Mark 9
Worldwide English (New Testament)
9 Jesus said to them, `I tell you the truth. Some people are standing here who will not die before they see the kingdom of God come with power.'
2 Six days after this, Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him. He led them up a hill by themselves. Jesus was changed in front of them.
3 His clothes were white like light. No person on earth could make them so white.
4 Then they saw Elijah and Moses talking with Jesus.
5 Then Peter said to Jesus, `Master, this is a good place for us. We will make three places, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.'
6 Peter did not know what to say because they were very much afraid.
7 Then a cloud came over them. A voice in the cloud said, `This is my dear Son. Listen to him.'
8 They quickly looked around but they saw no one except Jesus there with them.
9 When they came down the hill, Jesus said to them, `Do not tell anyone what you saw. Do not tell it until after the Son of Man has been raised from death.'
10 So they kept these things to themselves, asking each other what he meant about rising from death.
11 Then they asked Jesus, `Why do the scribes [who know all about the holy writings] say that first Elijah must come?'
12 He said, `Elijah does come first. He will get everything ready. But why do the holy writings say that the Son of Man must have much trouble? They say, "He will have much trouble and the people will not respect him."
13 I tell you that Elijah has come. The people did to him just what they wanted to do. They did just as it is written about him.'
14 When they came to the disciples, they saw many people around them. Some scribes were talking with the disciples.
15 The people were all very much surprised when they saw Jesus. They ran to him and greeted him.
16 Jesus asked his disciples, `What are you talking about with them?'
17 One of the people said, `Teacher, I brought my son to you. A bad spirit is in him so he cannot talk.
18 Wherever it takes hold of him, it throws him around. It makes him foam at his mouth. It makes him make noises with his teeth. He is getting weak and thin. I asked your disciples to drive the bad spirit out, but they could not do it.'
19 Jesus said, `You people today do not believe. How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.'
20 So they brought the boy to him. As soon as the bad spirit saw him, he threw the boy around. The boy fell on the ground and rolled around. Foam was coming from his mouth.
21 Jesus asked the father, `How long has he had this spirit?' He answered, `Since he was a child.
22 Often it has thrown him in the fire and in the water. It has tried to kill him. If you can do anything for him, show us that you share our suffering by helping us.'
23 Jesus said to him, `You say, "If you can." Anything can be done for the person who believes.'
24 Right away the father of the child, with tears in his eyes, said loudly, `I do believe! Help me to believe more!'
25 Jesus saw many people come running together. He talked to the bad spirit: `You bad spirit who stops the boy from hearing and talking! I tell you, come out of him and do not go into him again!'
26 The bad spirit screamed and threw the boy around. Then it came out of him and left him like a dead person. Many of the people even said, `The boy is dead.'
27 But Jesus took his hand and helped him to get up. The boy stood up.
28 Jesus went into the house. His disciples were alone with him. They asked him, `Why could we not drive out the bad spirit?'
29 Jesus said to them, `This kind of bad spirit does not come out unless people talk to God and fast.'
30 Then they left that place and went through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know it.
31 He taught his disciples. He said to them, `The Son of Man will be given over to men. They will kill him. When he is killed, he will rise after three days.'
32 The disciples did not understand what he said and they were afraid to ask him.
33 They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked the disciples, `What were you talking about on the way coming?'
34 But they said nothing, because on the road they had been talking among themselves about who was the greatest person.
35 He sat down and called the twelve disciples to him. He said, `The way to be first is to put yourself last and be a servant to the others.'
36 Jesus took a child and had him stand in front of them. Then he took the child in his arms and said,
37 `If anyone takes in a child like this for my sake, he takes in me. If anyone takes in me, he takes in the One who sent me.'
38 John said to him, `Master, we saw a man driving bad spirits out of people. He was using your name, but he is not one of us. So we told him to stop because he is not one of us.'
39 Jesus said, `Do not stop him. Anyone who can do a great work in my name will not be quick to say wrong things about me.
40 He that is not against us is on our side.
41 `I tell you the truth. If anyone gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, he will not lose his reward'
42 `These little children believe in me. If anyone makes one of them do wrong, he will be punished. He will have worse trouble than if a big stone were tied to his neck and he were thrown into the deep sea.
43 If your hand makes you do wrong, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life with one hand than to have two hands and go into hell. Hell fire never dies.
44 In hell their worm will not die and the fire will not stop burning.
45 If your foot makes you do wrong, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life with one foot than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. Hell fire never dies.
46 In hell their worm will not die and the fire will not stop burning.
47 If your eye makes you do wrong, take it out. It is better for you to go into God's kingdom with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell.
48 In hell their worm will not die and the fire will not stop burning.
49 Everyone must be tested by fire. Every sacrifice must have salt on it.
50 Salt is good. But if the salt has lost its taste, how can it be made salty again? You must have salt in yourselves and live in peace with one another.'
Mark 9
Living Bible
9 Jesus went on to say to his disciples, “Some of you who are standing here right now will live to see the Kingdom of God arrive in great power!”
2 Six days later Jesus took Peter, James and John to the top of a mountain. No one else was there.
Suddenly his face began to shine with glory, 3 and his clothing became dazzling white, far more glorious than any earthly process could ever make it! 4 Then Elijah and Moses appeared and began talking with Jesus!
