Mark 9 22

Mark 9:22 kjv

And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.

Mark 9:22 nkjv

And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us."

Mark 9:22 niv

"It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us."

Mark 9:22 esv

And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us."

Mark 9:22 nlt

The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us, if you can."

Mark 9 verses

Mark 9 22 Meaning

Mark 9:22 portrays the severe and life-threatening nature of the demon's oppression on a boy, characterized by violent attempts to destroy him through fire and water. It then presents the desperate plea of the boy's father to Jesus, infused with an "if you can" doubt concerning Jesus's ability, yet imploring His compassion and aid for both himself and his son, recognizing the grave suffering they endure.

Mark 9 22 Context

Mark 9:22 is embedded within the narrative of Jesus's ministry in Galilee. Immediately prior (Mk 9:2-13), Jesus experiences the Transfiguration with Peter, James, and John, where His divine glory is revealed and His identity as the Beloved Son affirmed by God the Father. Down from the mountain, they find the remaining disciples in disarray, unable to cast out a demon from a boy (Mk 9:14-18). The Scribes were arguing with them, highlighting their helplessness and lack of authority in that moment. The boy’s father brings his son directly to Jesus, recounting the history of his son's suffering due to the demon. Verse 22 describes the severity of the demonic attacks. This specific interaction sets the stage for Jesus’s teaching on the vital necessity of faith for effective spiritual ministry, directly addressing the father’s doubt and, by extension, the disciples' failure.

Mark 9 22 Word analysis

• And (καὶ - kai): A simple conjunction that links the father’s description of the demon’s past actions directly to the previous narrative where the father presents his suffering son to Jesus (Mk 9:17-18). It indicates continuation of the tragic story.

• it (αὐτό - auto): Refers specifically to the "spirit" (πνεῦμα - pneuma, demon/evil spirit) mentioned by the father in Mark 9:17. This confirms the affliction is a result of spiritual possession, not merely a natural illness, underscoring the battle with supernatural evil.

• has often thrown (πολλάκις ἔβαλεν - pollakis ebalen):

  • often (πολλάκις - pollakis): Emphasizes the frequent and repetitive nature of these violent attacks. It highlights the sustained torment the boy and his family endured.
  • thrown (ἔβαλεν - ebalen): From ballo, meaning "to throw, cast, hurl." Conveys the forceful, aggressive, and uncontrolled physical convulsions and movements inflicted by the demon, reflecting its malevolent will and mastery over the boy's body.

• him (αὐτόν - auton): Refers directly to the boy, the victim of the demonic torment.

• into fire (εἰς πῦρ - eis pyr): Signifies immense danger and the demon's destructive intent. Fire in biblical context often denotes purification, judgment, but here it speaks to immediate physical destruction, similar to hellfire (Mt 18:8, Mk 9:43). The demon seeks to consume the boy’s life.

• and into water (καὶ εἰς ὕδατα - kai eis hydata): Also signifies lethal danger, implying drowning. Along with fire, these are two primary natural elements capable of destroying life. Their pairing emphasizes the comprehensive and relentless pursuit of the boy’s destruction by the demon.

• to kill him (ἵνα ἀπολέσῃ αὐτόν - hina apolesē auton):

  • to kill (ἀπολέσῃ - apolesē): From apollymi, meaning "to destroy, to lose, to kill." This is a crucial purpose clause. It explicitly reveals the ultimate, murderous intent of the evil spirit – not just to cause suffering, but to end life itself. This underscores the truly sinister nature of demonic activity (Jn 10:10).

• But (ἀλλά - alla): A strong adversative conjunction, marking a significant shift from the father’s lament and description of suffering to his urgent plea and conditionality placed on Jesus.

• if you can do anything (εἰ τι δύνῃ - ei ti dynē):

  • if (εἰ - ei): Introduces a first-class conditional statement, which can imply an unstated doubt or open possibility, revealing the father's lingering uncertainty or exhaustion of hope, possibly exacerbated by the disciples' failure to cast out the demon earlier.
  • you can (δύνῃ - dynē): From dynamai, meaning "to be able, to have power." This verb questions Jesus's power or ability, making the father's faith the central issue, not Jesus's inherent authority or compassion. It reflects a common human experience of desperation coupled with incomplete faith.
  • do anything (τι - ti): Meaning "anything, something, some." The vagueness highlights the father’s plea for any measure of intervention, however small, demonstrating his dire desperation and limited expectation.

