Mark 9:15-26

¹⁵When the crowd looked they saw Jesus close, they were pleased, they ran to meet him. “We are happy! You have come!”

¹⁶Jesus asked his men, “Why were you arguing with them?”

¹⁷One man said to him, “Teacher, my child is controlled by an evil spirit, he can't talk.

¹⁸The spirit grabs him, it throws him on the ground. Saliva froths from his mouth, he grinds his teeth, his body becomes very stiff. Therefore I brought him to you so you can make him well. I asked your men to send the demon right away. Nothing. They tried in vain to send it away.”

¹⁹Then Jesus said to his men, “You truly have not believed in God. How is it? You are still unbelievers. How long shall I be with you? Shall I teach you for a long time? After that will you believe in God? Bring the child to me.”

²⁰They brought him to him. As soon as he saw Jesus the spirit grabbed that child, it made him thrash around. At that time the child fell on the ground, trembling he was rolling from side to side. Saliva was coming from his mouth.

²¹Jesus asked his father, “When did he become like this?” He said to him, “When he was a child.

²²Many times the spirit has thrown him in the fire or in the water, it has been trying to kill him. Have pity on us. Perhaps you will make him well.”

²³Jesus replied, “Yes, I know how to heal him. Why did you say that word to me, 'Perhaps you will make him well.'? You must believe in God. Then you can ask God for anything. For that particular thing he knows how to do it. It is not a puzzle for God.” Right then the man called out loudly, “I believe in God. Teach me to believe properly!”

²⁵Jesus saw many people gathering together. Therefore he said sternly to the evil spirit, “You bad spirit, you made this child deaf, you made him unable to speak. Leave. Go away. Do not again control him.”

²⁶The spirit called out, it was making the child thrash around, it was very bad. Then it left, it went away permanently. That child was like a corpse. Many were saying, “He is truly dead.”