Mark 9:30-37

Second Prediction of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection

9:30 They went out from there and passed through Galilee. But ¹  Jesus ²  did not want anyone to know, 9:31 for he was teaching his disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man will be betrayed into the hands of men. ³  They ⁴  will kill him, ⁵  and after three days he will rise.” ⁶  9:32 But they did not understand this statement and were afraid to ask him.

Questions About the Greatest

9:33 Then ⁷  they came to Capernaum. ⁸  After Jesus ⁹  was inside the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” 9:34 But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. 9:35 After he sat down, he called the twelve and said to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” 9:36 He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, 9:37 “Whoever welcomes ¹⁰  one of these little children ¹¹  in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”

[9:30]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[9:30]  ² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:31]  ³ tn The plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) is considered by some to be used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women (cf. NRSV, “into human hands”; CEV, “to people”). However, because this can be taken as a specific reference to the group responsible for Jesus’ arrest, where it is unlikely women were present (cf. Matt 26:47-56; Mark 14:43-52; Luke 22:47-53; John 18:2-12), the word “men” has been retained in the translation. There may also be a slight wordplay with “the Son of Man” earlier in the verse.

[9:31]  ⁴ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[9:31]  ⁵ tn Grk “They will kill him, and being killed, after…” The redundancy in the statement has been removed in the translation.

[9:31]  ⁶ sn They will kill him and after three days he will rise. See the note at the end of Mark 8:30 regarding the passion predictions.

[9:33]  ⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[9:33]  ⁸ map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 C3; Map3 B2.

[9:33]  ⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:37]  ¹⁰ tn This verb, δέχομαι (decomai), is a term of hospitality (L&N 34.53).

[9:37]  ¹¹ sn Children were very insignificant in ancient culture, so this child would be the perfect object lesson to counter the disciples’ selfish ambitions.