 Or his associates

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,[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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Footnotes

  1. 3:22 Greek Beelzeboul; other manuscripts read Beezeboul; Latin version reads Beelzebub.