Matthew 17 17

Matthew 17:17 kjv

Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.

Matthew 17:17 nkjv

Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me."

Matthew 17:17 niv

"You unbelieving and perverse generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me."

Matthew 17:17 esv

And Jesus answered, "O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me."

Matthew 17:17 nlt

Jesus said, "You faithless and corrupt people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me."

Matthew 17 verses

Matthew 17 17 Meaning

In Matthew 17:17, Jesus expresses deep lament and exasperation towards the lack of faith demonstrated by His disciples and the broader, morally twisted generation of His time. Having just witnessed His disciples' failure to cast out a demon from a boy, Jesus confronts their spiritual weakness and the prevailing unbelief, emphasizing His prolonged patience with them. His rhetorical questions convey a weariness not born of exhaustion but of profound sorrow over their inability or unwillingness to fully grasp divine power through faith, leading Him to assert His immediate authority to act.

Matthew 17 17 Context

This verse is situated immediately after the transformative experience of the Transfiguration on the mountain, where Peter, James, and John witnessed Jesus' glory, along with Moses and Elijah. Down in the valley, the other disciples encountered a boy suffering from demon possession and epilepsy. Despite Jesus having previously given His disciples authority over unclean spirits (Mt 10:1), they failed to heal the boy. The Jewish religious leaders, particularly the scribes, were likely present and mocking their inability.

The context highlights a significant contrast: the disciples who saw Jesus' glory should have returned with renewed faith, yet those left behind demonstrated spiritual impotence. Jesus' exasperation is directed both at His disciples, who failed despite their privilege and delegated authority, and at the entire generation characterized by stubborn unbelief, skepticism, and moral deviation. This setting emphasizes the urgency of genuine faith in a world deeply afflicted by spiritual darkness and skepticism towards divine power.

Matthew 17 17 Word analysis

• "O" (Greek: Ὦ - Ō): An interjection used to express strong emotion, often surprise, lament, or distress. Here, it conveys deep sorrow, exasperation, and disappointment on Jesus' part.
• "faithless" (Greek: ἄπιστος - apistos): Lit. "without faith" or "unbelieving." It describes those who lack belief or trust, specifically in God's power and ability to act. It points to a spiritual deficiency or distrust in the divine, leading to spiritual inability.
• "and perverse" (Greek: καὶ διεστραμμένη - kai diestrammenē):
  • "and" (Greek: καὶ - kai): A simple conjunction connecting two descriptive adjectives, intensifying the spiritual condition.
  • "perverse" (Greek: διεστραμμένη - diestrammenē): From diastrephō, meaning "to twist thoroughly," "to distort," or "to corrupt." It implies moral deviation, a turning away from the right path or truth. It refers to moral degeneracy and intellectual dishonesty that resists divine revelation. This generation's spiritual blindness was coupled with moral crookedness, making them resistant to God's ways.
• "generation" (Greek: γενεά - genea): Refers to the people of a particular age or time. Here, it encompasses not only the current crowd and the Jewish leadership but also implicitly includes His disciples in their momentary unbelief, as they are part of that societal context. It speaks to a prevailing ethos of spiritual hardness and rejection of Jesus.
• "How long" (Greek: ἕως πότε - heōs pote): A question expressing prolonged duration, carrying a sense of weary patience and lament. It's a common biblical cry (e.g., in Psalms), expressing frustration with a delay or an enduring undesirable situation, implying a desire for it to end.
• "shall I be with you?" (Greek: ἔσομαι μεθ’ ὑμῶν - esomai meth' hymōn): Refers to Jesus' physical presence among them. The question suggests that His earthly ministry and opportunities for teaching and demonstrating divine power are finite. It subtly hints at His impending departure and the limited time left for them to fully grasp and exercise faith.
• "how long shall I bear with you?" (Greek: ἀνέξομαι ὑμῶν - anexomai hymōn):
  • "bear with" (Greek: ἀνέξομαι - anexomai): To endure, to put up with, to suffer patiently. It reveals Jesus' longsuffering and extraordinary patience despite their spiritual dullness, yet also expresses the depth of His frustration. He is enduring their unbelief and lack of spiritual discernment.
• "Bring him hither to me." (Greek: φέρετε αὐτὸν ὧδε πρός με - pherete auton hōde pros me): This is a decisive command, shifting from lament to immediate action. It signals Jesus' absolute authority and His direct intervention where His followers had failed.

Matthew 17 17 Bonus section

The lament "How long?" (Hebrew: Ad matai?, Greek: Heōs pote?) echoes through the Old Testament, spoken by prophets and psalmists who groaned under oppression, unrighteousness, or God's perceived absence (e.g., Ps 6, 13, 35, 74; Hab 1:2). Jesus here uses it, expressing divine weariness not with His suffering, but with the spiritual blindness and stubborn resistance of those He came to save and empower. This "How long?" is laden with redemptive purpose, highlighting His persistent grace even amidst profound spiritual apathy, leading to a direct demonstration of power.

The disciples' failure here, despite their earlier successful missions (Mt 10:1), teaches that spiritual authority is not a static possession but a dynamic relationship sustained by ongoing faith, humility, and reliance on God. Their inability underscores the personal cultivation of faith required for effective spiritual ministry, indicating that past success does not guarantee future efficacy without continued spiritual vigilance.

Matthew 17 17 Commentary

Matthew 17:17 captures a pivotal moment of tension and divine authority. Jesus' words reveal His multifaceted emotions: profound sorrow over spiritual inadequacy, deep exasperation with the prevailing unbelief, and boundless compassion that drives Him to act decisively. The "faithless and perverse generation" includes not only the resistant crowds and hostile religious leaders but also, significantly, His own disciples who, despite being privileged witnesses to His power and having received authority, momentarily faltered. Their inability to heal the boy stemmed not from a lack of power in principle, but from a deficit in faith—a spiritual readiness and dependence on God—which often manifests through earnest prayer and fasting, as revealed in the subsequent verse (Mk 9:29).

Jesus' rhetorical questions, "How long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you?", are more than just expressions of impatience. They underscore the temporality of His earthly ministry and the urgency for His followers to appropriate the power available through faith. He has borne with their weaknesses, instructed them, and demonstrated the Kingdom's reality, yet a fundamental spiritual impediment persists. The passage serves as a potent reminder that divine power is accessed through radical trust in God, not through mechanical application of delegated authority. Jesus' immediate command, "Bring him hither to me," reasserts His sovereign power over all spiritual darkness, demonstrating that where human faith falters, divine grace intervenes. This verse challenges believers in every generation to confront their own unbelief and embrace the transforming power of a living, active faith in Christ.