Mark 9–10

9Then He said to them, “^•I assure you: ^fThere are some standing here who will not taste death ^guntil they see the kingdom of God come in power.” ^h

The Transfiguration

²After ⁱsix days ^jJesus took Peter, James, and John ^kand led them up on a high mountain ^lby themselves to be alone. He was transformed ^mnin front of them, ³and His clothes ^obecame dazzling—extremely white ^pas no launderer on earth could whiten ^qthem. ⁴Elijah ^rappeared to them with Moses, ^sand they were talking with Jesus.

⁵Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, ^tit’s good ^ufor us to be here! Let us make three tabernacles: ^vone for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”— ⁶because he did not know what he should say, ^wsince they were terrified. ^x

⁷A cloud ^yappeared, overshadowing ^zthem, and a voice ^acame from the cloud: ^b

This is My beloved ^cSon; ^d

listen to Him! ^e

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

⁹As ^fthey were coming down from the mountain, ^gHe ordered them to tell no one what they had seen ^huntil the Son of Man ⁱhad risen ^jfrom the dead. ^k10They kept this word ^lto themselves, discussing what “rising from the dead” meant.

¹¹Then they began to question Him, “Why do the scribes ^msay that Elijah must come first?” ⁿ

¹²“Elijah does come first and restores ^oeverything,” ^pHe replied. “How then is it written ^qabout the Son of Man that He must suffer ^rmany things and be treated with contempt? ^s13But I tell you that Elijah really has come, and they did whatever they pleased to him, just as it is written ^tabout him.”

The Power of Faith over a Demon

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

¹⁷Out of the crowd, one man answered Him, “Teacher, ^xI brought my son to You. He has a spirit ^ythat makes him unable to speak. ^z18Wherever 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.”

¹⁹He replied to them, “You unbelieving ^ageneration! How long will I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him to Me.” ²⁰So 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 ^bhim. But if You can do anything, have compassion ^con us and help us.”

²³Then Jesus said to him, “ ‘If You can’? ^deEverything is possible ^fto the one who believes.” ^g

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

²⁵When Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly coming together, He rebuked ^hthe unclean ⁱspirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf ^jspirit, ^kI command you: come out of him and never enter him again!”

²⁶Then it came out, shrieking and convulsing ^lhim ^mviolently. The boy became like a corpse, so that many said, “He’s dead.” ²⁷But Jesus, taking him by the hand, raised him, ⁿand he stood up.

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

²⁹And He told them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer ^o [and fasting].” ^pq

The Second Prediction of His Death

³⁰Then ^rthey left that place and made their way through Galilee, but He did not want anyone to know it. ^s31For He was teaching ^tHis disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man ^uis being betrayed ^vinto the hands of men. They will kill Him, and after He is killed, He will rise ^wthree days later.” ^x32But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him. ^y

Who is the Greatest?

³³Then ^zthey came to Capernaum. ^aWhen He was in the house, ^bHe asked them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” ^c34But they were silent, ^dbecause on the way they had been arguing with one another about who was the greatest. ^e35Sitting down, He called the Twelve ^fand said to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” ^g36Then He took a child, ^hhad him stand among them, and taking him in His arms, He said to them, ³⁷“Whoever welcomes ⁱone little child such as this in My name ^jwelcomes Me. And whoever welcomes Me does not welcome Me, but Him who sent ^kMe.” ^l

In His Name

³⁸John ^msaid to Him, “Teacher, ⁿwe saw someone ^odriving out demons ^pin Your name, ^qand we tried to stop him because he wasn’t following us.” ^r

³⁹“Don’t stop him,” said Jesus, “because there is no one who will perform a miracle ^sin My name who can soon afterward speak evil of Me. ⁴⁰For whoever is not against us is for us. ^t41And whoever gives you a cup of water to drink ^ubecause of My name, ^vsince you belong to the ^•Messiah ^w—I assure you: ^xHe will never lose his reward. ^y

Warnings from Jesus

⁴²“But whoever ^•causes the downfall of one of these little ones who believe in Me ^z—it would be better for him if a heavy millstone ^abwere hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. ⁴³And if your hand causes your downfall, cut it off. ^cIt is better for you to enter life maimed ^dthan to have two hands and go to ^•hell—the unquenchable fire, ^e[⁴⁴where

Their worm does not die,

and the fire is not quenched.] ^fgh

⁴⁵And if your foot causes your downfall, ⁱcut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame ^jthan to have two feet and be thrown into hell— [the unquenchable fire, ^k46where

Their worm does not die,

and the fire is not quenched.] ^lmn

⁴⁷And if your eye causes your downfall, gouge it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God ^owith one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown ^pinto hell, ^q48where

Their worm does not die,

and the fire is not quenched. ^r

⁴⁹For everyone will be salted with fire. ^stu50Salt is good, but if the salt should lose its flavor, how can you make it salty? ^vHave salt ^wamong yourselves and be at peace ^xwith one another.”

