The Meaning of Mark 3:27 Explained

Mark 3:27

KJV: No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.

YLT: No one is able the vessels of the strong man -- having entered into his house -- to spoil, if first he may not bind the strong man, and then his house he will spoil.

Darby: But no one can, having entered into his house, plunder the goods of the strong man unless he first bind the strong man, and then he will plunder his house.

ASV: But no one can enter into the house of the strong man , and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man ; and then he will spoil his house.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

No man  can  enter  into  a strong man's  house,  and spoil  his  goods,  except  he will  first  bind  the strong man;  and  then  he will spoil  his  house. 

What does Mark 3:27 Mean?

Context Summary

Mark 3:20-35 - Brother To All Who Will
The Pharisees circulated this infamous charge-not because they believed it, but to satisfy the questions that were being asked on all sides. What they affirmed they knew to be untrue; but for selfish reasons they would not confess what they really thought. Such denial of truth is a deadly and unpardonable sin, because it injures the sensitiveness of conscience and produces moral death.
Family ties, Mark 3:31-35. The family of Jesus needed to be taught, though with the utmost delicacy, that they must not attempt to control His public ministry. All who love God and do His will are welcomed into the divine family circle and become blood relations of the Son of God.
The sower, Mark 4:1-9. Note the perils of the hearer, that you may guard against the waste of precious seed. There is a grave peril in the effect of light, fanciful, wandering thoughts. There is great peril also in a mere emotional response-the "straightway springing up" which has no root, because the heart is hard. There is danger lest the cares of the poor, the riches of the wealthy, and the too eager pursuit of things by other classes may drain away the strength of the soul, so that the Word of God shall be a slender stalk, without an ear or fruit. It is not enough to hear the Word, we must accept it and bear fruit; otherwise the plowing, sowing, and all the operations of nature are in vain. Live up to what you know. Obedience is the key to understanding. [source]

Chapter Summary: Mark 3

1  Jesus heals the withered hand,
10  and many other infirmities;
11  rebukes the unclean spirit;
13  chooses his twelve apostles;
22  convinces the blasphemy of casting out demons by Beelzebub;
31  and shows who are his brother, sister, and mother

Greek Commentary for Mark 3:27

Spoil [διαρπασαι]
Plunder, compound verb, thoroughly ransack. Picture of Satan plundering the demons, the very tools (σκευη — skeuē) by which he carried on his business. A reductio ad absurdum. Jesus is the conqueror of Satan, not in league with him. [source]
Spoil [διαρπάσαι]
Mark uses the stronger and more vivid compound verb, where Matthew employs the simple ἁρπάσαι . The verb means, primarily, to tear in pieces; to carry away, as the wind; to efface, as footstePsalms So, generally, to seize as plunder, snatching right and left. [source]
His goods [τὰ σκεύη]
Lit., his vessels. So Wyc. Compare Mark 11:16; Acts 9:15; Acts 10:11; 2 Timothy 2:20. The special object of the robber may be precious vessels of gold or silver; but the word is probably used in its general sense of household gear. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Mark 3:27

Mark 11:16 Vessel [σκεῦος]
See on Matthew 12:29; and Mark 3:27. [source]
Luke 11:21 His own court [την εαυτου αυλην]
His own homestead. Mark 3:27; Matthew 12:29 has “house” Αυλη — Aulē is used in the N.T. in various senses (the court in front of the house, the court around which the house is built, then the house as a whole).His goods (τα υπαρχοντα αυτου — ta huparchonta autou). “His belongings.” Neuter plural present active participle of υπαρχω — huparchō used as substantive with genitive. [source]
2 Timothy 2:20 Vessels [σκεύη]
See on Matthew 12:29; see on Mark 3:27; see on Acts 9:15; see on Acts 27:17; see on 1 Peter 3:7. [source]
2 Timothy 1:5 First [πρῶτον]
With reference to Timothy, and with a comparative sense, as Matthew 5:24; Matthew 7:5; Mark 3:27; 1 Thessalonians 4:16, etc. This is shown by the last clause of the verse. The writer merely means that faith had already dwelt in Timothy's grandmother and mother before it did in him. How much farther back his believing ancestry went he does not say. Comp. Acts 16:1. [source]
Revelation 18:12 Vessel [σκεῦος]
See on 1 Peter 3:7, and see on Acts 9:15. Also see on goods, Matthew 12:29; see on Mark 3:27; and see on strake sail, Acts 27:17. [source]

What do the individual words in Mark 3:27 mean?

But not is able no one into the house of the strong man having entered the goods of him to plunder if not first the strong man he binds And then he will plunder
ἀλλ’ οὐ δύναται οὐδεὶς εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν τοῦ ἰσχυροῦ εἰσελθὼν τὰ σκεύη αὐτοῦ διαρπάσαι ἐὰν μὴ πρῶτον τὸν ἰσχυρὸν δήσῃ καὶ τότε διαρπάσει

δύναται  is  able 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Middle or Passive, 3rd Person Singular
Root: δύναμαι  
Sense: to be able, have power whether by virtue of one’s own ability and resources, or of a state of mind, or through favourable circumstances, or by permission of law or custom.
οὐδεὶς  no  one 
Parse: Adjective, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: οὐδείς 
Sense: no one, nothing.
εἰς  into 
Parse: Preposition
Root: εἰς  
Sense: into, unto, to, towards, for, among.
οἰκίαν  house 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: οἰκία  
Sense: a house.
τοῦ  of  the 
Parse: Article, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
ἰσχυροῦ  strong  man 
Parse: Adjective, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: ἰσχυρός  
Sense: strong, mighty.
εἰσελθὼν  having  entered 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: εἰσέρχομαι  
Sense: to go out or come in: to enter.
σκεύη  goods 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Neuter Plural
Root: σκεῦος  
Sense: a vessel.
αὐτοῦ  of  him 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
διαρπάσαι  to  plunder 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Infinitive Active
Root: διαρπάζω  
Sense: to plunder.
πρῶτον  first 
Parse: Adverb, Superlative
Root: πρῶτον 
Sense: first in time or place.
ἰσχυρὸν  strong  man 
Parse: Adjective, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: ἰσχυρός  
Sense: strong, mighty.
δήσῃ  he  binds 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Subjunctive Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: δέω  
Sense: to bind tie, fasten.
διαρπάσει  he  will  plunder 
Parse: Verb, Future Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: διαρπάζω  
Sense: to plunder.