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So they kept this matter to themselves, discussing what it meant to rise from the dead.
Mark 9:10 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB They kept this saying to themselves, questioning what the “rising from the dead” meant.
  • KJV And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean.
  • NKJV So they kept this word to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant.
  • NASB They seized upon that statement, discussing with one another what rising from the dead meant.
  • NLT So they kept it to themselves, but they often asked each other what he meant by “rising from the dead.”

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

The disciples keep the matter to themselves, puzzling over what rising from the dead means. They still do not grasp Jesus' coming death and resurrection.

Overview

Though they expected a general resurrection at the last day, the idea of the Messiah personally dying and rising was foreign to them. Their confusion shows how thoroughly the cross overturned their expectations. It highlights that full understanding would come only after the events themselves and the giving of the Spirit.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 13

  • Acts 17:18Some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also began to debate with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others said, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was proclaiming the good news of Jesus and the resurrection.
  • John 2:19–22Jesus answered, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again.”
  • John 16:17–19Then some of His disciples asked one another, “Why is He telling us, ‘In a little while you will not see Me, and then after a little while you will see Me’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?”
  • Luke 18:33–34They will flog Him and kill Him, and on the third day He will rise again.”
  • Luke 24:25–27Then Jesus said to them, “O foolish ones, how slow are your hearts to believe all that the prophets have spoken!
  • Luke 24:7–8‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.’”
  • John 16:29–30His disciples said, “See, now You are speaking plainly and without figures of speech.
  • John 12:16At first His disciples did not understand these things, but after Jesus was glorified they remembered what had been done to Him, and they realized that these very things had also been written about Him.
  • John 12:33–34He said this to indicate the kind of death He was going to die.
  • Luke 2:50–51But they did not understand the statement He was making to them.
  • Matt 16:22Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. “Far be it from You, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to You!”
  • Mark 9:32But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him about it.
  • Gen 37:11And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept in mind what he had said.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Mark videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Mark 9:10YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on MarkMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 9:10 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.