The Question of Divorce

10He ^yset out from there and went to the region of Judea ^zand across the Jordan. ^aThen crowds converged on Him again and, as He usually did, He began teaching ^bthem once more. ²Some Pharisees ^capproached Him to test ^dHim. They asked, “Is it lawful ^efor a man to divorce ^fhis wife?” ^g

³He replied to them, “What did Moses ^hcommand you?”

⁴They said, “Moses permitted us to write divorce papers ⁱand send her away.” ^j

⁵But Jesus told them, “He wrote this command for you because of the hardness of your hearts. ^k6But from the beginning ^lof creation ^mGod ⁿmade them male and female. ^op

⁷For this reason a man will leave ^q

his father and mother

[and be joined to his wife], ^r

⁸and the two will become one flesh. ^st

So they are no longer two, but one flesh. ⁹Therefore what God has joined together, man must not separate.” ^u

¹⁰Now in the house the disciples questioned Him again about this matter. ¹¹And He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife ^vand marries ^wanother commits adultery ^xagainst her. ¹²Also, if she divorces her husband ^yand marries another, she commits adultery.”

Blessing the Children

¹³Some ^zpeople were bringing little children ^ato Him so He might touch them, but His disciples rebuked ^bthem. ¹⁴When Jesus saw it, He was indignant ^cand said to them, “Let the little children come to Me. ^dDon’t stop ^ethem, for the kingdom of God ^fbelongs to such as these. ^15•I assure you: ^gWhoever does not welcome ^hithe kingdom of God like a little child ^jwill never enter it.” ¹⁶After taking them in His arms, He laid His hands on ^kthem and blessed ^lthem.

The Rich Young Ruler

¹⁷As ^mHe was setting out on a journey, ⁿa man ran up, knelt down ^obefore Him, and asked Him, “Good ^pTeacher, ^qwhat must I do to inherit ^reternal life?” ^s

¹⁸“Why do you call Me good?” Jesus asked him. “No one is good but One—God. ^t19You know the commandments:

Do not murder; ^u

do not commit adultery; ^v

do not steal; ^w

do not bear false witness; ^x

do not defraud; ^y

honor ^zyour father and mother.” ^ab

²⁰He said to Him, “Teacher, ^cI have kept all these from my youth.”

²¹Then, looking at him, Jesus loved him ^dand said to him, “You lack one thing: Go, sell all you have and give to the poor, ^eand you will have treasure ^fin heaven. ^gThen come, ^hfollow Me.” ⁱ²²But he was stunned ^jat this demand, and he went away grieving, ^kbecause he had many possessions. ^l

Possessions and the Kingdom

²³Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for those who have wealth ^mto enter the kingdom of God!” ⁿ²⁴But the disciples were astonished at His words. Again Jesus said to them, “Children, ^ohow hard it is ^pto enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich ^qperson to enter the kingdom of God.”

²⁶So they were even more astonished, saying to one another, “Then who can be saved?” ^r

²⁷Looking at them, Jesus said, “With men it is impossible, ^sbut not with God, because all things are possible with God.”

²⁸Peter ^tbegan to tell Him, “Look, we have left everything and followed You.”

²⁹“I assure you,” ^uJesus said, “there is no one who has left house, brothers or sisters, mother or father, ^vchildren, or fields because of Me and the gospel, ^w30who will not receive 100 times ^xmore, now at this time ^y—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions ^z—and eternal life ^ain the age to come. ^b31But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” ^c

The Third Prediction of His Death

³²They ^dwere on the road, going up to Jerusalem, ^eand Jesus was walking ahead of them. They were astonished, but those who followed Him were afraid. ^fTaking the Twelve aside again, He began to tell them the things that would happen to Him. ^g

³³“Listen! We are going up to Jerusalem. The ^•Son of Man ^hwill be handed over to the ^•chief priests and the ^•scribes, ⁱand they will condemn Him to death.…