Mark 9
1 He went on to say, "In solemn truth I tell you that some of those who are standing here will certainly not taste death till they have seen the Kingdom of God already come in power."
He also said to [his disciples], “Listen carefully! Some of you who are here now will see God ruling powerfully in [many ways]. You will see it before you die!”
2 Six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter, James, and John, and brought them alone, apart from the rest, up a high mountain; and in their presence His appearance underwent a change.
A week later Jesus took Peter, James and [James’ younger brother] John and led them up a high mountain. [While they were] alone up there, he appeared very different to them.
3 His garments also became dazzling with brilliant whiteness--such whiteness as no bleaching on earth could give.
His clothes became dazzling white. They were whiter than anyone on earth could make them by bleaching them.
4 Moreover there appeared to them Elijah accompanied by Moses; and the two were conversing with Jesus,
[Two prophets who had lived long ago], Moses and Elijah, appeared to them. Then the two of them began talking with Jesus.
5 when Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, we are thankful to you that we are here. Let us put up three tents--one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."
[After a short time], Peter [interrupted by] exclaiming, “Teacher, it is wonderful to be here! So allow us to make three shelters. One [will be] for you, one [will be] for Moses, and one [will be] for Elijah!”
6 For he knew not what to say: they were filled with such awe.
[He said this] because [he wanted to say something, but] he did not know what to say, because he and the other [two disciples] were very awestruck.
7 Then there came a cloud spreading over them, and a voice issued from the cloud, "This is my Son, dearly loved: listen to Him."
Then a [shining] cloud appeared that covered them. [God] [EUP] spoke to them from the cloud saying, “This is my Son. I love him. [Therefore], listen to him!”
8 Instantly they looked round, and now they could no longer see any one, but themselves and Jesus.
When [the three disciples] looked around, they saw that suddenly Jesus was alone with them, and that there was no longer anyone [else] there.
9 As they were coming down from the mountain, He very strictly forbad them to tell any one what they had seen "until after the Son of Man has risen from among the dead."
While they were coming down the mountain, Jesus told them that they should not tell anyone [yet] what had just happened to him. He said, “You may tell them after I, the one who came from heaven, (rise from the dead/become alive again) after I die.”
10 So they kept the matter to themselves, although frequently asking one another what was meant by the rising from the dead.
So they did not tell others about it [for a long time]. But they discussed among themselves what it meant when he said that he would (rise from the dead/become alive again) after he died.
11 They also asked Him, "How is it that the Scribes say that Elijah must first come?"
[The three disciples had just seen Elijah, but Elijah had not done anything to prepare people to accept Jesus. So] they asked Jesus, “The men who teach the [Jewish] laws say that Elijah must come back to the earth before [the Messiah comes to earth. But you have been here a long time and Elijah came just today. So is what they are teaching wrong?]”
12 "Elijah," He replied, "does indeed come first and reforms everything; but how is it that it is written of the Son of Man that He will endure much suffering and be held in contempt?
[Jesus wanted them to know that John the Baptizer was the one who represented Elijah. So] he answered them, “It is true that [God promised to send Elijah to come] first [so that people would be ready when I came]. Elijah’s representative has already come, and our leaders treated him very badly, just like they wanted to do, just like it was prophesied {[the prophets] prophesied} long ago. But, (I also want you to consider what is written {what [the prophets] wrote} in the Scriptures about me, the one who came from heaven./why have you not thought about what is written {what [the prophets] wrote} about me, the one who came from heaven?) [RHQ] It is written {They wrote} that I would suffer much and that I would be rejected {that [many people] would reject me}.”
13 Yet I tell you that not only has Elijah come, but they have also done to him whatever they chose, as the Scriptures say about him."
14 As they came to rejoin the disciples, they saw an immense crowd surrounding them and a party of Scribes disputing with them.
[Jesus and those three disciples] returned to where the [other] disciples were. They saw a large crowd around the other disciples and [some] men who taught the [Jewish] laws arguing with them.
15 Immediately the whole multitude on beholding Him were astonished and awe-struck, and yet they ran forward and greeted Him.
As soon as the crowd saw Jesus, they were very surprised [to see him come]. So they ran to him and greeted him.
16 "What is the subject you are discussing?" He asked them.
He asked them, “What are you arguing about?”
17 "Rabbi," answered one of the crowd, "I have brought you my son. He has a dumb spirit in him;
A man in the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son [here in order that] you [would heal him]. There is an evil spirit in him [that makes him] unable to talk.
