Markus 9:27-32

9:27 But Jesus gently took his hand and raised him to his feet, and he stood up.

9:28 Then, ¹  after he went into the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we cast it out?” 9:29 He told them, “This kind can come out only by prayer.” ² 

Second Prediction of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection

9:30 They went out from there and passed through Galilee. But ³  Jesus ⁴  did not want anyone to know, 9:31 for he was teaching his disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man will be betrayed into the hands of men. ⁵  They ⁶  will kill him, ⁷  and after three days he will rise.” ⁸  9:32 But they did not understand this statement and were afraid to ask him.

[9:28]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[9:29]  ² tc Most witnesses, even early and excellent ones (Ì^45vid א² A C D L W Θ Ψ Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat co), have “and fasting” (καὶ νηστείᾳ, kai nhsteia) after “prayer” here. But this seems to be a motivated reading, due to the early church’s emphasis on fasting (TCGNT 85; cf., e.g., 2 Clem. 16:4; Pol. Phil 7:2; Did. 1:3; 7:4). That the most important witnesses (א* B), as well as a few others (0274 2427 k), lack καὶ νηστείᾳ, when a good reason for the omission is difficult to find, argues strongly for the shorter reading.

[9:30]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[9:30]  ⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:31]  ⁵ tn The plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) is considered by some to be used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women (cf. NRSV, “into human hands”; CEV, “to people”). However, because this can be taken as a specific reference to the group responsible for Jesus’ arrest, where it is unlikely women were present (cf. Matt 26:47-56; Mark 14:43-52; Luke 22:47-53; John 18:2-12), the word “men” has been retained in the translation. There may also be a slight wordplay with “the Son of Man” earlier in the verse.

[9:31]  ⁶ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[9:31]  ⁷ tn Grk “They will kill him, and being killed, after…” The redundancy in the statement has been removed in the translation.

[9:31]  ⁸ sn They will kill him and after three days he will rise. See the note at the end of Mark 8:30 regarding the passion predictions.