MARK 3:26 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) So if Satan attacked himself and was split, he couldn’t possibly be powerful, but his time would be over.

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, red:negative.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT And if Satan rose up against himself and was divided, he is not able to stand, but he has an end.

UST Similarly, suppose that Satan and his demons fight against one another. Satan would soon cease to rule over the demons!

BSB And if Satan is divided and rises against himself, he cannot stand; [his] end has come.

BLB And if Satan has risen up against himself and has been divided, he is not able to stand, but is coming to an end.

AICNT And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end.

OEB So, if Satan is in revolt against himself and is divided, he cannot last – his end has come!

WEBBE If Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he can’t stand, but has an end.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET And if Satan rises against himself and is divided, he is not able to stand and his end has come.

LSV and if Satan rose against himself, and has been divided, he cannot be made to stand, but has an end.

FBV If Satan is divided and fights against himself, he won't last long—he'll soon come to an end.

TCNT And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but has come to an end.

T4T Similarly, if Satan and his evil spirits were fighting one another, instead of remaining strong, he would become powerless.

LEB And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he is not able to stand, but is at an end!

BBE And if Satan is at war with himself, and there is division in him, he will not keep his place but will come to an end.

Moff and if Satan has risen against himself and is divided,
⇔ he cannot stand, he comes to an end.

Wymth So if Satan has risen in arms and has made war upon himself, stand he cannot, but meets his end.

ASV And if Satan hath risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.

DRA And if Satan be risen up against himself, he is divided, and cannot stand, but hath an end.

YLT and if the Adversary did rise against himself, and hath been divided, he cannot be made to stand, but hath an end.

Drby And if Satan rise up against himself, and is divided, he cannot subsist, but has an end.

RV And if Satan hath risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.
(And if Satan hath/has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but hath/has an end. )

SLT And if Satan rise up against himself, and has been divided, he cannot stand, but has an end.

Wbstr And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.

KJB-1769 And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.
( And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath/has an end. )

KJB-1611 And if Satan rise vp against himselfe, and be diuided, hee cannot stand, but hath an end.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above)

Bshps And yf Satan make insurrection agaynst him selfe & be deuided, he can not continue, but hath an ende.
(And if Satan make insurrection/uprising against himself and be divided, he cannot continue, but hath/has an end.)

Gnva So if Satan make insurrection against himselfe, and be deuided, hee can not endure but is at an ende.
(So if Satan make insurrection/uprising against himself, and be divided, he cannot endure but is at an end. )

Cvdl Yf Sathan now ryse agaynst him self, and be at variaunce with him self, he can not endure, but is at an ende.
(If Satan now rise against him self, and be at variance with him self, he cannot endure, but is at an end.)

TNT So yf Satan make insurreccion agaynste himsilfe and be devided he cannot continue but is at an ende.
(So if Satan make insurrection/uprising against himself and be divided he cannot continue but is at an end. )

Wycl And if Sathanas hath risun ayens hym silf, he is departid, and he schal not mowe stonde, but hath an ende.
(And if Satan hath/has risen against himself, he is departed, and he shall not more stand, but hath/has an end.)

Luth Setzet sich nun der Satan wider sich selbst und ist mit ihm selbst uneins, so kann er nicht bestehen, sondern es ist aus mit ihm.
(Set/Putt itself/yourself/themselves now the/of_the Satan against itself/yourself/themselves himself/itself and is with him himself/itself disagree, so can he not consist, rather it is out_of with him.)

ClVg Et si Satanas consurrexerit in semetipsum, dispertitus est, et non poterit stare, sed finem habet.
(And when/but_if Satan consurrexerit in/into/on oneself, divided it_is, and not/no will_be_able to_stand, but the_end has. )

UGNT καὶ εἰ ὁ Σατανᾶς ἀνέστη ἐφ’ ἑαυτὸν καὶ ἐμερίσθη, οὐ δύναται στῆναι, ἀλλὰ τέλος ἔχει.
(kai ei ho Satanas anestaʸ ef’ heauton kai emeristhaʸ, ou dunatai staʸnai, alla telos eⱪei.)

SBL-GNT καὶ εἰ ὁ Σατανᾶς ἀνέστη ἐφʼ ἑαυτὸν καὶ ⸀ἐμερίσθη, οὐ δύναται ⸀στῆναι ἀλλὰ τέλος ἔχει.
(kai ei ho Satanas anestaʸ efʼ heauton kai ⸀emeristhaʸ, ou dunatai ⸀staʸnai alla telos eⱪei.)

RP-GNT Καὶ εἰ ὁ Σατανᾶς ἀνέστη ἐφ' ἑαυτὸν καὶ μεμέρισται, οὐ δύναται σταθῆναι, ἀλλὰ τέλος ἔχει.
(Kai ei ho Satanas anestaʸ ef' heauton kai memeristai, ou dunatai stathaʸnai, alla telos eⱪei.)

TC-GNT Καὶ εἰ ὁ Σατανᾶς ἀνέστη ἐφ᾽ ἑαυτὸν καὶ [fn]μεμέρισται, οὐ δύναται [fn]σταθῆναι, ἀλλὰ τέλος ἔχει.
(Kai ei ho Satanas anestaʸ ef heauton kai memeristai, ou dunatai stathaʸnai, alla telos eⱪei. )

3:26 μεμερισται ¦ εμερισθη CT

3:26 σταθηναι ¦ στηναι ECM^† NA SBL TH WH

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 3:20–30: Jesus proved that he did not use Satan’s power

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.

