Mark 3:23

23 So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan?

Mark 3:23 in Other Translations

23 And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables,How can Satan cast out Satan?

23 And he called them to him and said to them in parables, "How can Satan cast out Satan?

23 Jesus called them over and responded with an illustration. “How can Satan cast out Satan?” he asked.

23 Jesus confronted their slander with a story: "Does it make sense to send a devil to catch a devil, to use Satan to get rid of Satan?

23 So He summoned them and spoke to them in parables: "How can Satan drive out Satan?

Mark 3:23 Meaning and Commentary

Mark 3:23

And he called them unto him
The Jerusalem Scribes, to come nearer to him, and attend to what he had to say in defence of his character and miracles:

and said unto them in parables:
similitudes, and proverbial expressions, as the following seem to be,

how can Satan cast out Satan?
or one devil cast out another? how unreasonable is it to suppose it? can it ever be thought that such, whose interest it is to unite, would ever oppose and dispossess one another? if therefore, as if he should say, I am Beelzebub, or have him, and he is in me, and I am in confederacy with him; was this the case, can any think I should ever cast him out of others, as I do?

Mark 3:23 In-Context

21 When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”

22 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.”

23 So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables: “How can Satan 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.

Cross References

• 1. Mark 4:2
• 2. S Matthew 4:10