18 and wherever it comes upon him, it dashes him to the ground, and he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth, and he is pining away. I begged your disciples to expel it, but they had not the power."
Whenever the spirit attacks him, it throws him down. He foams at the mouth, he grinds his teeth together, and he becomes stiff. I asked your disciples to expel the spirit, but they were not able to do it.”
19 "O unbelieving generation!" replied Jesus; "how long must I be with you? how long must I have patience with you? Bring the boy to me."
Jesus replied by saying to those people, “(I am very disappointed that [although you] have observed how I help people, you do not believe [that you are able to do anything]!/Why is it that [although you] have observed how I help people, you do not believe [that you are able to do anything]?) [RHQ] (I have been with you a long time, [and you still cannot do what I do]!/How long do I have to be with you [before you can do what I do]?) [RHQ] Bring the boy to me!”
20 So they brought him to Jesus. And the spirit, when he saw Jesus, immediately threw the youth into convulsions, so that he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth.
So they brought the boy to Jesus. As soon as the evil spirit saw Jesus, it shook the boy severely, and [the boy] fell on the ground. He rolled around, and he foamed at the mouth.
21 Then Jesus asked the father, "How long has he been like this?" "From early childhood," he said;
Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?” He replied, “[This started to happen] when he was a child.
22 "and often it has thrown him into the fire or into pools of water to destroy him. But, if you possibly can, have pity on us and help us."
[The spirit does not only do this], but he also often throws him into the fire or into the water in order to kill him. But, pity us and help us, if you can!”
23 "'If I possibly can!'" replied Jesus; "why, everything is possible to him who believes."
Jesus exclaimed to him, “[Do not say] [RHQ] ‘If you can’, for [God/I] can do anything for people who believe [in him/me]!”
24 Immediately the father cried out, "I do believe: strengthen my weak faith."
Immediately the child’s father shouted, “I believe [that you can help me, but I do not believe strongly]. Help me to believe more strongly!”
25 Then Jesus, seeing that an increasing crowd was running towards Him, rebuked the foul spirit, and said to it, "Dumb and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter into him again."
Because [Jesus wanted to heal the boy before] the crowd got bigger, he rebuked the evil spirit, saying, “You evil spirit, you who are [causing this boy to be] deaf and unable to talk! I command you to come out of him and never enter him again!”
26 So with a loud cry he threw the boy into fit after fit, and came out. The boy looked as if he were dead, so that most of them said he was dead;
The evil spirit shouted, it shook the boy violently, and then it left the boy. The boy did not move. He seemed like a dead body. So many of the people there said, “He is dead!”
27 but Jesus took his hand and raised him up, and he stood on his feet.
However, Jesus took him by the hand and helped him get up. Then the boy stood up. [He was healed]!
28 After the return of Jesus to the house His disciples asked Him privately, "How is it that we could not expel the spirit?"
Later, when Jesus and his disciples were alone in a house, one of them asked him, “Why were we not able to expel [the evil spirit]?”
29 "An evil spirit of this kind," He answered, "can only be driven out by prayer."
He said to them, “You can expel this kind [of evil spirit] only by your praying [that God will give you the power to do it]. There is no other way that you can expel them.”
30 Departing thence they passed through Galilee, and He was unwilling that any one should know it;
After [Jesus and his disciples] left that [district], they traveled through Galilee [district]. Jesus did not want anyone [else] to know [that he was in their area]; he did not want
31 for He was teaching His disciples, and telling them, "The Son of Man is to be betrayed into the hands of men, and they will put Him to death; and after being put to death, in three days He will rise to life again."
[anyone to interrupt him] as he taught his disciples. He was telling them, “[Some day my enemies] [SYN] will seize [MTY] me, the one who came from heaven, and I will be handed over [to other] men. Those men will kill me. But on the third day after I am killed {after they kill me}, I will become alive again!”
32 They, however, did not understand what He meant, and were afraid to question Him.
But they did not understand what he was telling them. Also, they were afraid to ask him about what he had said.
33 So they came to Capernaum; and when in the house He asked them, "What were you arguing about on the way?"
Jesus and his disciples returned to Capernaum [town]. When they were in the house, he asked them, “What were you discussing [while we were traveling] on the road?”
34 But they remained silent; for on the way they had debated with one another who was the chief of them.
But they did not reply. [They were ashamed to reply] because, [while they were traveling], they had been arguing with each other about which one of them [would be] the most important [when Jesus became king].
