Open English Translation MARK Chapter 3

3 And again another time, Yeshua went to the meeting hall and there was a man there with a curled-up hand. 2 The religious leaders there were watching him closely to see if he would heal the man on the rest day, and then if he did, they would have a case against him. 3 Then Yeshua said to the man with the flawed hand, “Stand up there in the middle.” 4 And he asked the leaders, “Is it allowable to do good on the rest day, or only to do evil? To save life, or to kill?” But they didn’t reply.

5 After angrily looking around at them, grieving at their complete lack of compassion, he said to the man, “Open up your hand!” 6 The man stretched out his fingers, and his hand became totally normal. But the Pharisees quickly left, and meeting with King Herod’s supporters, they conspired to kill Yeshua.

7 After that, Yeshua withdrew towards the lake with his followers, and a huge crowd of people from the regions of both Galilee and down in Yudea, 8 along with others from Yerusalem, Idumea, from across the Yordan River, and from up near Tyre and Tsidon. They came because they had heard about the amazing things he had done. 9 [ref]So Yeshua asked his apprentices to organise a small boat to be there for him so he wouldn’t be cramped by the press of the crowd. 10 Virtually anyone who had any physical issues was pressing towards him to touch him, because he had already healed so many. 11 And the demons, whenever they saw Yeshua, they fell down to the ground in front of him and yelled out, “You are God’s son!” 12 But he regularly warned them not to reveal who he was.

13 As Yeshua started climbing up a hill, he called the followers that he had selected, and they went off with him. 14 He appointed twelve of them as his representatives so that they could stick with him and be sent off to be proclaiming his message 15 and to also have authority to exorcise demons.

16 These are the twelve that he appointed: Simon (but he appended the name “Peter”), 17 Yacob and his brother Yohan who were Zebedee’s sons (and he nicknamed them the “sons of thunder”), 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, Yacob Alphaeus, Thaddeus, Simon from Canaan, 19 and Yudas Iscariot who later betrayed him.

20 Then Yeshua was approaching a house, but the crowd swarmed them again so they had no opportunity to eat. 21 The ones with him heard all the noise and came to get him, because they were wondering if he was crazy.

22 [ref]The religious teachers had come up from Yerusalem and were complaining, “He’s possessed by the prince of demons. He can command them because he rules them!”

23 But Yeshua addressed them: “How could Satan command himself? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom could never prosper. 25 If a household is divided against itself, that family will never prosper. 26 So if Satan attacked himself and was split, he couldn’t possibly be powerful, but his time would be over.

27 On the contrary, no one can enter a strong man’s house to clean out his possessions unless he first ties up that strong man—after that he can work on the goods.

28 Honestly, I assure you that any sin of a person can be forgiven, no matter how much they curse God. 29 [ref]But anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit can never be forgiven, but is eternally responsible for their sin.” 30 (He said this because they were saying that he was demon-possessed.)

31 Now Yeshua’s mother and brothers came and were standing outside and asked someone to tell him that they were there. 32 Some in the crowd sitting around him told Yeshua that his mother and brothers were waiting outside for him.

33 But Yeshua answered, “Who is my mother and who are my brothers?” 34 And having looked around at the people sitting here, he said, “Actually, you all are my mother and my brothers. 35 Anyone who obeys God, that person is my brother and my sister and my mother.”