And he said unto them, How is it that ye do not understand?
Parallel translations
- WEB He asked them, “Don’t you understand, yet?”
- BSB Then He asked them, “Do you still not understand?”
- NKJV So He said to them, “How is it you do not understand?”
- NASB And He was saying to them, “Do you not yet understand?”
- NLT “Don’t you understand yet?” he asked them.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus asks, 'Don't you understand yet?' His question exposes their lingering spiritual blindness.
Overview
The unanswered question leaves the disciples—and the reader—to reckon with how slow they are to perceive Jesus' identity and power. It immediately precedes the two-stage healing of a blind man, which mirrors their partial sight. Mark uses this to show that true understanding of Jesus comes gradually and only by his gracious work.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Mark 6:52For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened.
- Ps 94:8Understand, ye brutish among the people: and ye fools, when will ye be wise?
- John 14:9Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
- Matt 16:11–12How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees?
- 1 Cor 6:5I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren?
- 1 Cor 15:34Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.
- Mark 8:12And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation.
- Mark 8:17And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened?
- Mark 9:19He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'
How Mark 8:21 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.