Mark 9 - 10 — Legacy Standard Bible

The Transfiguration

9And Jesus was saying to them, “^aTruly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God having come in power.”

²^aAnd six days later, Jesus *took with Him ^bPeter and James and John, and *brought them up on a high mountain alone by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; ³and ^aHis garments were shining intensely white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them. ⁴And Elijah appeared to them along with Moses and they were conversing with Jesus. ⁵And Peter answered and *said to Jesus, “^aRabbi, it is good for us to be here; ^blet us make three ¹booths, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ⁶For he did not know what to answer; for they became terrified. ⁷Then a cloud ¹formed, overshadowing them, and ^aa voice ²came out of the cloud, “^bThis is My beloved Son, ³listen to Him!” ⁸And all at once when they looked around, they saw no one with them anymore, except Jesus alone.

⁹^aAnd as they were coming down from the mountain, He ^bgave them orders not to recount to anyone what they had seen, ¹until the Son of Man rose from the dead. ¹⁰And they ¹seized upon ²that statement, arguing with one another ³what rising from the dead meant. ¹¹And they began asking Him, saying, “Why is it that the scribes say that ^aElijah must come first?” ¹²And He said to them, “Elijah does first come and restore all things. And yet how is it written of ^athe Son of Man that ^bHe will suffer many things and be treated with contempt? ¹³“But I say to you that Elijah has ¹indeed come, and they did to him whatever they wished, just as it is written of him.”

I Believe, Help My Unbelief

¹⁴^aAnd when they came back to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. ¹⁵And immediately, when the entire crowd saw Him, they were ^aamazed. And as they ran up, they were greeting Him. ¹⁶And He asked them, “What are you arguing with them?” ¹⁷And one of the crowd answered Him, “Teacher, I brought You my son, possessed with a spirit which makes him mute; ¹⁸and ¹whenever it seizes him, it ²slams him to the ground and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth and ³becomes rigid. I told Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not do it.” ¹⁹And He *answered them and *said, “O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!” ²⁰And they brought ¹the boy to Him. When he saw Him, immediately the spirit threw him into a convulsion, and falling to the ground, he began rolling around, foaming at the mouth. ²¹And He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. ²²“And it has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” ²³And Jesus said to him, “‘If You can?’ ^aAll things are possible to him who believes.” ²⁴Immediately the boy’s father cried out and was saying, “I do believe; help my unbelief.” ²⁵Now when Jesus saw that ^aa crowd was ¹rapidly gathering, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, ²I command you, come out of him and do not enter him ³again.” ²⁶And after crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out; and the boy became so much like a corpse that most of them said, “He is dead!” ²⁷But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him; and he stood up. ²⁸And when He came ^ainto the house, His disciples began questioning Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” ²⁹And He said to them, “This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer.”

Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

³⁰^aFrom there they went out and were going through Galilee, and He was not wanting anyone to know about it. ³¹For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, “^aThe Son of Man is to be ¹delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise again three days later.” ³²But ^athey ¹did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him.

³³^aAnd they came to Capernaum; and when He ¹was in ^bthe house, He began to question them, “What were you discussing on the way?” ³⁴But they kept silent, for on the way ^athey had discussed with one another which of them was the greatest. ³⁵And sitting down, He called the twelve and *said to them, “^aIf anyone wants to be first, ¹he shall be last of all and servant of all.” ³⁶And taking a child, He set him ¹before them. And taking him in His arms, He said to them, ³⁷“^aWhoever receives ¹one child like this in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me does not receive Me, but Him who sent Me.”

Warnings About Discipleship

³⁸^aJohn said to Him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and ^bwe tried to hinder him because he was not following us.” ³⁹But Jesus said, “Do not hinder him, for there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name, and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me. ⁴⁰“^aFor he who is not against us is ¹for us. ⁴¹“For ^awhoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name because you are of Christ, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward.

⁴²“^aAnd whoever causes one of these ¹little ones who believe to stumble, it ²would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he ³had been cast into the sea. ⁴³“^aAnd if your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into ¹^,^bhell, into the ^cunquenchable fire, ⁴⁴¹[and where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.] ⁴⁵“And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than, having your two feet, to be cast into ¹^,^ahell, ⁴⁶¹[and where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.] ⁴⁷“^aAnd if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into ¹^,^bhell, ⁴⁸^awhere their worm does not die, and ^bthe fire is not quenched.

