Mark 3

And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand.

1Jesus went into the synagogue again. A synagogue is a place where people met to worship God. A man was there with a shriveled hand.

2And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him.

2Some people watched Jesus closely. They wanted to see if he would heal the man on the Sabbath. The Sabbath was the day of rest. They hoped to accuse him of doing wrong.

3And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth.

3Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, "Stand up here where all can see."

4And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace.

4Jesus asked the others, "On the Sabbath, should we do good or do harm? Should we save a life or destroy one?" But nobody said a word.

5And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.

5Jesus looked around at them. He was angry, and he was sad that their hearts were so hard. He said to the man, "Hold out your hand." The man held it out, and his hand was made well, just like his other one.

6And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.

6The Pharisees went out right away. The Pharisees were teachers who cared very much about the rules. They began to plan with Herod's followers how to kill Jesus.

7But Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea: and a great multitude from Galilee followed him, and from Judaea,

7So Jesus went away to the lake with his followers. A big crowd from Galilee came along behind him. People came from Judea too,

8And from Jerusalem, and from Idumaea, and from beyond Jordan; and they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they had heard what great things he did, came unto him.

8and from Jerusalem, Idumea, and the land across the Jordan River. People came from near the towns of Tyre and Sidon. This big crowd came because they heard about the great things he was doing.

9And he spake to his disciples, that a small ship should wait on him because of the multitude, lest they should throng him.

9Jesus told his followers to keep a small boat ready for him. He did not want the crowd to press in and crush him.

10For he had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon him for to touch him, as many as had plagues.

10He had healed so many people. Everyone who was sick pushed forward to touch him.

11And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God.

11Evil spirits saw him and fell down in front of him. They cried out, "You are the Son of God!"

12And he straitly charged them that they should not make him known.

12But Jesus told them firmly not to tell anyone who he was.

13And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him.

13Then Jesus went up on a mountain. He called the men he wanted, and they came to him.

14And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach,

14He chose twelve of them. They were to stay with him. He would also send them out to tell people God's message.

15And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils:

15They would also have power to heal sick people and to drive out demons.

16And Simon he surnamed Peter;

16Here are the twelve. There was Simon, and Jesus gave him the name Peter.

17And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder:

17There were James and John, the sons of Zebedee. Jesus named them Boanerges, which means "Sons of Thunder."

18And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite,

18There were also Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite.

19And Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him: and they went into an house.

19And there was Judas Iscariot, the one who later handed Jesus over to his enemies. Then they went into a house.

20And the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.

20The crowd came together again. There were so many people that Jesus and his followers could not even eat.

21And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself.

21When his family heard about it, they went to take him home. They said, "He is out of his mind."

NoteThe King James Bible says "his friends," but the old word here means his own family. It also says he was "beside himself," which means out of his mind.

22And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils.

22Some teachers of the law came down from Jerusalem. They said, "Beelzebub is inside him. He drives out demons by the power of the ruler of demons."

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

23So Jesus called them over. He spoke to them in short stories that teach. He asked, "How can Satan drive out Satan?

24And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.

24If the people in a kingdom fight each other, that kingdom will fall apart.

25And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.

25If the people in a house fight each other, that house will fall apart.

26And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.

26If Satan fights against himself, he is split apart. He cannot last. He is finished.

27No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.

27Nobody can walk into a strong man's house and take his things. First he has to tie the strong man up. Then he can take whatever he wants.

Note"Spoil his goods" is old English for taking away the things someone owns.

28Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme:

28I tell you the truth. People can be forgiven for every sin they do. They can even be forgiven for bad words they say against God.

29But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:

29But if someone speaks against the Holy Spirit, he will never be forgiven. That sin stays with him forever."

Note"Holy Ghost" is the older way of saying "Holy Spirit." They mean the same thing.

30Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.

30Jesus said this because they had said, "An evil spirit is inside him."

31There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him, calling him.

31Then his mother and his brothers came. They stood outside and sent someone in to call him.

32And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee.

32A crowd was sitting around Jesus. They told him, "Look, your mother and your brothers are outside. They are asking for you."

33And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren?

33Jesus answered, "Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?"

34And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!

34He looked around at the people sitting in a circle near him. He said, "Look, here are my mother and my brothers!

35For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.

35Anyone who does what God wants is my brother, my sister, and my mother."