^17:19Then the disciples came³⁵ to Jesus privately and said, “Why couldn’t we cast it out?” ^17:20He told them, “It was because of your little faith. I tell you the truth,³⁶ if you have faith the size of³⁷ a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; nothing³⁸ will be impossible for you.”³⁹

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Footnotes

35 Grk “coming, the disciples said.” The participle προσελθόντες (proselthontes) has been translated as a finite verb to make the sequence of events clear in English.
36 Grk “For truly (ἀμήν, amēn), I say to you.” Here γάρ (gar) has not been translated.
37 Grk “faith as,” “faith like.”
38 Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
39 Many important (א* B Θ 0281 33 579 892* e ff1 sys,c sa) do not include 17:21 “But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” The verse is included in א2 C D L W f1, 13 𝔐 lat, but is almost certainly not original. As B. M. Metzger notes, “Since there is no satisfactory reason why the passage, if originally present in Matthew, should have been omitted in a wide variety of witnesses, and since copyists frequently inserted material derived from another Gospel, it appears that most manuscripts have been assimilated to the parallel in Mk 9.29” ( ). The present translation follows in omitting the verse number as well, a procedure also followed by a number of other modern translations.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Then the disciples approached Jesus privately and said, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

“Because of your little faith,” he told them. “For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

NLTNew Living Translation

Afterward the disciples asked Jesus privately, “Why couldn’t we cast out that demon?”

“You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Then the disciples approached Jesus privately and said, Why were we not able to expel it?” 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.”

KJV 1900King James Version

Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

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