5 “Teacher, this is wonderful!” Peter exclaimed. “We will make three shelters here, one for each of you. . . . ”
6 He said this just to be talking, for he didn’t know what else to say and they were all terribly frightened.
7 But while he was still speaking these words, a cloud covered them, blotting out the sun, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”
8 Then suddenly they looked around and Moses and Elijah were gone, and only Jesus was with them.
9 As they descended the mountainside he told them never to mention what they had seen until after he had risen[a] from the dead. 10 So they kept it to themselves, but often talked about it, and wondered what he meant by “rising from the dead.”
11 Now they began asking him about something the Jewish religious leaders often spoke of, that Elijah must return before the Messiah could come.[b] 12-13 Jesus agreed that Elijah must come first and prepare the way—and that he had, in fact, already come! And that he had been terribly mistreated, just as the prophets had predicted. Then Jesus asked them what the prophets could have been talking about when they predicted that the Messiah[c] would suffer and be treated with utter contempt.
14 At the bottom of the mountain they found a great crowd surrounding the other nine disciples, as some Jewish leaders argued with them. 15 The crowd watched Jesus in awe as he came toward them, and then ran to greet him. 16 “What’s all the argument about?” he asked.
17 One of the men in the crowd spoke up and said, “Teacher, I brought my son for you to heal—he can’t talk because he is possessed by a demon. 18 And whenever the demon is in control of him it dashes him to the ground and makes him foam at the mouth and grind his teeth and become rigid.[d] So I begged your disciples to cast out the demon, but they couldn’t do it.”
19 Jesus said to his disciples,[e] “Oh, what tiny faith you have; how much longer must I be with you until you believe? How much longer must I be patient with you? Bring the boy to me.”
20 So they brought the boy, but when he saw Jesus, the demon convulsed the child horribly, and he fell to the ground writhing and foaming at the mouth.
21 “How long has he been this way?” Jesus asked the father.
And he replied, “Since he was very small, 22 and the demon often makes him fall into the fire or into water to kill him. Oh, have mercy on us and do something if you can.”
23 “If I can?” Jesus asked.
24 The father instantly replied, “I do have faith; oh, help me to have more!”
25 When Jesus saw the crowd was growing, he rebuked the demon.
“O demon of deafness and dumbness,” he said, “I command you to come out of this child and enter him no more!”
26 Then the demon screamed terribly and convulsed the boy again and left him; and the boy lay there limp and motionless, to all appearance dead. A murmur ran through the crowd—“He is dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and helped him to his feet and he stood up and was all right! 28 Afterwards, when Jesus was alone in the house with his disciples, they asked him, “Why couldn’t we cast that demon out?”
29 Jesus replied, “Cases like this require prayer.”[f]
30-31 Leaving that region they traveled through Galilee where he tried to avoid all publicity in order to spend more time with his disciples, teaching them. He would say to them, “I, the Messiah, am going to be betrayed and killed and three days later I will return to life again.”
32 But they didn’t understand and were afraid to ask him what he meant.
33 And so they arrived at Capernaum. When they were settled in the house where they were to stay, he asked them, “What were you discussing out on the road?”
34 But they were ashamed to answer, for they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest!
35 He sat down and called them around him and said, “Anyone wanting to be the greatest must be the least—the servant of all!”
36 Then he placed a little child among them; and taking the child in his arms he said to them, 37 “Anyone who welcomes a little child like this in my name is welcoming me, and anyone who welcomes me is welcoming my Father who sent me!”
38 One of his disciples, John, told him one day, “Teacher, we saw a man using your name to cast out demons; but we told him not to, for he isn’t one of our group.”
39 “Don’t forbid him!” Jesus said. “For no one doing miracles in my name will quickly turn against me.[g] 40 Anyone who isn’t against us is for us. 41 If anyone so much as gives you a cup of water because you are Christ’s—I say this solemnly—he won’t lose his reward. 42 But if someone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to lose faith—it would be better for that man if a huge millstone were tied around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.
43-44 [h]“If your hand does wrong, cut it off. Better live forever with one hand than be thrown into the unquenchable fires of hell with two! 45-46 If your foot carries you toward evil, cut it off! Better be lame and live forever than have two feet that carry you to hell.
47 “And if your eye is sinful, gouge it out. Better enter the Kingdom of God half blind than have two eyes and see the fires of hell, 48 where the worm never dies, and the fire never goes out— 49 where all are salted with fire.[i]
50 “Good salt is worthless if it loses its saltiness; it can’t season anything. So don’t lose your flavor! Live in peace with each other.”
Footnotes
- Mark 9:9 after he had risen, literally, “after the Son of Man had risen.”
- Mark 9:11 before the Messiah could come, implied.
- Mark 9:12 the Messiah, literally, “the Son of Man.”
- Mark 9:18 become rigid, or “is growing weaker day by day.”
- Mark 9:19 to his disciples, implied. Oh, what tiny faith you have, literally, “O unbelieving generation.”
- Mark 9:29 Cases like this require prayer. “And fasting” is added in some manuscripts, but not the most ancient.
- Mark 9:39 will quickly turn against me, literally, “will be able to speak evil of me.”
- Mark 9:43 Verses 44, 46 (which are identical with v. 48) are omitted in some of the ancient manuscripts.
- Mark 9:49 where all are salted with fire, literally, “for everyone shall be salted with fire.”
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