“Don’t stop him!” Jesus said. “No one who performs a miracle in my name will soon be able to speak evil of me.
Parallel translations
- WEB But Jesus said, “Don’t forbid him, for there is no one who will do a mighty work in my name, and be able quickly to speak evil of me.
- KJV But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me.
- BSB “Do not stop him,” Jesus replied. “For no one who performs a miracle in My name can turn around and speak evil of Me.
- NKJV But Jesus said, “Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me.
- NASB But 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.
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 tells them not to forbid the man, since no one doing a miracle in his name will quickly speak against him. Genuine work in Jesus' name should be welcomed.
Overview
Jesus corrects the disciples' narrow exclusivism. A person empowered to act in his name is, in that moment, aligned with him rather than against him. This guards against a tribal spirit that confuses loyalty to a group with loyalty to Christ, while still leaving room elsewhere for warnings about false teachers.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- 1 Cor 12:3Therefore I make known to you that no man speaking by God’s Spirit says, “Jesus is accursed.” No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” but by the Holy Spirit.
- 1 Cor 13:1–2If I speak with the languages of men and of angels, but don’t have love, I have become sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal.
- Phil 1:18What does it matter? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed. I rejoice in this, yes, and will rejoice.
- Matt 13:28–29“He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and gather them up?’
- Matt 7:22–23Many will tell me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, in your name cast out demons, and in your name do many mighty works?’
- Mark 10:13–14They were bringing to him little children, that he should touch them, but the disciples rebuked those who were bringing them.
- 1 Cor 9:27but I beat my body and bring it into submission, lest by any means, after I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected.
- Acts 19:13–16But some of the itinerant Jews, exorcists, took on themselves to invoke over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, “We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.”
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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 9:39 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.