^9:14When they came to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and experts in the law²⁰ arguing with them. ^9:15When the whole crowd saw him, they were amazed and ran²¹ at once and greeted him. ^9:16He asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?” ^9:17A member of the crowd said to him, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that makes him mute. ^9:18Whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to cast it out, but²² they were not able to do so.”²³^9:19He answered them,²⁴ “You²⁵ unbelieving²⁶ generation! How much longer²⁷ must I be with you? How much longer must I endure²⁸ you?²⁹ Bring him to me.” ^9:20So they brought the boy³⁰ to him. When the spirit saw him, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He³¹ fell on the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. ^9:21Jesus³² asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. ^9:22It has often thrown him into fire or water to destroy him. But if you are able to do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” ^9:23Then Jesus said to him, “ ‘If you are able?’³³ All things are possible for the one who believes.” ^9:24Immediately the father of the boy cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”

^9:25Now when Jesus saw that a crowd was quickly gathering, he rebuked³⁴ the unclean spirit,³⁵ saying to it, “Mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” ^9:26It shrieked, threw him into terrible convulsions, and came out. The boy³⁶ looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He is dead!” ^9:27But Jesus gently took his hand and raised him to his feet, and he stood up.

^9:28Then,³⁷ after he went into the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we cast it out?” ^9:29He told them, “This kind can come out only by prayer.”³⁸

Read in Logos

Mark 9:23: And Jesus said to him, “ ‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.”

Footnotes

20 Or “and scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in .
21 Grk The participle προστρέχοντες (prostrechontes) has been translated as a finite verb to make the sequence of events clear in English.
22 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
23 The words “to do so” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied for clarity and stylistic reasons.
24 Grk “And answering, he said to them.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokritheis) is redundant, but the phrasing of the sentence was modified slightly to make it clearer in English.
25 Grk “O.” The marker of direct address, ὦ (ō), is functionally equivalent to a vocative and is represented in the translation by “you.”
26 Or “faithless.” The rebuke for lack of faith has OT roots: Num 14:27; Deut 32:5, 30; Isa 59:8.
27 Grk “how long.”
28 Or “put up with.” See Num 11:12; Isa 46:4.
29 The pronouns you … you are plural, indicating that Jesus is speaking to a group rather than an individual.
30 Grk “him.”
31 Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
32 Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
33 Most (A C3 Ψ 33 𝔐) have τὸ εἰ δύνασαι πιστεῦσαι (to ei dunasai pisteusai, “if you are able to believe”), instead of τὸ εἰ δύνῃ (to ei dunē, “if you are able”; supported by א B C* L N* Δ f1 579 892 ). Others have εἰ δύνῃ (or δυνάσαι) πιστεῦσαι (“if you are able to believe”; so D K Θ f13 28 565 al), while still others have τοῦτο εἰ δύνῃ (touto ei dunē, “if you can [do] this”; so [𝔓45] W). The reading that best explains the rise of the others is τὸ εἰ δύνῃ. The neuter article indicates that the Lord is now quoting the boy’s father who, in v. 22, says εἴ τι δύνῃ (ei ti dunē, “if you are able to do anything”). The article is thus used anaphorically (see ). However, scribes could easily have overlooked this idiom and would consequently read τὸ εἰ δύνῃ as the protasis of a conditional clause of the Lord’s statement. As such, it would almost demand the infinitive πιστεῦσαι, producing the reading τὸ εἰ δύνασαι πιστεῦσαι (“if you are able to believe, all things are possible …”). But the article here seems to be meaningless, prompting other scribes to modify the text still further. Some dropped the nonsensical article, while others turned it into the demonstrative τοῦτο and dropped the infinitive. It is clear that scribes had difficulty with the original wording here, and made adjustments in various directions. What might not be so clear is the exact genealogy of the descent of all the readings. However, τὸ εἰ δύνῃ is both a hard saying, best explains the rise of the other readings, and is supported by the best witnesses. It thus rightly deserves to be considered authentic.
34 Or “commanded” (often with the implication of a threat, L&N 33.331).
35 Unclean spirit refers to an evil spirit.
36 Grk “he”; the referent (the boy) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
37 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
38 Most witnesses, even early and excellent ones (𝔓45vid א2 A C D L W Θ Ψ f1, 13 33 𝔐 lat co), have “and fasting” (καὶ νηστείᾳ, kai nēsteia) after “prayer” here. But this seems to be a motivated reading, due to the early church’s emphasis on fasting ( ; cf., e.g., 2 Clem. 16:4; Pol. Phil 7:2; Did. 1:3; 7:4). That the most important witnesses (א* B), as well as a few others (0274 2427 k), lack καὶ νηστείᾳ, when a good reason for the omission is difficult to find, argues strongly for the shorter reading.