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

A Demon-possessed Boy Healed

14 And when they[a] came to the crowd, a man approached him, kneeling down before him 15 and saying, “Lord, have mercy on my son, because he has seizures and suffers severely, for often he falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 And I brought him to your disciples, and they were not able to heal him.” 17 And Jesus answered and[b] said, “O unbelieving and perverse generation! How long[c] will I be with you? How long[d] must I put up with you? Bring him here to me!” 18 And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him and the boy was healed from that hour.

19 Then the disciples approached Jesus privately and[e] said, Why[f] were we not able to expel it?” 20 And he said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly I say to you, if you have faith like a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”[g]

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 17:14 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“came”)
  2. Matthew 17:17 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“answered”) has been translated as a finite verb
  3. Matthew 17:17 Literally “until when”
  4. Matthew 17:17 Literally “until when”
  5. Matthew 17:19 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“approached”) has been translated as a finite verb
  6. Matthew 17:19 Literally “for what”
  7. Matthew 17:20 Most later Greek manuscripts add v. 21, “But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”