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OET (OET-LV) But no_one is_ not _able having_come_in into the house of_the strong man to_thoroughly_plunder the goods of_him, if not first he_may_bind the strong man, and then he_will_be_thoroughly_plundering the house of_him.
OET (OET-RV) 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.
It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it.
Here are some other possible headings for this section:
Jesus is stronger than Satan
Jesus sends evil spirits away by defeating Satan
Do not insult the Holy Spirit
There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 12:22–32 and Luke 11:14–23; 12:10.
In the previous paragraph, Jesus’ family decided that it was time to bring him home and restrain him. This paragraph continues Mark’s theme of people opposing Jesus. Here, Jesus’ enemies did not want to admit that Jesus was doing miracles by God’s power. So they accused him of using Satan’s power instead. Jesus had a good answer to give to them.
Jesus’ second parable is in 3:27. Jesus used this parable to explain how he was able to free people from evil spirits. Jesus compared Satan to a strong man. He compared himself to an even stronger man. He compared freeing people from evil spirits to robbing Satan’s house. Jesus implied that he could release people controlled by Satan or his evil spirits because he was stronger than Satan.
In some languages, 3:27 will be more natural if its parts are reordered. See the General Comment on 3:27a–d at the end of 3:27d for some examples of how to reorder the verse.
Indeed, no one can enter a strong man’s house
Certainly, no one can enter/invade the house of a strong man
Before anyone can invade a strong man’s house
Satan is like a strong man. A person cannot come into a house whose owner is very strong
Indeed: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as Indeed is literally “but” (as in the RSV). This conjunction contrasts what Jesus said (in 3:27) with the wrong thinking of these teachers of the law. They were wrong about Jesus getting power from Satan to force demons out of people. In this illustration/parable, Jesus tells what was really happening.
Some English versions do not translate this conjunction. You should connect 3:27 to the rest of this passage in a way that is natural in your language.
no one can enter a strong man’s house: In this context, the phrase no one can enter implies going into the strong man’s house uninvited, to rob him. You may want to use a stronger word like “invade” or “break into” to express this idea.
strong man’s house: The words strong man refer to someone who has physical strength and power.
Here Jesus compared Satan to a strong man who owns a house.
to steal his possessions
and steal his possessions/things
and steal what he owns,
and rob him.
to steal his possessions: The phrase to steal his possessions means “loot” or “pillage” things from the house. This represents Jesus casting out demons to free people.
unless he first ties up the strong man.
unless he first ties him up.
he must first defeat/overpower and tie up the strong man.
Only a stronger person than he can overpower him and tie him up.
unless: The conjunction unless introduces an exception to the rule in 3:27a–b that no one can carry off the possessions of a strong man.
Here is another way to translate this:
except if
until
first: The conjunction first indicates the order of events. He must first tie up the strong man before he can enter the strong man’s house and steal his things.
ties up the strong man: The phrase ties up the strong man implies that someone stronger than the strong man must first overpower him in order to tie him up.
There is implied information here that you may need to make explicit in your translation. For example:
unless he is strong enough to overcome/defeat the strong man and tie him up
Then he can plunder his house.
Then he can loot his house.
Then he can take things from his house.
Then he can rob him.
Then: The conjunction Then marks the order of the events in the illustration. First someone stronger than the strong man must overpower him and tie him up. Then the stronger man can rob the strong man.
he can plunder his house: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as plunder was also used in 3:27b and translated as “carry off.” The phrase he can plunder his house means “he can steal/take from the house everything he wants.” In other words: he can loot or pillage the house. The CEV says:
Then he can take everything.
he: The pronoun he refers to the stronger man. This man represents Jesus.
his: The pronoun his refers to the strong man who is being robbed. This man represents Satan.
In some languages, it will be more natural to change the order of some of the clauses in 3:27. For example:
27cIn fact, a person must first tie up a strong man. 27aOnly then can he enter his house, 27btake his possessions, 27dand rob his house.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / parables
ἀλλ’ οὐ δύναται οὐδεὶς
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἀλλʼ οὒ δύναται οὐδείς εἰς τήν οἰκίαν τοῦ ἰσχυροῦ εἰσελθών τά σκεύη αὐτοῦ διαρπάσαι ἐάν μή πρῶτον τόν ἰσχυρόν δήσῃ καί τότε τήν οἰκίαν αὐτοῦ διαρπάσει)
To teach the people, Jesus offers a story or illustration. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could indicate that explicitly. Alternate translation: [But listen to this story: No one is able]
Note 2 topic: grammar-connect-logic-contrast
ἀλλ’
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἀλλʼ οὒ δύναται οὐδείς εἰς τήν οἰκίαν τοῦ ἰσχυροῦ εἰσελθών τά σκεύη αὐτοῦ διαρπάσαι ἐάν μή πρῶτον τόν ἰσχυρόν δήσῃ καί τότε τήν οἰκίαν αὐτοῦ διαρπάσει)
Here, the word But introduces what is true in contrast to the hypothetical situations he has been using to teach. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word or phrase that introduces what is true in contrast to a hypothetical situation, or you could leave But untranslated. Alternate translation: [In reality, though,] or [However, as it really is,]
Note 3 topic: grammar-connect-exceptions
οὐ δύναται οὐδεὶς εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν τοῦ ἰσχυροῦ εἰσελθὼν τὰ σκεύη αὐτοῦ διαρπάσαι, ἐὰν μὴ πρῶτον τὸν ἰσχυρὸν δήσῃ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἀλλʼ οὒ δύναται οὐδείς εἰς τήν οἰκίαν τοῦ ἰσχυροῦ εἰσελθών τά σκεύη αὐτοῦ διαρπάσαι ἐάν μή πρῶτον τόν ἰσχυρόν δήσῃ καί τότε τήν οἰκίαν αὐτοῦ διαρπάσει)
If, in your language, it would appear that Jesus was making a statement here and then contradicting it, you could reword this to avoid using an exception clause. Alternate translation: [no one, unless he has first bound the strong man, is able, entering into the house of that strong man, to steal his belongings]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun
μὴ πρῶτον & δήσῃ & διαρπάσει
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἀλλʼ οὒ δύναται οὐδείς εἰς τήν οἰκίαν τοῦ ἰσχυροῦ εἰσελθών τά σκεύη αὐτοῦ διαρπάσαι ἐάν μή πρῶτον τόν ἰσχυρόν δήσῃ καί τότε τήν οἰκίαν αὐτοῦ διαρπάσει)
Although the term he in both these places is masculine, Jesus is using the word in a generic sense that includes both men and women. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a phrase that makes this clear. Alternate translation: [that person has not first bound … that person will plunder]
Note 5 topic: writing-pronouns
αὐτοῦ διαρπάσει
˱of˲_him ˱of˲_him ˱he˲_˓will_be˒_thoroughly_plundering
Here, the word he refers to the person who is stealing. The word his refers to the strong man. If this is not clear for your readers, you could refer to these people more directly. Alternate translation: [the thief will plunder the strong man’s]
3:27 Jesus provided a better explanation for his ability to cast out demons: Someone stronger than Satan had arrived (1:7) and was able to loot Satan’s house. Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God (1:1), was introducing God’s Kingdom and rescuing people from Satan’s power.
OET (OET-LV) But no_one is_ not _able having_come_in into the house of_the strong man to_thoroughly_plunder the goods of_him, if not first he_may_bind the strong man, and then he_will_be_thoroughly_plundering the house of_him.
OET (OET-RV) 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.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.