Mark 8:22-9:41

English Standard Version

Jesus Heals a Blind Man at Bethsaida

²² And they came ^(A)to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. ²³ And ^(B)he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when ^(C)he had ^(D)spit on his eyes and ^(E)laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” ²⁴ And he looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.” ²⁵ Then Jesus^[a] laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. ²⁶ And he sent him to his home, saying, ^(F)“Do not even enter the village.”

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ

^27 (G)And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” ²⁸ And they told him, ^(H)“John the Baptist; and others say, ^(I)Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” ²⁹ And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, ^(J)“You are ^(K)the Christ.” ^30 (L)And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.

Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

^31 (M)And he began to teach them that ^(N)the Son of Man must ^(O)suffer many things and ^(P)be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and ^(Q)after three days rise again. ³² And he said this ^(R)plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. ³³ But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, ^(S)“Get behind me, Satan! For you ^(T)are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

³⁴ And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him ^(U)deny himself and ^(V)take up his cross and follow me. ³⁵ For ^(W)whoever would save his life^[b] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake ^(X)and the gospel's will save it. ^36 (Y)For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? ³⁷ For ^(Z)what can a man give in return for his soul? ³⁸ For ^(AA)whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this ^(AB)adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed ^(AC)when he comes in the glory of his Father with ^(AD)the holy angels.”

9 And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not ^(AE)taste death ^(AF)until they see the kingdom of God after it has come ^(AG)with power.”

The Transfiguration

^2 (AH)And after six days Jesus took with him ^(AI)Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was ^(AJ)transfigured before them, ³ and ^(AK)his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one^[c] on earth could bleach them. ⁴ And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. ⁵ And Peter said to Jesus, ^(AL)“Rabbi,^[d] it is good that we are here. Let us make three ^(AM)tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” ⁶ For ^(AN)he did not know what to say, for they were terrified. ⁷ And ^(AO)a cloud overshadowed them, and ^(AP)a voice came out of the cloud, ^(AQ)“This is my beloved Son;^{[e] (AR)}listen to him.” ⁸ And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only.

^9 (AS)And as they were coming down the mountain, ^(AT)he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, ^(AU)until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. ^10 (AV)So they kept the matter to themselves, ^(AW)questioning what this rising from the dead might mean. ¹¹ And they asked him, “Why do the scribes say ^(AX)that first Elijah must come?” ¹² And he said to them, “Elijah does come first ^(AY)to restore all things. And ^(AZ)how is it written of the Son of Man that he should ^(BA)suffer many things and ^(BB)be treated with contempt? ¹³ But I tell you that Elijah has come, and ^(BC)they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him.”

Jesus Heals a Boy with an Unclean Spirit

^14 (BD)And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. ¹⁵ And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, ^(BE)were greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him. ¹⁶ And he asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?” ¹⁷ And someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has ^(BF)a spirit that makes him mute. ¹⁸ And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and ^(BG)they were not able.” ¹⁹ And he answered them, “O ^(BH)faithless generation, ^(BI)how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.” ²⁰ And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it ^(BJ)convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. ²¹ And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. ²² And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But ^(BK)if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” ²³ And Jesus said to him, ^(BL)“‘If you can’! ^(BM)All things are possible for one who believes.” ²⁴ Immediately the father of the child cried out^[f] and said, “I believe; ^(BN)help my unbelief!” ²⁵ And when Jesus saw that ^(BO)a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, ^(BP)“You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” ²⁶ And after crying out and ^(BQ)convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.” ²⁷ But Jesus ^(BR)took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. ²⁸ And when he had ^(BS)entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” ²⁹ And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”^[g]

Jesus Again Foretells Death, Resurrection

^30 (BT)They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know, ³¹ for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, ^(BU)after three days he will rise.” ^32 (BV)But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.

Who Is the Greatest?

³³ And ^(BW)they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house ^(BX)he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” ³⁴ But they kept silent, for on the way ^(BY)they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. ³⁵ And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, ^(BZ)“If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” ³⁶ And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and ^(CA)taking him in his arms, he said to them, ^37 (CB)“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and ^(CC)whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”

Anyone Not Against Us Is for Us

^38 (CD)John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone ^(CE)casting out demons in your name,^[h] and ^(CF)we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” ³⁹ But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. ^40 (CG)For the one who is not against us is for us. ⁴¹ For truly, I say to you, ^(CH)whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.