The Power of Faith over a Demon

14 When they reached the crowd,(A) a man approached and knelt down before Him. 15 “Lord,” he said, “have mercy on my son, because he has seizures[a] and suffers severely. He often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 I brought him to Your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him.”(B)

17 Jesus replied, “You unbelieving and rebellious[b] generation! How long will I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.”(C) 18 Then Jesus rebuked the demon,[c] and it[d] came out of him,(D) and from that moment[e] the boy was healed.

19 Then the disciples approached Jesus privately and said, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

20 “Because of your little faith,” He[f] told them. “For I assure you: If you have faith the size of[g] a mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move.(E) Nothing will be impossible for you.(F) [21 However, this kind does not come out except by prayer and fasting.][h]

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 17:15 Lit he is moonstruck; thought to be a form of epilepsy
  2. Matthew 17:17 Or corrupt, or perverted, or twisted; Dt 32:5
  3. Matthew 17:18 Lit rebuked him or it
  4. Matthew 17:18 Lit the demon
  5. Matthew 17:18 Lit hour
  6. Matthew 17:20 Other mss read your unbelief,” Jesus
  7. Matthew 17:20 Lit faith like
  8. Matthew 17:21 Other mss omit bracketed text; Mk 9:29

Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon(A)

14 As they approached the crowd, a man came up to Jesus,[a] knelt down in front of him, 15 and said, “Sir,[b] have mercy on my son, because he is an epileptic and suffers terribly. Often he falls into fire and often into water. 16 I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him.”

17 Jesus replied, “You unbelieving and perverted generation! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him here to me!” 18 Then Jesus rebuked the demon and it came out of him, and the boy was healed that very hour.

19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

20 He told them, “Because of your lack of faith.[c] I tell all of you[d] with certainty, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you. 21 But this kind does not come out except by prayer and fasting.”[e]

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 17:14 Lit. him
  2. Matthew 17:15 Or Lord
  3. Matthew 17:20 Other mss. read your little faith
  4. Matthew 17:20 The Gk. pronoun you is pl.
  5. Matthew 17:21 Other mss. lack this verse