Jesus Accused by His Family and by Teachers of the Law^(A)(B)

²⁰ Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered,^(C) so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat.^{(D) 21} When his family^[a] heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”^(E)

²² And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem^(F) said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul!^(G) By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.”^(H)

²³ So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables:^(I) “How can Satan^(J) 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. ²⁶ And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. ²⁷ In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house.^{(K) 28} Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, ²⁹ but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.”^(L)

³⁰ He said this because they were saying, “He has an impure spirit.”

Jesus and Beelzebul^(A)(B)

¹⁴ Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon left, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed.^{(C) 15} But some of them said, “By Beelzebul,^(D) the prince of demons, he is driving out demons.”^{(E) 16} Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven.^(F)

¹⁷ Jesus knew their thoughts^(G) and said to them: “Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. ¹⁸ If Satan^(H) is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebul. ¹⁹ Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. ²⁰ But if I drive out demons by the finger of God,^(I) then the kingdom of God^(J) has come upon you.

²¹ “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe. ²² But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up his plunder.

²³ “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.^(K)

¹⁰ And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man^(A) will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.^(B)