Luke 8:19

Now Jesus’ ¹  mother and his brothers ²  came to him, but ³  they could not get near him because of the crowd.

Mt 12:46-50; Mr 3:21,31-35

¹ tn Grk “his”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² 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.

³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.