22 The scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by (a)Beelzebul (Satan),” and “He is driving out the demons by the [power of the] ruler of the demons.”(A) 23 So He called them to Himself and spoke to them in (b)parables, “How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided [split into factions and rebelling] against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. 27 But no one can go into a strong man’s house and steal his property unless he first overpowers and ties up the strong man, and then he will ransack and rob his house.(B)

Footnotes:

a. Mark 3:22: I.e. an idol worshiped in the Philistine city of Ekron: Baal Zebul, lord of the high places or Baal Zebub, lord of the flies.
b. Mark 3:23: Parables ordinarily were used for clarification, but Jesus often used them to hide sacred truths from unbelievers (see 4:11, 12).