Mark 9:38-50

Easy-to-Read Version

Whoever Is Not Against Us Is For Us^(A)

³⁸ Then John said, “Teacher, we saw a man using your name to force demons out of someone. He is not one of us. So we told him to stop, because he does not belong to our group.”

³⁹ Jesus said, “Don’t stop him. Whoever uses my name to do powerful things will not soon say bad things about me. ⁴⁰ Whoever is not against us is with us. ⁴¹ I can assure you that anyone who helps you by giving you a drink of water because you belong to the Messiah will definitely get a reward.

Jesus Warns About Causes of Sin^(B)

⁴² “If one of these little children believes in me, and someone causes that child to sin, it will be very bad for that person. It would be better for them to have a millstone tied around their neck and be drowned in the sea. ⁴³ If your hand makes you sin, cut it off. It is better for you to lose part of your body and have eternal life than to have two hands and go to hell. There the fire never stops. ^{44 [a] 45} If your foot makes you sin, cut it off. It is better for you to lose part of your body and have eternal life than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. ^{46 [b] 47} If your eye makes you sin, take it out. It is better for you to have only one eye and enter God’s kingdom than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell. ⁴⁸ The worms that eat the people in hell never die. The fire there is never stopped.

⁴⁹ “Everyone will be salted with fire.^[c]

⁵⁰ “Salt is good. But if it loses its salty taste, you can’t make it good again. So, don’t lose that good quality of salt you have. And live in peace with each other.”