Mark 9:17-22

9:17 A member of the crowd said to him, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that makes him mute. 9:18 Whenever 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, but 1  they were not able to do so.” 2  9:19 He answered them, 3  “You 4  unbelieving 5  generation! How much longer 6  must I be with you? How much longer must I endure 7  you? 8  Bring him to me.” 9:20 So they brought the boy 9  to him. When the spirit saw him, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He 10  fell on the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. 9:21 Jesus 11  asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. 9:22 It 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.”

1 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

2 tn The words “to do so” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied for clarity and stylistic reasons.

3 tn Grk “And answering, he said to them.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant, but the phrasing of the sentence was modified slightly to make it clearer in English.

4 tn Grk “O.” The marker of direct address, ὦ (w), is functionally equivalent to a vocative and is represented in the translation by “you.”

5 tn Or “faithless.”

sn The rebuke for lack of faith has OT roots: Num 14:27; Deut 32:5, 30; Isa 59:8.

6 tn Grk “how long.”

7 tn Or “put up with.” See Num 11:12; Isa 46:4.

8 sn The pronouns you…you are plural, indicating that Jesus is speaking to a group rather than an individual.

9 tn Grk “him.”

10 tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

11 tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.