Paragraph 3:22–30

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.

3:26

At this point, Jesus applied what he had just said about countries and families to Satan’s rule over his followers. Jesus’ point was that Satan would not oppose himself. Therefore, when Jesus forced demons to leave people, it was not Satan who gave him the power to do it.

To say this forcefully, Jesus used an “if” followed by imaginary situation to prove that it could not be true. For some other ways to translate an imaginary situation that cannot be true, see the General Comment 3:26a–c following 3:26c.

3:26a

And if Satan is divided and rises against himself,

And if Satan is against himself and fights against himself
So if it is true that Satan is fighting against his own followers/helpers,

And: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as And is a common connector. Here it connects the truth in 3:24–25 to the way Jesus compared this truth to what the teachers of the law had said about him. The GNT and CEV say:

So

It could also be translated as:

Likewise

if: The conditional word if introduces a situation that is untrue. Jesus did this in order to show the teachers of the law that what they accused him of is also untrue.

Satan is divided: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as is divided is the same verb as in 3:24a and 3:25a. It refers to a situation in which Satan’s followers are opposing and fighting each other.

rises against himself: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as rises against himself here indicates that Satan works against himself by fighting his own demons. It implies that the two sides were originally together and have become enemies.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

has rebelled against himself (NJB)

fights against himself (CEV)

fights against his own demons/spirits

3:26b–c

3:26b and 3:26c are saying the same thing. In some languages it will be more natural to combine these two statements into one. For example, the CEV says:

that will be the end of him

3:26b

he cannot stand;

he cannot continue to exist.
he will destroy/ruin himself.

he cannot stand: The Greek word that the BSB translates as cannot stand is the same word as in 3:24b and 3:25b. It means “he will not endure” or “he will not continue.” Satan will be destroyed/defeated. For example, the NCV says:

he cannot continue

3:26c

his end has come.

That will be the end/ruin/destruction of him.
He cannot continue to rule.

his end has come: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as his end has come here means “Satan’s power is destroyed/finished.” The CEV and GW say:

that will be the end of him

General Comment on 3:26a–c

Verse 3:26 is talking about something that cannot be true. In some languages it will sound more natural to translate this verse without the conditional “if.” For example:

Obviously Satan will not want to fight against his own demons and destroy his own power.

Will Satan want to destroy himself by fighting against himself? Will he force his own demons out of people? Of course not!

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / hypo

εἰ ὁ Σατανᾶς ἀνέστη ἐφ’ ἑαυτὸν καὶ ἐμερίσθη, οὐ δύναται στῆναι, ἀλλὰ τέλος ἔχει

if ¬the Satan rose_up against (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί εἰ ὁ Σατανᾶς ἀνέστη ἐφʼ ἑαυτόν καί ἐμερίσθη οὒ δύναται στῆναι ἀλλά τέλος ἔχει)

Here Jesus uses an imaginary situation to help explain what would happen if Satan rose up against himself and was divided. Use a natural method in your language for introducing an imaginary situation. Alternate translation: [imagine that Satan rose up against himself and was divided. In that case, he would not be able to stand, but he would have an end]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / synecdoche

ὁ Σατανᾶς ἀνέστη ἐφ’ ἑαυτὸν καὶ ἐμερίσθη

¬the Satan rose_up against (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί εἰ ὁ Σατανᾶς ἀνέστη ἐφʼ ἑαυτόν καί ἐμερίσθη οὒ δύναται στῆναι ἀλλά τέλος ἔχει)

Jesus is using Satan to represent Satan and his demons. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression from your culture or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [Satan and the demons that obey him rose up against themselves and were divided]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism

ἀνέστη ἐφ’ ἑαυτὸν καὶ ἐμερίσθη

rose_up against (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί εἰ ὁ Σατανᾶς ἀνέστη ἐφʼ ἑαυτόν καί ἐμερίσθη οὒ δύναται στῆναι ἀλλά τέλος ἔχει)

The phrases rose up against himself and was divided mean similar things. Jesus is using the two phrases together for emphasis. If it would be clearer for your readers, you could express the emphasis with a single clause. Alternate translation: [was divided against himself]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

ἐμερίσθη

˓was˒_divided

If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: [attacked himself]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism

οὐ δύναται στῆναι, ἀλλὰ τέλος ἔχει

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί εἰ ὁ Σατανᾶς ἀνέστη ἐφʼ ἑαυτόν καί ἐμερίσθη οὒ δύναται στῆναι ἀλλά τέλος ἔχει)

The clauses he is not able to stand and he has an end mean similar things. The first clause states the meaning negatively, and the second clause states the meaning positively. Jesus is using the two phrases together for emphasis. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could connect the clauses with a word other than and in order to show that the second clause is repeating the first one, not saying something additional. Alternatively, you could combine the two clauses. Alternate translation: [he is not able to stand; yes, he has an end] or [he has his end]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

οὐ δύναται στῆναι

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί εἰ ὁ Σατανᾶς ἀνέστη ἐφʼ ἑαυτόν καί ἐμερίσθη οὒ δύναται στῆναι ἀλλά τέλος ἔχει)

Here, the phrase is not able to stand means that Satan will not have authority or power much longer. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable phrase or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [he will no longer have power] or [he will not remain in control]

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

τέλος ἔχει

˓an˒_end ˓is˒_having

Here, the word end refers to a time when Satan no longer has power and authority. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make that idea more explicit. Alternate translation: [his rule ends] or [his authority fails]

Parallel MARK 3:26