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Mark 9:33–40

Who Is the Greatest?

33 And zthey came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house ahe asked them, What were you discussing on the way?” 34 But they kept silent, for on the way bthey had argued with one another about who was the greatest. 35 And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, cIf anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” 36 And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and dtaking him in his arms, he said to them, 37 eWhoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and ewhoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”

Anyone Not Against Us Is for Us

38 fJohn said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone gcasting out demons in your name,6 and hwe tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” 39 But Jesus said, Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. 40 iFor the one who is not against us is for us.

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Mark 9:33–40 — The New International Version (NIV)

33 They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, What were you arguing about on the road?” 34 But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.

35 Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

36 He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, 37 Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”

38 “Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.”

39 Do not stop him,” Jesus said. For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, 40 for whoever is not against us is for us.

Mark 9:33–40 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

33 And he came to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way? 34 But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest. 35 And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all. 36 And he took a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when he had taken him in his arms, he said unto them, 37 Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me.

38 And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us. 39 But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me. 40 For he that is not against us is on our part.

Mark 9:33–40 — New Living Translation (NLT)

33 After they arrived at Capernaum and settled in a house, Jesus asked his disciples, What were you discussing out on the road?” 34 But they didn’t answer, because they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest. 35 He sat down, called the twelve disciples over to him, and said, Whoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else.”

36 Then he put a little child among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, 37 Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not only me but also my Father who sent me.”

38 John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone using your name to cast out demons, but we told him to stop because he wasn’t in our group.”

39 Don’t stop him!” Jesus said. No one who performs a miracle in my name will soon be able to speak evil of me. 40 Anyone who is not against us is for us.

Mark 9:33–40 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

33 Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?” 34 But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest. 35 And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” 36 Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, 37 Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me.”

38 Now John answered Him, saying, “Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us.”

39 But Jesus said, Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me. 40 For he who is not against us is on our side.

Mark 9:33–40 — New Century Version (NCV)

33 Jesus and his followers went to Capernaum. When they went into a house there, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” 34 But the followers did not answer, because their argument on the road was about which one of them was the greatest.

35 Jesus sat down and called the twelve apostles to him. He said, “Whoever wants to be the most important must be last of all and servant of all.”

36 Then Jesus took a small child and had him stand among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said, 37 “Whoever accepts a child like this in my name accepts me. And whoever accepts me accepts the One who sent me.”

38 Then John said, “Teacher, we saw someone using your name to force demons out of a person. We told him to stop, because he does not belong to our group.”

39 But Jesus said, “Don’t stop him, because anyone who uses my name to do powerful things will not easily say evil things about me. 40 Whoever is not against us is with us.

Mark 9:33–40 — American Standard Version (ASV)

33 And they came to Capernaum: and when he was in the house he asked them, What were ye reasoning on the way? 34 But they held their peace: for they had disputed one with another on the way, who was the greatest. 35 And he sat down, and called the twelve; and he saith unto them, If any man would be first, he shall be last of all, and servant of all. 36 And he took a little child, and set him in the midst of them: and taking him in his arms, he said unto them, 37 Whosoever shall receive one of such little children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever receiveth me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me.

38 John said unto him, Teacher, we saw one casting out demons in thy name; and we forbade him, because he followed not us. 39 But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man who shall do a mighty work in my name, and be able quickly to speak evil of me. 40 For he that is not against us is for us.

Mark 9:33–40 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

33 And he came to Capernaum, and being in the house, he asked them, Of what were ye reasoning by the way? 34 And they remained silent, for by the way they had been reasoning with one another who was greatest. 35 And sitting down he called the twelve; and he says to them, If any one would be first, he shall be last of all, and minister of all. 36 And taking a little child he set it in their midst, and having taken it in his arms he said to them, 37 Whosoever shall receive one of such little children in my name, receives me; and whosoever shall receive me, does not receive me, but him who sent me. 38 And John answered him saying, Teacher, we saw some one casting out demons in thy name, who does not follow us, and we forbad him, because he does not follow us. 39 But Jesus said, Forbid him not; for there is no one who shall do a miracle in my name, and be able soon after to speak ill of me; 40 for he who is not against us is for us.

Mark 9:33–40 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

33 Then they came to Capernaum. While Jesus was at home, he asked the disciples, “What were you arguing about on the road?” 34 They were silent. On the road they had argued about who was the greatest. 

35 He sat down and called the twelve apostles. He told them, “Whoever wants to be the most important person must take the last place and be a servant to everyone else.” 36 Then he took a little child and had him stand among them. He put his arms around the child and said to them, 37 “Whoever welcomes a child like this in my name welcomes me. Whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.” 

38 John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone forcing demons out of a person by using the power and authority of your name. We tried to stop him because he was not one of us.” 

39 Jesus said, “Don’t stop him! No one who works a miracle in my name can turn around and speak evil of me. 40 Whoever isn’t against us is for us.

Mark 9:33–40 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

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

38 John said to Him, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in Your name, and we tried to stop him because he wasn’t following us.”

39 Don’t stop him,” said Jesus, because there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name who can soon afterward speak evil of Me. 40 For whoever is not against us is for us.

Mark 9:33–40 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

33 Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, What were you arguing about on the way?” 34 But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest. 35 He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” 36 Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, 37 Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”

38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” 39 But Jesus said, Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. 40 Whoever is not against us is for us.

Mark 9:33–40 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

33 And they came to Capernaum. And after he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” 34 But they were silent, because they had argued with one another on the way about who was greatest. 35 And he sat down and called the twelve and said to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he will be last of all and servant of all.” 36 And he took a young child and had him stand among them. And taking him in his arms, he said to them, 37 “Whoever welcomes one of the young children such as these in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me, but the one who sent me.”

38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone expelling demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he was not following us.” 39 But Jesus said, “Do not prevent him, because there is no one who does a miracle in my name and will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. 40 For whoever is not against us is for us.

Mark 9:33–40 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

33 Jesus and his disciples came to a house in Capernaum. There he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” 34 But they kept quiet. On the way, they had argued about which one of them was the most important person.

35 Jesus sat down and called for the Twelve to come to him. Then he said, “If you want to be first, you must be the very last. You must be the servant of everyone.”

36 Jesus took a little child and had the child stand among them. Then he took the child in his arms. He said to them, 37 “Anyone who welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me. And anyone who welcomes me doesn’t welcome only me but also the One who sent me.”

38 “Teacher,” said John, “we saw a man driving out demons in your name. We told him to stop, because he was not one of us.”

39 “Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me. 40 Anyone who is not against us is for us.

Mark 9:33–40 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

33 They came to Capernaum; and when He was in the house, He began to question them, What were you discussing on the way?”

34 But they kept silent, for on the way they had discussed with one another which of them was the greatest.

35 Sitting down, He called the twelve and said to them, If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.”

36 Taking a child, He set him before them, and taking him in His arms, He said to them,

37 Whoever receives one child like this in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me does not receive Me, but Him who sent Me.”

38 John said to Him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we tried to prevent him because he was not following us.”

39 But Jesus said, Do not hinder him, for there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name, and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me.

40 For he who is not against us is for us.


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