35 Then sitting down He called the Twelve, and said to them, "If any one wishes to be first, he must be last of all and servant of all."
He sat down, he summoned the twelve disciples [to come close to him], and then he said to them, “If anyone wants [God to consider him] to be the most important person of all, he must [consider himself] to be the least important person of all, and he must serve everyone [else].”
36 And taking a young child He made him stand in their midst, then threw His arms round him and said,
Then he took a child and placed him among them. He took the child in his arms and then he said to them,
37 "Whoever for my sake receives one such young child as this, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not so much me as Him who sent me."
“Those who, [because they love] me, welcome a child like this one, [God considers that] they are welcoming me. So [it is as though] they are also welcoming [God], who sent me.”
38 "Rabbi," said John to Him, "we saw a man making use of your name to expel demons, and we tried to hinder him, on the ground that he did not follow us."
John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone who was expelling demons, ([claiming he had] authority from you [to do that/while telling people] that you [have told him to do it]). So we told him to stop doing it because he was not one of us [disciples].”
39 "You should not have tried to hinder him," replied Jesus, "for there is no one who will use my name to perform a miracle and be able the next minute to speak evil of me.
Jesus said, “Do not tell him [not to do that]! For no one will speak evilly about me just after he performs a miracle while saying that I [have told him to do it].
40 He who is not against us is for us;
Furthermore, those who are not opposing us are trying to [achieve the same goals that] we are.
41 and whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, I solemnly tell you that he will certainly not lose his reward.
Also think about this: Those [who belong to me who help you in any way, even] if they [just] give you a cup of water to drink because you follow [me], the Messiah, will certainly be rewarded [by God]!”
42 "And whoever shall occasion the fall of one of these little ones who believe, he would be better off if, with a millstone round his neck, he were lying at the bottom of the sea.
[Jesus also said], “But if you cause someone who believes in me to sin, [God will severely punish you], even if that person is [socially unimportant like] this little child. If someone tied a heavy stone around your neck and you were thrown {and threw you} into the sea, [you would consider that was a severe punishment. But God will punish you more severely] than that [if you cause a person who believes in me to sin].
43 If your hand should cause you to sin, cut it off: it would be better for you to enter into Life maimed, than remain in possession of both your hands and go away into Gehenna, into the fire which cannot be put out. (Geenna g1067)
[So], if you are [wanting to use one of] [MTY, PRS] [your hands to sin, stop using your hand! Even if you have to] cut your hand off and throw it away [to avoid sinning, do it] [HYP]! It is good that you not sin and that you live eternally, [even though you lack one of] your hands [while you are here on earth]. But it is not good that you sin and as a result God throws your whole body into hell. There the fires never go out! (Geenna g1067)
45 Or if your foot should cause you to sin, cut it off: it would be better for you to enter into Life crippled, than remain in possession of both your feet and be thrown into Gehenna. (Geenna g1067)
If you are [wanting to use] one of [PRS] your feet to sin, [stop using your foot! Even if you have to] cut off your foot [to avoid sinning, do it] [HYP]! It is good that you not sin and live eternally, [even though] you lack one of your feet [while you are here on earth]. But it is not good that you sin and go to hell. (Geenna g1067)
47 Or if your eye should cause you to sin, tear it out. It would be better for you to enter into the Kingdom of God half-blind than remain in possession of two eyes and be thrown into Gehenna, (Geenna g1067)
If because of what you see [MTY, PRS] you are tempted to sin, [stop looking at those things]! Even if you have to gouge out your eye and throw it away [HYP] [to avoid sinning, do it! It is good that you not sin and live eternally, even though you lack one of] your eyes [while you are here on earth]. But it is not good that you sin and, as a result, God puts your whole body in hell. (Geenna g1067)
48 where their worm does not die and the fire does not go out.
In that place people suffer forever and the fires are never put out {never go out}.”
49 Every one, however, will be salted with fire.
“[You must endure difficulties in order that God will be pleased with you. Your difficulties are like] a fire [that makes things pure] [MET]. [Your enduring is also like] [MET] salt being put [on] {people putting salt on their} [sacrifices to make them pure].
50 Salt is a good thing, but if the salt should become tasteless, what will you use to give it saltness? Have salt within you and live at peace with one another."
Salt is useful [to put on food], but you cannot [RHQ] make salt to taste salty again if it becomes flavorless [MET]. Similarly, you must remain useful to God, [because no one can make you useful to God again if you become useless]. You must also live peacefully with each other.”
