12:27a
And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul: The Pharisees were saying that Jesus was driving out demons by the power of Beelzebul/Satan. That was not true. Jesus did not cast out demons by the power of Satan. However, Jesus said this clause as if it were true for the sake of his argument. It is hypothetical.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
• Indicate in the text that this clause is hypothetical. For example:
If ⌊it were true that⌋ I expel demons ⌊from people⌋ by Satan’s power
-or-
You say that I use the power of Beelzebul to force out demons. If that is true, (New Century Version)
• Explain it in a footnote. Here is a sample footnote:
Jesus did not drive out demons by the power of Satan. Jesus asked this “if” question to show that the Pharisees’ thinking was wrong.
12:27b
Verse 12:27b is based on the common knowledge that some of the followers of the Pharisees also drove out demons.
by whom do your sons drive them out?: This is a rhetorical question. It expresses a rebuke. The Pharisees believed that their own followers cast out demons by the power of God. When they said that Jesus cast out demons by the power of Satan, they were actually condemning their own followers. So Jesus implied that the Pharisees could not claim that he cast out demons by the power of Satan. They were wrong to make such a statement, and he rebuked them for it.
Here are some other ways to translate this rebuke:
• As a rhetorical question. For example:
your people drive them out with whose power?
-or-
who gives your people the power to cast them out? ⌊Is it Satan?⌋
• As a statement. For example:
then your people must do likewise!
Translate this rebuke in a way that is natural in your language.
by whom: This phrase asks “who gave the authority/power to do (something).”
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
in whose name
-or-
by/using whose power/authority
-or-
who gives your followers the power
your sons: In this context, the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as sons is a Jewish idiom that means “followers.” Not all followers of the Pharisees were driving out demons. Probably only a few had the power to do this special work.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
your followers (Good News Translation)
-or-
your people (New Century Version)
12:27c
So then: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as So then introduces the conclusion to Jesus’ statements in 12:25–27b.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
Therefore (English Standard Version)
-or-
so (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
For that reason
they will be your judges: The pronoun they refers to the followers of the Pharisees. The word judges refers to “people who show/say that others are wrong.” When the followers of the Pharisees cast out demons, it showed that God was at work, not Satan. Jesus did the same things. So their actions showed that what the Pharisees said about Jesus was wrong.
Here, this clause does not refer to the final judgment. It does not refer to a court that decides the guilt or innocence of a person. It does not mean that the followers of the Pharisees will sit in judgment of the Pharisees. It means that their actions show that what the Pharisees said about Jesus was not true.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
What your own followers do proves that you are wrong (Good News Translation)
-or-
their work shows that what you said ⌊about me⌋ is wrong
-or-
they will condemn you for what you have said (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
they will say that what you said is not the truth
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