Mark 9

1 And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There are some here of them that stand by, who shall in no wise taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God come with power.2 And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them;3 and his garments became glistering, exceeding white, so as no fuller on earth can whiten them.4 And there appeared unto them Elijah with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus.5 And Peter answereth and saith to Jesus, Rabbi, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.6 For he knew not what to answer; for they became sore afraid.7 And there came a cloud overshadowing them: and there came a voice out of the cloud, This is my beloved Son: hear ye him.8 And suddenly looking round about, they saw no one any more, save Jesus only with themselves.9 And as they were coming down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, save when the Son of man should have risen again from the dead.10 And they kept the saying, questioning among themselves what the rising again from the dead should mean.11 And they asked him, saying, How is it that the scribes say that Elijah must first come?12 And he said unto them, Elijah indeed cometh first, and restoreth all things: and how is it written of the Son of man, that he should suffer many things and be set at nought?13 But I say unto you, that Elijah is come, and they have also done unto him whatsoever they would, even as it is written of him.14 And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great multitude about them, and scribes questioning with them.15 And straightway all the multitude, when they saw him, were greatly amazed, and running to him saluted him.16 And he asked them, What question ye with them?17 And one of the multitude answered him, Teacher, I brought unto thee my son, who hath a dumb spirit;18 and wheresoever it taketh him, it dasheth him down: and he foameth, and grindeth his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast it out; and they were not able.19 And he answereth them and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I bear with you? bring him unto me.20 And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him grievously; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.21 And he asked his father, How long time is it since this hath come unto him? And he said, From a child.22 And oft-times it hath cast him both into the fire and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us.23 And Jesus said unto him, If thou canst! All things are possible to him that believeth.24 Straightway the father of the child cried out, and said, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.25 And when Jesus saw that a multitude came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I command thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.26 And having cried out, and torn him much, he came out: and the boy became as one dead; insomuch that the more part said, He is dead.27 But Jesus took him by the hand, and raised him up; and he arose.28 And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, How is it that we could not cast it out?29 And he said unto them, This kind can come out by nothing, save by prayer.30 And they went forth from thence, and passed through Galilee; and he would not that any man should know it.31 For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered up into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and when he is killed, after three days he shall rise again.32 But they understood not the saying, and were afraid to ask him.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.41 For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink, because ye are Christ’s, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.42 And whosoever shall cause one of these little ones that believe on me to stumble, it were better for him if a great millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.43 And if thy hand cause thee to stumble, cut it off: it is good for thee to enter into life maimed, rather than having thy two hands to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire.44 where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.45 And if thy foot cause thee to stumble, cut it off: it is good for thee to enter into life halt, rather than having thy two feet to be cast into hell.46 where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.47 And if thine eye cause thee to stumble, cast it out: it is good for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell;48 where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.49 For every one shall be salted with fire.50 Salt is good: but if the salt have lost its saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace one with another.

Mark 9

1 And he went on to say, “I tell you, there are some here who will not die until they have seen the Kingdom of God come with power.”

The Transfiguration

(Mt 17.1–13; Lk 9.28–36)

6 He and the others were so frightened that he did not know what to say.
7 Then a cloud appeared and covered them with its shadow, and a voice came from the cloud, “This is my own dear Son — listen to him!”t

8 They took a quick look round but did not see anyone else; only Jesus was with them.

9 As they came down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Don't tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has risen from death.”
10 They obeyed his order, but among themselves they started discussing the matter, “What does this ‘rising from death’ mean?”

11 And they asked Jesus, “Why do the teachers of the Law say that Elijah has to come first?”t
12 His answer was, “Elijah is indeed coming first in order to get everything ready. Yet why do the Scriptures say that the Son of Man will suffer much and be rejected?

13 I tell you, however, that Elijah has already come and that people treated him just as they pleased, as the Scriptures say about him.”

Jesus Heals a Boy with an Evil Spirit

(Mt 17.14–21; Lk 9.37–43a)

16 Jesus asked his disciples, “What are you arguing with them about?”
17 A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, because he has an evil spirit in him and cannot talk.

18 Whenever the spirit attacks him, it throws him to the ground, and he foams at the mouth, grits his teeth, and becomes stiff all over. I asked your disciples to drive the spirit out, but they could not.”
19 Jesus said to them, “How unbelieving you people are! How long must I stay with you? How long do I have to put up with you? Bring the boy to me!”

20 They brought him to Jesus.
As soon as the spirit saw Jesus, it threw the boy into a fit, so that he fell on the ground and rolled round, foaming at the mouth.

21 “How long has he been like this?” Jesus asked the father.
“Ever since he was a child,” he replied.

22 “Many times the evil spirit has tried to kill him by throwing him in the fire and into water. Have pity on us and help us, if you possibly can!”

23  “Yes,” said Jesus, “if you yourself can! Everything is possible for the person who has faith.”

24 The father at once cried out, “I do have faith, but not enough. Help me to have more!”

25 Jesus noticed that the crowd was closing in on them, so he gave a command to the evil spirit. “Deaf and dumb spirit,” he said, “I order you to come out of the boy and never go into him again!”
26 The spirit screamed, threw the boy into a bad fit, and came out. The boy looked like a corpse, and everyone said, “He is dead!”

27 But Jesus took the boy by the hand and helped him to rise, and he stood up.

28 After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn't we drive the spirit out?”

29  “Only prayer can drive this kind out,” answered Jesus; “nothing else can.”

Jesus Speaks Again about his Death

(Mt 17.22–23; Lk 9.43b–45)

31 because he was teaching his disciples: “The Son of Man will be handed over to those who will kill him. Three days later, however, he will rise to life.”

32 But they did not understand what this teaching meant, and they were afraid to ask him.

Who is the Greatest?

(Mt 18.1–5; Lk 9.46–48)

33 They came to Capernaum, and after going indoors Jesus asked his disciples, “What were you arguing about on the road?”
34 But they would not answer him, because on the road they had been arguing among themselves about who was the greatest.t 35 Jesus sat down, called the twelve disciples, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must place himself last of all and be the servant of all.”t 36 Then he took a child and made him stand in front of them. He put his arms round him and said to them,

37 “Whoever welcomes in my name one of these children, welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me, welcomes not only me but also the one who sent me.”t

Whoever is not Against Us is For Us

(Lk 9.49–50)

38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw a man who was driving out demons in your name, and we told him to stop, because he doesn't belong to our group.”
39  “Do not try to stop him,” Jesus told them, “because no one who performs a miracle in my name will be able soon afterwards to say evil things about me. 40  For whoever is not against us is for us. t

41 I assure you that anyone who gives you a drink of water because you belong to me will certainly receive his reward.t

Temptations to Sin

(Mt 18.6–9; Lk 17.1–2)

48 There ‘the worms that eat them never die, and the fire that burns them is never put out.’t

49  “Everyone will be purified by fire as a sacrifice is purified by salt.

50  “Salt is good; but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? t
“Have the salt of friendship among yourselves, and live in peace with one another.”