Mark 3:22 - An Understandable Version (2005 edition) And the experts in the Law of Moses who had come down from Jerusalem were saying [Note: This followed the incident of Jesus healing a man with an evil spirit. See Matt. 12:22-28], “He has Beelzebub [in him],” and “He is driving out evil spirits by [the power of] the chief of evil spirits.” More versionsKing James Version (Oxford) 1769 And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils. Amplified Bible - Classic Edition And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, He is possessed by Beelzebub, and, By [the help of] the prince of demons He is casting out demons. American Standard Version (1901) And the scribes that came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and, By the prince of the demons casteth he out the demons. Common English Bible 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.” Catholic Public Domain Version And the scribes who had descended from Jerusalem said, "Because he has Beelzebub, and because by the prince of demons does he cast out demons." Douay-Rheims version of The Bible - 1752 version And the scribes who were come down from Jerusalem, said: He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of devils he casteth out devils. |
A disciple is doing well if he can be [as good] as his teacher, and the slave [as good] as his master. If they have called the master of the house [i.e., Jesus] Beelzebub [i.e., the chief of evil spirits. See Mark 3:22], how much more [likely] will they call members of his household [i.e., the disciples] the same thing!
For when John came, he did not eat or drink [on festive occasions] and people said, ‘He is dominated by an evil spirit.’
But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man does not drive out evil spirits except by [the power of] Beelzebub, the chief of evil spirits.”
Then some Pharisees and experts in the Law of Moses came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said,
But the Pharisees said, “He is driving out evil spirits by [the power of] the chief of evil spirits.”
The Pharisees and some experts in the Law of Moses, who had come from Jerusalem, gathered around Jesus.
But some of the people said, “He is driving out evil spirits by [the power of] Beelzebub, the chief of evil spirits.”
And it happened on one of those days [in Capernaum. See Mark 2:1], as Jesus was teaching, that some Pharisees [i.e., a strict sect of the Jewish religion] and teachers of the Law of Moses, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem, were sitting around [i.e., listening to Him]. And the power of the Lord was with Him, enabling Him to heal people.
During the winter, when the Festival of Dedication was being held in Jerusalem [Note: This was the Jewish festival commemorating the rededication of the Temple in 164 BC, after its pagan desecration by Greeks. It is still observed today by Jews as “Hanukkah”],
[Someone from] the crowd answered, “You have an evil spirit [in you]; who is trying to kill you?”
The Jews answered and said to Jesus, “Were we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan [See note on 4:9], and are dominated by an evil spirit?”
The Jews [i.e., the authorities] replied, “Now we know that you are dominated by an evil spirit. Abraham and the prophets [all] died and [yet] you are saying, ‘If a person obeys my message, he will never experience death.’