Mark 3:31

Jesus’ True Family

3:31 Then Jesus’ mother and his brothers came. Standing outside, they sent word to him, to summon him.


tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

tn Grk “his”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

sn The issue of whether Jesus had brothers (siblings) has had a long history in the church. Epiphanius, in the 4th century, argued that Mary was a perpetual virgin and had no offspring other than Jesus. Others argued that these brothers were really cousins. Nothing in the text suggests any of this. See also John 7:3.

tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.