^3:22The experts in the law⁴⁴ who came down from Jerusalem⁴⁵ said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,”⁴⁶ and, “By the ruler⁴⁷ of demons he casts out demons.” ^3:23So⁴⁸ he called them and spoke to them in parables:⁴⁹ “How can Satan cast out Satan? ^3:24If⁵⁰ a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom will not be able to stand. ^3:25If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. ^3:26And if Satan rises against himself and is divided, he is not able to stand and his end has come. ^3:27But no one is able to enter a strong man’s⁵¹ house and steal his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can thoroughly plunder his house.⁵²^3:28I tell you the truth,⁵³ people will be forgiven for all sins, even all the blasphemies they utter.⁵⁴^3:29But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, but is guilty of an eternal sin”⁵⁵^3:30(because they said, “He has an unclean spirit”⁵⁶).

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Footnotes

44 Or “The scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in .
45 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
46 Grk “He has Beelzebul.” Beelzebul is another name for Satan. So some people recognized Jesus’ work as supernatural, but called it diabolical.
47 Or “prince.”
48 Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.
49 Jesus spoke two parables to demonstrate the absurdity of the thinking of the religious leaders who maintained that he was in league with Satan and that he actually derived his power from the devil. The first parable (vv. 23–26) teaches that if Jesus cast out demons by the ruler of the demons, then in reality Satan is fighting against himself, with the result that his kingdom has come to an end. The second parable (v. 28) about tying up a strong man proves that Jesus does not need to align himself with the devil because Jesus is more powerful. Jesus defeated Satan at his temptation (1:12–13) and by his exorcisms he clearly demonstrated himself to be stronger than the devil. The passage reveals the desperate condition of the religious leaders, who in their hatred for Jesus end up attributing the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan (a position for which they will be held accountable, 3:29–30). For an explanation of what a parable is, see the note on parables in .
50 The three conditional statements in vv. 24–26 express the logical result of the assumption that Jesus heals by Satan’s power, expressed by the religious leaders. The point is clear: If the leaders are correct, then Satan’s kingdom will not stand, so the suggestion makes no sense. Satan would not seek to heal.
51 The strong man here pictures Satan.
52 Some see the imagery here as similar to Eph 4:7–10, although no opponents are explicitly named in that passage. Jesus has the victory over Satan. Jesus’ acts of healing mean that the war is being won and the kingdom is coming.
53 Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amēn), I say to you.”
54 Grk “all the sins and blasphemies they may speak will be forgiven the sons of men.”
55 Is guilty of an eternal sin. This passage has troubled many people, who have wondered whether or not they have committed this eternal sin. Three things must be kept in mind: (1) the nature of the sin is to ascribe what is the obvious work of the Holy Spirit (e.g., releasing people from Satan’s power) to Satan himself; (2) it is not simply a momentary doubt or sinful attitude, but is indeed a settled condition which opposes the Spirit’s work, as typified by the religious leaders who opposed Jesus; and (3) a person who is concerned about it has probably never committed this sin, for those who commit it here (i.e., the religious leaders) are not in the least concerned about Jesus’ warning. On this last point see W. W. Wessel, “Mark,” 8:.
56 Unclean spirit refers to an evil spirit.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.” And he called them to him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. 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.

“Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

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

So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. 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. Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.”

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

CSBChristian Standard Bible

The scribes who had come down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and, “He drives out demons by the ruler of the demons.”

So he summoned them and spoke to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand but is finished. But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house.

“Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for all sins and whatever blasphemies they utter. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”—because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

NLTNew Living Translation

But the teachers of religious law who had arrived from Jerusalem said, “He’s possessed by Satan, the prince of demons. That’s where he gets the power to cast out demons.”

Jesus called them over and responded with an illustration. “How can Satan cast out Satan?” he asked. “A kingdom divided by civil war will collapse. Similarly, a family splintered by feuding will fall apart. And if Satan is divided and fights against himself, how can he stand? He would never survive. 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.

“I tell you the truth, all sin and blasphemy can be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. This is a sin with eternal consequences.” He told them this because they were saying, “He’s possessed by an evil spirit.”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

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!” And he called them to himself and was speaking to them in parables, “How can Satan expel Satan? And if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom is not able to stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he is not able to stand, but is at an end! But no one is able to enter into the house of a strong man and plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man, and then he can thoroughly plunder his house.

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

KJV 1900King James Version

And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils. And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end. 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. Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation: Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.

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