Markus 9:14-21

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.

[9:14]  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]  sn The rebuke for lack of faith has OT roots: Num 14:27; Deut 32:5, 30; Isa 59:8.

[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.