The story of how the disciples could not cast out a demon is one of the most mysterious. Everyone involved in healing the sick and deliverance carefully studies this story to identify important key points and clues that can help in ministry.
I reread this story many times in all the translations and commentaries, but I did not get the complete picture. Since I have been studying the ancient Greek language for more than 15 years, I decided to make a new translation of this particular story myself, using the articles, numbers, tenses, verbs, and cases with the utmost precision.
Since two Gospel writers described this story with different details, I deliberately combined their accounts into one so that the picture would be complete and comprehensive.
The most difficult verse to translate is verse 29. I had to leave it as it is—that is, word for word, exactly as written in the Greek text, without rearranging the words or providing a meaning-based translation. The meaning of this verse is clear, but it cannot be translated perfectly. I left it as it is.
By the way, if you are interested in the new edition of the entire Bible, read it on our website. Work on editing the text is carried out daily, and hundreds of revisions have already been made.
From Mark, chapter 9
14 And when He came to the disciples, He saw a large crowd around them and scribes arguing with them.
15 Immediately, when all the people saw Him, they were amazed, and running up, they greeted Him.
16 And He asked them, “What are you arguing with them about?”
17 And one from the crowd answered Him, “Teacher, I brought my son to You, who has a mute spirit;
From Matthew 17:15: and said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, because he is moonstruck and suffers terribly; for he often throws himself into the fire and often into the water.”
18 And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. I asked Your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.
19 He answered them, “O unbelieving generation! How long will I be with you? How long will I bear with you? Bring him to Me.”
20 So they brought him to Him. When the spirit saw Him, it immediately threw him into convulsions; and he fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.
21 And He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” He said, “From childhood;”
22 and often it has thrown him into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, help us and have compassion on us.”
23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”
24 Immediately the child’s father cried out, saying, “I believe; help my unbelief!”
25 When Jesus saw that the crowd was running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “Deaf and mute spirit, I command you: come out of him and never enter him again.”
26 Then it cried out and convulsed him violently, and came out. He became like a dead man, so that many said, “He is dead.”
27 But Jesus took him by the hand, lifted him up, and he stood.
28 When He had entered the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?”
From Matthew 17:20 He said to them, “Because of your little faith; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, and say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”
29 And He said to them, “This kind cannot come out by anything except prayer.”
Explanations of Key Words
brought him – may indicate that the boy was very ill.
lunatic – probably refers to epilepsy; in the past, people simply lacked knowledge of this disease.
generation – refers to people. Below, the word kind is used, referring to a kind of demon.
believing – does not refer to a believer (a Christian), but to a person’s ability to believe.
help – The Praes. imper. may be understood as a plea for ongoing help because of his unbelief. It can be translated in the standard way as help me, but then a special explanation is needed.
have – present tense (not future). This is Jesus’ indication that faith is already present.
kind – the word refers to a kind of demon that causes such consequences.
in prayer – the preposition [in] in Greek indicates location and answers the question “where?”
In other words, it is incorrect simply to translate “this kind is cast out… by prayer.” The correct translation is “this kind is cast out… in prayer.” Together with the question “where?” this may indicate that a person remains in prayer: “this kind is cast out… if a person remains in prayer.” In fact, that is what happened: Jesus had been in prayer on the mountain, while some of His disciples had most likely neglected prayer.
Regarding the words “in fasting.” These words are absent from the early manuscripts; in the opinion of most scholars, they were added later. No one knows whether this is an addition or a restoration of the Greek text. However, according to the rules – early manuscripts are considered more accurate. At the same time, in some later manuscripts, the word “fasting” is replaced by the word “faith,” which fits this passage most precisely.
… if you have faith like a mustard seed…
… if you do not remain in faith and prayer…
However, I repeat, the words “fasting” and “faith” belong to later manuscripts, so they are (most often) not included in modern translations.
Be blessed!
With love, Dmitriy Leo
