Mar 9 | HCSB | STEP | Then He said to them , “ I assure you : There are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God come in power . ”

Mark 9

1 Then He said to them, “ ^{▼▼I assure you: This is a phrase used only by Jesus to testify to the certainty and importance of His words; in Mt, Mk and Lk it is literally Amen, I say to you, and in Jn it is literally Amen, amen, I say to you.}I assure you: ^b There are some standing here who will not taste death ^c until they see the kingdom of God come in power.” ^d

The Transfiguration

2 After ^e six days ^f Jesus took Peter, James, and John ^g and led them up on a high mountain ^h by themselves to be alone. He was transformed ^{▼▼Or transfigured
,} ^j in front of them, 3 and His clothes ^k became dazzling – extremely white ^l as no launderer on earth could whiten ^m them. 4 Elijah ⁿ appeared to them with Moses, ^o and they were talking with Jesus.

5 Then Peter said to Jesus, “ ^{▼▼Rabbi: The Hebrew word Rabbi means my great one; it is used of a recognized teacher of the Scriptures.}Rabbi, ^q it’s good ^r for us to be here! Let us make three ^{▼▼tabernacle: Or tent, or shelter, terms used for temporary housing}tabernacles: ^t one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah” – 6 because he did not know what he should say, ^u since they were terrified. ^v

7 A cloud ^w appeared, overshadowing ^x them, and a voice ^y came from the cloud: ^z

This is My beloved ^aa Son; ^ab
listen to Him! ^ac

8 Then suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus alone.

9 As ^ad they were coming down from the mountain, ^ae He ordered them to tell no one what they had seen ^af until the ^{▼▼Son of Man: The most frequent title Jesus used for Himself; Dn 7:13}Son of Man ^ah had risen ^ai from the dead. ^aj 10 They kept this word ^ak to themselves, discussing what “rising from the dead” meant.

11 Then they began to question Him, “Why do the ^{▼▼scribe(s): A professional group in Judaism that copied the law of Moses and interpreted it, especially in legal cases}scribes ^am say that Elijah must come first?” ^an

12 “Elijah does come first and restores ^ao everything,” ^ap He replied. “How then is it written ^aq about the Son of Man that He must suffer ^ar many things and be treated with contempt? ^as 13 But I tell you that Elijah really has come, and they did whatever they pleased to him, just as it is written ^at about him.”

The Power of Faith over a Demon

14 When ^au they came to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and scribes disputing ^av with them. 15 All of a sudden, when the whole crowd saw Him, they were amazed ^{▼▼Or surprised} and ran to greet Him. 16 Then He asked them, “What are you arguing with them about?”

17 Out of the crowd, one man answered Him, “Teacher, ^ax I brought my son to You. He has a spirit ^ay that makes him unable to speak. ^az 18 Wherever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I asked Your disciples to drive it out, but they couldn’t.”

19 He replied to them, “You unbelieving ^ba generation! How long will I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him to Me.” 20 So they brought him to Him. When the spirit saw Him, it immediately convulsed the boy. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. 21 “How long has this been happening to him?” Jesus asked his father.“From childhood,” he said. 22 “And many times it has thrown him into fire or water to destroy ^bb him. But if You can do anything, have compassion ^bc on us and help us.”

23 Then Jesus said to him, “‘If You can’? ^{▼▼Other mss add believe
,} ^{▼▼Jesus appears to quote the father’s words in v. 22 and then comment on them.} Everything is possible ^bf to the one who believes.” ^bg

24 Immediately the father of the boy cried out, “I do believe! Help my unbelief.”

25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly coming together, He rebuked ^bh the ^{▼▼unclean: When something is clean, it is holy or acceptable to God. When it is unclean, it is unholy (such as an unclean spirit). The term can be used in a ritual sense to apply to moral standards for living.}unclean ^bj spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf ^bk spirit, ^{▼▼A spirit that caused the boy to be deaf and unable to speak} I command you: come out of him and never enter him again!”

26 Then it came out, shrieking and convulsing ^bm him ^{▼▼Other mss omit him} violently. The boy became like a corpse, so that many said, “He’s dead.” 27 But Jesus, taking him by the hand, raised him, ^bo and he stood up.

28 After He went into a house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

29 And He told them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer ^bp [and fasting].” ^{▼▼Other mss omit bracketed text
,} ^br

The Second Prediction of His Death

30 Then ^bs they left that place and made their way through Galilee, but He did not want anyone to know it. ^bt 31 For He was teaching ^bu His disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man ^bv is being betrayed ^{▼▼Or handed over} into the hands of men. They will kill Him, and after He is killed, He will rise ^bx three days later.” ^by 32 But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him. ^bz

Who is the Greatest?

33 Then ^ca they came to Capernaum. ^cb When He was in the house, ^cc He asked them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” ^cd 34 But they were silent, ^ce because on the way they had been arguing with one another about who was the greatest. ^cf 35 Sitting down, He called the Twelve ^cg and said to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” ^ch 36 Then He took a child, ^ci had him stand among them, and taking him in His arms, He said to them, 37 “Whoever welcomes ^{▼▼Or Whoever receives} one little child such as this in My name ^ck welcomes Me. And whoever welcomes Me does not welcome Me, but Him who sent ^cl Me.” ^cm

In His Name

38 John ^cn said to Him, “Teacher, ^co we saw someone ^{▼▼Other mss add who didn’t go along with us} driving out demons ^cq in Your name, ^cr and we tried to stop him because he wasn’t following us.” ^cs

39 “Don’t stop him,” said Jesus, “because there is no one who will perform a miracle ^ct in My name who can soon afterward speak evil of Me. 40 For whoever is not against us is for us. ^cu 41 And whoever gives you a cup of water to drink ^cv because of My name, ^{▼▼Lit drink in the name} since you belong to the ^{▼▼Messiah: Or the Christ; the Greek word Christos means "the anointed one".}Messiah ^cy – I assure you: ^cz He will never lose his reward. ^da

Warnings from Jesus

42 “But whoever ^{▼▼cause the downfall of/ causes to sin: The Greek word skandalizo has a root meaning of "snare" or "trap," but has no real English counterpart.}causes the downfall of one of these little ones who believe in Me ^dc – it would be better for him if a heavy millstone ^{▼▼A millstone turned by a donkey
,} ^de were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. 43 And if your hand causes your downfall, cut it off. ^df It is better for you to enter life maimed ^dg than to have two hands and go to ^{▼▼hell/hellfire: Greek Gehenna; Aramaic for Valley of Hinnom on the south side of Jerusalem; it was formerly a place of human sacrifice and in NT times a place for the burning of garbage; the place of final judgment for those rejecting Christ.}hell – the unquenchable fire, ^di [ 44 where

Their worm does not die,

and the fire is not quenched.] ^{▼▼Other mss omit bracketed text} ^{dk
,} ^dl

45 And if your foot causes your downfall, ^dm cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame ^dn than to have two feet and be thrown into hell – [the unquenchable fire, ^do 46 where

Their worm does not die,

and the fire is not quenched.] ^{▼▼Other mss omit bracketed text} ^{dq
,} ^dr

47 And if your eye causes your downfall, gouge it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God ^ds with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown ^dt into hell, ^du 48 where

Their worm does not die,
and the fire is not quenched. ^dv

49 For everyone will be salted with fire. ^{▼▼Other mss add and every sacrifice will be salted with salt
,} ^{dx
,} ^dy 50 Salt is good, but if the salt should lose its flavor, how can you make it salty? ^dz Have salt ^ea among yourselves and be at peace ^eb with one another.”