9:34a
But: There is a contrast here. The contrast is between the crowd’s reaction to Jesus’ miracle in 9:33b and the Pharisee’s reaction in 9:34a–b. The Berean Standard Bible shows this contrast with the conjunction But.
the Pharisees said: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as said can also be translated as “were saying.” For example:
the Pharisees were saying (New American Standard Bible)
The form of the verb indicates that the Pharisees probably said the following words on more than one occasion. In fact, in 12:24, they do say the same thing.
Pharisees: For help in translating this word, see the note in 9:11a.
9:34b
It is by the prince of demons that He drives out demons: The Pharisees falsely claimed that the prince of demons gave Jesus the power to drive out demons. But in truth, God had given Jesus that power.
In Greek, the phrase by the prince of demons is emphasized. If you have a natural way to emphasize this phrase, you may want to do so. For example:
The prince of demons is the one that gives him power to force demons out. (New Century Version)
Here is another way to translate this sentence:
The leader of the demons gives him the power to force out demons
prince of demons: In this context, the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as prince refers generally to a leader or chief. Here it refers specifically to Satan, the leader of all demons. Here it does not refer to the “son of a king.”
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
the chief of the demons (Good News Translation)
-or-
the ruler of demons (NET Bible)
-or-
Satan, the leader of demons
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