⁴⁹“For everyone will be salted with fire. ⁵⁰“Salt is good; but ^aif the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you ¹make it salty again? ^bHave salt in yourselves, and ^cbe at peace with one another.”

Teaching About Divorce

10^aAnd standing up, He *went from there to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan; crowds *gathered around Him again, and, ^baccording to His custom, He once more began to teach them.

²And some Pharisees came up to Jesus, testing Him, and began to question Him whether it was lawful for a man to ¹divorce a wife. ³And He answered and said to them, “What did Moses command you?” ⁴And they said, “^aMoses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and ¹send her away.” ⁵But Jesus said to them, “¹^,^aBecause of your hardness of heart he wrote for you this commandment. ⁶“But ^afrom the beginning of creation, God ^bmade them male and female. ⁷“^aFor this reason a man shall leave his father and mother¹, ⁸^aand the two shall become one flesh; so they are no longer two, but one flesh. ⁹“What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.”

¹⁰And in the house the disciples began questioning Him about this again. ¹¹And He *said to them, “^aWhoever ¹divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her; ¹²and ^aif she herself ¹divorces her husband and marries another man, she is committing adultery.”

Jesus Blesses Little Children

¹³^aAnd they were bringing children to Him so that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, “Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; ^afor the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁵“Truly I say to you, ^awhoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.” ¹⁶And He ^atook them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them.

The Rich Young Ruler

¹⁷^aAnd as He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and ^bknelt before Him, and began asking Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to ^cinherit eternal life?” ¹⁸And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. ¹⁹“You know the commandments, ‘^aDo not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” ²⁰And he said to Him, “Teacher, I have kept ^aall these things from my youth up.” ²¹And looking at him, Jesus loved him and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have ^atreasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” ²²But at these words ¹he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property.

²³And Jesus, looking around, *said to His disciples, “^aHow hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!” ²⁴And the disciples ^awere amazed at His words. But Jesus *answered again and *said to them, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵“^aIt is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” ²⁶And they were even more astonished, saying to ¹Him, “²Then who can be saved?” ²⁷Looking at them, Jesus *said, “^aWith people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.”

²⁸^aPeter began to say to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You.” ²⁹Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, ^athere is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, ³⁰¹except one who will receive one hundred times as much now in ²the present age—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions—and in ^athe age to come, eternal life. ³¹“But ^amany who are first will be last, and the last, first.”

Jesus Again Foretells His Death and Resurrection

³²^aAnd they were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them; and they ^bwere amazed, and those who followed were fearful. And again He took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him: ³³“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and ^athe Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and will deliver Him over to the Gentiles. ³⁴“And they will mock Him and ^aspit on Him, and flog Him and kill Him, and three days later He will rise again.”

A Request for Status

³⁵^aThen James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, *came up to Jesus, saying to Him, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.” ³⁶And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” ³⁷And they said to Him, “¹Grant that we ^amay sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory.” ³⁸But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able ^ato drink the cup that I drink, or ^bto be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” ³⁹And they said to Him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink ^ayou shall drink; and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized. ⁴⁰“But to sit on My right or on My left, this is not Mine to give; ^abut it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

⁴¹^aAnd hearing this, the ten began to feel indignant with James and John. ⁴²And calling them to Himself, Jesus *said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them. ⁴³“But it is not this way among you, ^abut whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; ⁴⁴and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. ⁴⁵“For even the Son of Man ^adid not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His ¹life a ransom for many.”

Bartimaeus Regains His Sight

⁴⁶^aThen they *came to Jericho. And ^bas He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road. ⁴⁷And when he heard that it was Jesus the ^aNazarene, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, ^bSon of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁸And many were sternly telling him to be quiet, but he kept crying out all the more, “^aSon of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁹And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him here.” So they *called the blind man, saying to him, “^aTake courage, get up! He is calling for you.” ⁵⁰And throwing off his outer garment, he jumped up and came to Jesus. ⁵¹And Jesus answered him and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” And the blind man said to Him, “¹^,^aRabboni, I want to regain my sight!” ⁵²And Jesus said to him, “Go; ^ayour faith has ¹saved you.” Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road.