Matthew 17:14-21

Expanded Bible

Jesus Heals a Sick Boy^(A)

¹⁴ When Jesus and his ·followers [disciples] came back to the crowd, a man came to Jesus and ·bowed [knelt] before him. ¹⁵ The man said, “Lord, have mercy on my son. He ·has epilepsy [has seizures; or is demented/a lunatic; ^Cthe word for epilepsy could also mean “moonstruck” or demented; Mark 9:17 says the boy was demon possessed] and is suffering ·very much [terribly], because he often falls into the fire or into the water. ¹⁶ I brought him to your ·followers [disciples], but they could not ·cure [heal] him.”

¹⁷ Jesus answered, “·You people have no faith, and your lives are all wrong [^LO faithless/unbelieving and perverse/corrupt generation]. How long must I ·put up [stay; ^Lbe] with you? How long must I ·continue to be patient [put up] with you? Bring the boy here to me.” ¹⁸ Jesus ·commanded [reprimanded; rebuked] the demon and it came out of him, and the boy was healed from that ·time on [moment; ^Lhour].

¹⁹ The ·followers [disciples] came to Jesus when he was alone and asked, “Why couldn’t we ·force [drive; cast] the demon out?”

²⁰ Jesus answered, “Because ·your faith is too small [you have so little faith]. I tell you the truth, if your faith is ·as big as [as small as; the size of; ^Las; like] a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. ·All things will be possible [^LNothing would be impossible] for you. |²¹ That kind of spirit comes out only if you use prayer and fasting.|”^[a]