Lukas 11:15-16

11:15 But some of them said, “By the power of Beelzebul, ¹  the ruler ²  of demons, he casts out demons.” 11:16 Others, to test ³  him, ⁴  began asking for ⁵  a sign ⁶  from heaven.

[11:15]  ¹ tn Grk “By Beelzebul.”

[11:15]  sn Beelzebul is another name for Satan. So some people recognized Jesus’ work as supernatural, but called it diabolical.

[11:15]  ² tn Or “prince.”

[11:16]  ³ tn Grk “testing”; the participle is taken as indicating the purpose of the demand.

[11:16]  ⁴ tn The pronoun “him” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[11:16]  ⁵ tn Grk “seeking from him.” The imperfect ἐζήτουν (ezhtoun) is taken ingressively. It is also possible to regard it as iterative (“kept on asking”).

[11:16]  ⁶ sn What exactly this sign would have been, given what Jesus was already doing, is not clear. But here is where the fence-sitters reside, refusing to commit to him.