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Mark 3:23

How can Satan cast out Satan?

Writers from Jerusalem say Jesus castes out demons by the power of Beelzebub.

Spoken to:: challengers
KJV issues:: 2

KJV

Mark 3:23 How can Satan cast out Satan?

NIV

Mark 3:23 How can Satan drive out Satan?

What His Listeners Heard

By what means does adversity have the power to toss out adversity?

By what means does suffering have the power to toss out suffering?

Greek

Mark 3:23 Πῶς δύναται Σατανᾶς Σατανᾶν ἐκβάλλειν;

Greek Word Order

Πῶς δύναται Σατανᾶς Σατανᾶν ἐκβάλλειν;
By what means does it have the power, adversity, adversity to toss out ?

The adversary of our adversary is our friend.

Lost in Translation

Did Jesus apply the term "satan" to a person? More likely, he, as the Hebrew word is generally interpreted in the Jewish tradition, used the term to address the concept of adversity or an adversary. The Hebrew word is used in the Old Testament to describe both the enemies of Israel and their champions as viewed by their enemies. The concept of this verse is about the nature of an enemy.

The question asked by this verse is "In this verse and those that follow, we get a clearer idea. I translated the terms as "adversity" or "an adversary," though sometimes "suffering" also works well. See this recent article specifically on the concept of satanas.

Vocabulary (Greek word by word)

Πῶς (adv/conj) "How" is from pôs (pos) which means "in any way", "at all", "by any means," and "I suppose."

δύναται ( verb 3rd sg pres ind mp ) "Can" is from the verb, dunamai (dunamai) which means "to have power by virtue of your own capabilities", "to be able," and "to be strong enough."

Σατανᾶς (noun sg masc nom) "Satan" is from satan (satanus, satan), which means "adversary", "opponent," and
"accuser." It is a Hebrew word, appearing in Greek only in the New Testament. The traditional Jewish view does not portray "satan" as an evil angel (explanation here). A case can be made that our personalization of Satan is largely an artifact of translation.

Σατανᾶν noun sg masc acc) "Satan" is from satan (satanus, satan), which means "adversary", "opponent," and
"accuser." These are Hebrew origin words, appearing in Greek only in the New Testament. The traditional Jewish view does not portray "satan" as an evil angel (explanation here). A case can be made that our personalization of Satan is largely an artifact of incomplete translation.

ἐκβάλλειν; [33 verses](verb pres inf act) "Cast out" is ekballo and means "toss out," "through out of a place,"and "expose." Ek- means "out of," "from," and "away from." -Ballo is "to throw" or "to scatter."

KJV — word by word

How - "How" is the adverb that means "how", "by any means", and "I suppose".

can - (CW) The word translated as "can" means having the power or possibly a desire to accomplish something. Often, in English, "can" is a helper verb, indicating a possibility. In Greek, it indicates having an ability or power. --

Satan . -- "Satan" is from an Aramaic word meaning "adversary" or "opponent." Jesus uses it to refer both to external opposition and our own desire to make mistakes. See this article on the word and this article on this word and related terms. See this article on the word and this article on this word and related terms.

cast out -- (WF) "Cast out" is a verb that means "throw out." Depending on the context, it can mean "toss out," "turn out," or "take out." It is usually translated as "cast out" in the NT. This is not an active verb but an infinitive.

Satan? -- "Satan" is from an Aramaic word meaning "adversary" or "opponent." Jesus uses it to refer both to external opposition and our own desire to make mistakes. See this article on the word and this article on this word and related terms. See this article on the word and this article on this word and related terms.

NIV — word by word