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One of the multitude answered, “Teacher, I brought to you my son, who has a mute spirit;
Mark 9:17 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit;
  • BSB Someone in the crowd replied, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a spirit that makes him mute.
  • NKJV Then one of the crowd answered and said, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit.
  • NASB And one person from the crowd answered Him, “Teacher, I brought You my son, because he has a spirit that makes him unable to speak;
  • NLT One of the men in the crowd spoke up and said, “Teacher, I brought my son so you could heal him. He is possessed by an evil spirit that won’t let him talk.

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

A father explains he brought his son, who has a spirit that makes him mute. A desperate parent's plea sets the scene.

Overview

The father turns from the disputing scribes to Jesus himself, recognizing him as the true source of help. His description of his afflicted son reveals deep suffering caused by an oppressive spirit. The account shows the reality of spiritual bondage and the father's hope that Jesus can deliver where others failed.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 9

  • Mark 9:25When Jesus saw that a multitude came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to him, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him, and never enter him again!”
  • Luke 11:14He was casting out a demon, and it was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke; and the multitudes marveled.
  • Luke 9:38Behold, a man from the crowd called out, saying, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child.
  • Mark 10:13They were bringing to him little children, that he should touch them, but the disciples rebuked those who were bringing them.
  • Matt 17:15“Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is epileptic, and suffers grievously; for he often falls into the fire, and often into the water.
  • Mark 7:26Now the woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by race. She begged him that he would cast the demon out of her daughter.
  • John 4:47When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to him, and begged him that he would come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.
  • Mark 5:23and begged him much, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Please come and lay your hands on her, that she may be made healthy, and live.”
  • Matt 12:22Then one possessed by a demon, blind and mute, was brought to him and he healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

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 9:17YouTube · 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 9:17 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.