Mark 9:14-29

The Disciples’ Failure to Heal

9:14 When they came to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and experts in the law ¹  arguing with them. 9:15 When the whole crowd saw him, they were amazed and ran ²  at once and greeted him. 9:16 He asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?” 9:17 A member of the crowd said to him, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that makes him mute. 9:18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to cast it out, but ³  they were not able to do so.” ⁴  9:19 He answered them, ⁵  “You ⁶  unbelieving ⁷  generation! How much longer ⁸  must I be with you? How much longer must I endure ⁹  you? ¹⁰  Bring him to me.” 9:20 So they brought the boy ¹¹  to him. When the spirit saw him, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He ¹²  fell on the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. 9:21 Jesus ¹³  asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. 9:22 It has often thrown him into fire or water to destroy him. But if you are able to do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” 9:23 Then Jesus said to him, “‘If you are able?’ ¹⁴  All things are possible for the one who believes.” 9:24 Immediately the father of the boy cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”

9:25 Now when Jesus saw that a crowd was quickly gathering, he rebuked ¹⁵  the unclean spirit, ¹⁶  saying to it, “Mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” 9:26 It shrieked, threw him into terrible convulsions, and came out. The boy ¹⁷  looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He is dead!” 9:27 But Jesus gently took his hand and raised him to his feet, and he stood up.

9:28 Then, ¹⁸  after he went into the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we cast it out?” 9:29 He told them, “This kind can come out only by prayer.” ¹⁹ 

Luke 9:37-43

Healing a Boy with an Unclean Spirit

9:37 Now on ²⁰  the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a large crowd met him. 9:38 Then ²¹  a man from the crowd cried out, ²²  “Teacher, I beg you to look at ²³  my son – he is my only child! 9:39 A ²⁴  spirit seizes him, and he suddenly screams; ²⁵  it throws him into convulsions ²⁶  and causes him to foam at the mouth. It hardly ever leaves him alone, torturing ²⁷  him severely. 9:40 I ²⁸  begged ²⁹  your disciples to cast it out, but ³⁰  they could not do so.” ³¹  9:41 Jesus answered, ³²  “You ³³  unbelieving ³⁴  and perverse generation! How much longer ³⁵  must I be with you and endure ³⁶  you? ³⁷  Bring your son here.” 9:42 As ³⁸  the boy ³⁹  was approaching, the demon threw him to the ground ⁴⁰  and shook him with convulsions. ⁴¹  But Jesus rebuked ⁴²  the unclean ⁴³  spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. 9:43 Then ⁴⁴  they were all astonished at the mighty power ⁴⁵  of God.

Another Prediction of Jesus’ Suffering

But while the entire crowd ⁴⁶  was amazed at everything Jesus ⁴⁷  was doing, he said to his disciples,

[9:14]  ¹ tn Or “and scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.

[9:15]  ² tn Grk The participle προστρέχοντες (prostrecontes) has been translated as a finite verb to make the sequence of events clear in English.

[9:18]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[9:18]  ⁴ tn The words “to do so” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied for clarity and stylistic reasons.

[9:19]  ⁵ tn Grk “And answering, he said to them.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant, but the phrasing of the sentence was modified slightly to make it clearer in English.

[9:19]  ⁶ tn Grk “O.” The marker of direct address, ὦ (w), is functionally equivalent to a vocative and is represented in the translation by “you.”

[9:19]  ⁷ tn Or “faithless.”

[9:19]  ⁸ tn Grk “how long.”

[9:19]  ⁹ tn Or “put up with.” See Num 11:12; Isa 46:4.

[9:19]  ¹⁰ sn The pronouns you…you are plural, indicating that Jesus is speaking to a group rather than an individual.

[9:20]  ¹¹ tn Grk “him.”

[9:20]  ¹² tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[9:21]  ¹³ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:23]  ¹⁴ tc Most mss (A C³ Ψ 33 Ï) have τὸ εἰ δύνασαι πιστεῦσαι (to ei dunasai pisteusai, “if you are able to believe”), instead of τὸ εἰ δύνῃ (to ei dunh, “if you are able”; supported by א B C* L N* Δ Ë¹ 579 892 pc). Others have εἰ δύνῃ (or δυνάσαι) πιστεῦσαι (“if you are able to believe”; so D K Θ Ë¹³ 28 565 al), while still others have τοῦτο εἰ δύνῃ (touto ei dunh, “if you can [do] this”; so [Ì⁴⁵] W). The reading that best explains the rise of the others is τὸ εἰ δύνῃ. The neuter article indicates that the Lord is now quoting the boy’s father who, in v. 22, says εἴ τι δύνῃ (ei ti dunh, “if you are able to do anything”). The article is thus used anaphorically (see ExSyn 238). However, scribes could easily have overlooked this idiom and would consequently read τὸ εἰ δύνῃ as the protasis of a conditional clause of the Lord’s statement. As such, it would almost demand the infinitive πιστεῦσαι, producing the reading τὸ εἰ δύνασαι πιστεῦσαι (“if you are able to believe, all things are possible…”). But the article here seems to be meaningless, prompting other scribes to modify the text still further. Some dropped the nonsensical article, while others turned it into the demonstrative τοῦτο and dropped the infinitive. It is clear that scribes had difficulty with the original wording here, and made adjustments in various directions. What might not be so clear is the exact genealogy of the descent of all the readings. However, τὸ εἰ δύνῃ is both a hard saying, best explains the rise of the other readings, and is supported by the best witnesses. It thus rightly deserves to be considered authentic.