• take pity on us (σπλαγχνίσθητι ἐφ᾽ ἡμᾶς - splanchnisthēti eph' hēmas):

  • take pity (σπλαγχνίσθητι - splanchnisthēti): From splanchnizomai, signifying deep, visceral compassion—to be "moved in one's bowels." It is a characteristic verb used to describe Jesus's profound empathy (Mk 1:41, Lk 7:13). The father appeals to Jesus’s known benevolent nature.
  • on us (ἐφ᾽ ἡμᾶς - eph' hēmas): The plural "us" indicates that the suffering is not just the boy’s, but also the father's, and perhaps the entire family's. It's a collective burden, underscoring the broad impact of the demon’s oppression.

• and help us (καὶ βοήθησον ἡμῖν - kai boēthēson hēmin):

  • help (βοήθησον - boēthēson): A direct and urgent imperative meaning "come to aid, give assistance, provide relief." This is a straightforward cry for immediate practical assistance after the appeal to compassion.
  • us (ἡμῖν - hēmin): Reiterates the shared need for intervention, further reinforcing the family’s joint suffering.

Word-Groups Analysis:

• "has often thrown him into fire and into water to kill him": This phrase dramatically portrays the extreme and ongoing nature of the demonic oppression. It underscores the demon's relentless malevolence, which seeks the total destruction of the boy. This is not mere illness but an active, evil force aiming to murder. The two elements (fire and water) represent opposing forms of destruction, signifying the comprehensive, omnipresent threat.

• "But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us": This pivotal statement encapsulates the father’s mixed emotions: profound despair and desperation are contrasted with his conditional and therefore weak faith in Jesus's power. His plea is an appeal to Jesus’s well-known compassion but simultaneously introduces a doubt that Jesus promptly addresses (Mk 9:23). It sets up the core challenge of the narrative: not Jesus's ability, but the father's belief.

Mark 9 22 Bonus section

• The father's doubt in Mark 9:22 directly mirrors Jesus's own question to the disciples after He descends from the mount of Transfiguration: "O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you?" (Mk 9:19). This highlights a pervasive issue of limited faith among humanity, not just the disciples.
• The demon's use of "fire" and "water" can be seen not just as attempts at killing, but also symbolically as the demon’s desire to destroy the boy through any means available, across different dimensions of suffering (fiery trials, overwhelming despair). It speaks to a profound and versatile malevolence.
• The request "take pity on us" directly invokes Jesus's profound and active compassion, a quality consistently demonstrated throughout the Gospels (Mk 1:41, Mk 6:34, Mt 14:14). It signifies the father's understanding, at least intuitively, that Jesus's power is always coupled with divine love and mercy towards human suffering.

Mark 9 22 Commentary

Mark 9:22 presents a harrowing picture of relentless demonic evil contrasted with the desperate plea of a suffering father. The description of the demon "often throwing" the boy into fire and water "to kill him" is not merely illustrative; it directly unmasks the murderous intent of evil spirits. They seek nothing less than annihilation (Jn 10:10). This also serves as a poignant reminder of the unseen spiritual battle that can rage in human lives, sometimes manifesting in physical torment that appears as an incurable disease or self-destructive tendencies.

The father’s subsequent words, "But if you can do anything," are laden with raw human doubt and exhaustion. He has witnessed the disciples’ inability to help (Mk 9:18), and his faith, while present enough to bring him to Jesus, is clearly wavering. His appeal is rooted more in a desperate plea for compassion than in firm confidence in Jesus's boundless power. Yet, within this doubt, there's a kernel of hope; he appeals to Jesus's "pity" and for "help" for "us" – emphasizing the communal burden of suffering in his family. This vulnerable moment provides Jesus the perfect opportunity to address the true obstacle to deliverance: not His capacity, but the human condition of doubt, which Jesus tackles directly in the subsequent verse (Mk 9:23) by shifting the "if you can" from Himself to the one who believes.