Mark 3:21-22

3:21 When his family ¹  heard this they went out to restrain him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.” 3:22 The experts in the law ²  who came down from Jerusalem ³  said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” ⁴  and, “By the ruler ⁵  of demons he casts out demons.”

[3:21]  ¹ tc Western witnesses D W it, instead of reading οἱ παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ (Joi par’ aujtou, here translated “family”), have περὶ αὐτοῦ οἱ γραμματεῖς καὶ οἱ λοιποί (peri autou Joi grammatei" kai Joi loipoi, “[when] the scribes and others [heard] about him”). But this reading is obviously motivated, for it removes the embarrassing statement about Jesus’ family’s opinion of him as “out of his mind” and transfers this view to the Lord’s opponents. The fact that virtually all other witnesses have οἱ παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ here, coupled with the strong internal evidence for the shorter reading, shows this Western reading to be secondary.

[3:22]  ² tn Or “The scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.

[3:22]  ³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[3:22]  ⁴ tn Grk “He has Beelzebul.”

[3:22]  ⁵ tn Or “prince.”