[9:25]  ¹⁵ tn Or “commanded” (often with the implication of a threat, L&N 33.331).

[9:25]  ¹⁶ sn Unclean spirit refers to an evil spirit.

[9:26]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the boy) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[9:28]  ¹⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[9:29]  ¹⁹ tc Most witnesses, even early and excellent ones (Ì^45vid א² A C D L W Θ Ψ Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat co), have “and fasting” (καὶ νηστείᾳ, kai nhsteia) after “prayer” here. But this seems to be a motivated reading, due to the early church’s emphasis on fasting (TCGNT 85; cf., e.g., 2 Clem. 16:4; Pol. Phil 7:2; Did. 1:3; 7:4). That the most important witnesses (א* B), as well as a few others (0274 2427 k), lack καὶ νηστείᾳ, when a good reason for the omission is difficult to find, argues strongly for the shorter reading.

[9:37]  ²⁰ tn Grk “Now it happened that on.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[9:38]  ²¹ tn Grk “And behold.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the somewhat unexpected appearance of the man. The Greek word ἰδού (idou) at the beginning of this statement has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[9:38]  ²² tn Grk “cried out, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[9:38]  ²³ tn This verb means “to have regard for”; see Luke 1:48.

[9:39]  ²⁴ tn Grk “and behold, a.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, καί (kai) has not been translated here; instead a new sentence was started in the translation. The Greek word ἰδού (idou) at the beginning of this statement has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[9:39]  ²⁵ tn The Greek here is slightly ambiguous; the subject of the verb “screams” could be either the son or the spirit.

[9:39]  ²⁶ sn The reaction is like an epileptic fit (see L&N 14.27). See the parallel in Matt 17:14-20.

[9:39]  ²⁷ tn Or “bruising,” or “crushing.” This verb appears to allude to the damage caused when it throws him to the ground. According to L&N 19.46 it is difficult to know from this verb precisely what the symptoms caused by the demon were, but it is clear they must have involved severe pain. The multiple details given in the account show how gruesome the condition of the boy was.

[9:40]  ²⁸ tn Grk “And I.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, καί (kai) has not been translated here; instead a new sentence was started in the translation.

[9:40]  ²⁹ sn Note the repetition of the verb from v. 38, an indication of the father’s desperation.

[9:40]  ³⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[9:40]  ³¹ tn The words “do so” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied for clarity and stylistic reasons.

[9:41]  ³² tn Grk “And answering, Jesus said.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “Jesus answered.” Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[9:41]  ³³ tn Grk “O.” The marker of direct address, ὦ (w), is functionally equivalent to a vocative and is represented in the translation by “you.”

[9:41]  ³⁴ tn Or “faithless.”

[9:41]  ³⁵ tn Grk “how long.”

[9:41]  ³⁶ tn Or “and put up with.” See Num 11:12; Isa 46:4.

[9:41]  ³⁷ sn The pronouns you…you are plural, indicating that Jesus is speaking to a group rather than an individual.

[9:42]  ³⁸ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[9:42]  ³⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the boy) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:42]  ⁴⁰ sn At this point the boy was thrown down in another convulsion by the demon. See L&N 23.168.

[9:42]  ⁴¹ tn See L&N 23.167-68, where the second verb συσπαράσσω (susparassw) is taken to mean the violent shaking associated with the convulsions, thus the translation here “and shook him with convulsions.”

[9:42]  ⁴² tn Or “commanded” (often with the implication of a threat, L&N 33.331).

[9:42]  ⁴³ sn This is a reference to an evil spirit. See Luke 4:33.

[9:43]  ⁴⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the response at the conclusion of the account.

[9:43]  ⁴⁵ sn The revelation of the mighty power of God was the manifestation of God’s power shown through Jesus. See Acts 10:38.

[9:43]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “all”; the referent (the crowd) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:43]  ⁴⁷ tc Most mss, especially the later ones (A C W Θ Ψ 0115 ˹³ 33 892 Ï al), actually supply ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς (Jo Ihsous, “Jesus”) here. Since the earliest and best witnesses, along with many others (Ì⁷⁵ א B D L Ξ Ë¹ 579 700 1241 2542 pc lat), lack the name, and since scribes were unlikely to intentionally omit it, the shorter reading is preferred as the original reading.