They brought him to him, and when he saw him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground, wallowing and foaming at the mouth.
Parallel Translations
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They brought him to him, and when he saw him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground, wallowing and foaming at the mouth.
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And they brought him vnto him. And assone as the sprete sawe him he tare him. And he fell doune on the grounde walowinge and fomynge.
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So they brought him vnto him: and assoone as the spirit sawe him, hee tare him, and hee fell downe on the ground walowing and foming.
Cross-references (11)
Passages linked to Mark 9:20 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Mark 1:26 The unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him.
- Luke 4:35 Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” When the demon had thrown him down in the middle of them, he came out of him, having done him no harm.
- Luke 9:42 While he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him violently. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.
- 1 Peter 5:8 Be sober and self-controlled. Be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
- Job 1:10-12 Haven’t you made a hedge around him, and around his house, and around all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But stretch out your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will renounce you to your face.” Yahweh said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power. Only on himself don’t stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of Yahweh.
- Job 2:6-8 Yahweh said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand. Only spare his life.” So Satan went out from the presence of Yahweh, and struck Job with painful sores from the sole of his foot to his head. He took for himself a potsherd to scrape himself with, and he sat among the ashes.
- Mark 5:3-5 He lived in the tombs. Nobody could bind him any more, not even with chains, because he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him, and the fetters broken in pieces. Nobody had the strength to tame him. Always, night and day, in the tombs and in the mountains, he was crying out, and cutting himself with stones.
- Mark 9:18 and wherever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth, and wastes away. I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they weren’t able.”
- Mark 9:26 After crying out and convulsing him greatly, it came out of him. The boy became like one dead, so much that most of them said, “He is dead.”
- Luke 8:29 For Jesus was commanding the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For the unclean spirit had often seized the man. He was kept under guard, and bound with chains and fetters. Breaking the bonds apart, he was driven by the demon into the desert.
- John 8:44 You are of your father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and doesn’t stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks on his own; for he is a liar, and the father of lies.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (12 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain So soon as Jesus had looked upon the boy…
So soon as Jesus had looked upon the boy that was brought unto him, the devil began to rage after his manner.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 20 And they brought him unto him: and when…
20 And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.
Ver. 20. The spirit tare him] Thus things often go backward ere they come forward; as the corn grows downward before it comes upward. Duplicantur lateres, venit Moses. This child had never such a sore fit, as now that he was to be cured. See Mar 9:26.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And they brought him unto him,.... The father of…
And they brought him unto him,.... The father of the child, and those that were with him, brought the child to Jesus, into his presence, before him:
and when he saw him, that is, either when Jesus saw the child, or the child saw Jesus; or the evil spirit in him, and by him which were all at once:
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straightway the spirit tare him; threw him into a violent fit, shook him, and convulsed him in a dreadful manner; knowing his time was short, and being filled with indignation and rage, that he should be obliged, as he knew he must, to leave the child very speedily; and was therefore resolved to do all the mischief, and put him to all the pain he could:
and he fell on the ground; at the feet of Jesus, not being able to stand, through the violent motions and convulsions he threw him into:
and wallowed, foaming; rolled about from side to side, foaming at the mouth, and in the most exquisite rack and torture.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain When he saw him - When the child saw…
When he saw him - When the child saw Christ; when his deliverance was at hand. Immediately the spirit tore him - Made his last grand effort to destroy him. Is it not generally so, before Satan is cast out of a soul, of which he has long had possession?
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 20. When he saw him the spirit tare…
Verse 20. When he saw him the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, c.] When this demon saw Jesus, he had great rage, knowing that his time was short and hence the extraordinary convulsions mentioned above.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Mar 9:20-22. And when he saw him — When…
Mar 9:20-22. And when he saw him — When the child saw Jesus, being brought to him by his father: when his deliverance was at hand; immediately the spirit tore him — Made his last, grand effort to destroy him. Is it not generally so, before Satan relinquishes his power over a soul of which he has long had possession? And he (Christ) asked, How long is it, &c. — The Lord Jesus made this inquiry for the same reason for which he suffered Satan to make the violent attack upon the youth just mentioned, namely, that the spectators might be impressed with a more lively sense of his deplorable condition. And he said, From a child — Greek, παιδιοθεν, from his childhood, or, as some render it, from his infancy. And ofttimes it — The evil spirit; hath cast him into the fire, &c., to destroy him — Such is the power it has over him, and such its infernal rage and malice! But if thou canst do any thing — In so desperate a case; have compassion on us — On me as well as him; and help us — The afflicted father, greatly discouraged by the inability of our Lord’s disciples, and dispirited by the sight of his son’s misery, and by the remembrance of its long continuance, was afraid this possession might surpass the power of Jesus himself, and therefore spoke thus, expressing his doubts and fears in a manner very natural, and yet strongly pathetic, and obliquely interesting the honour of Christ in the issue of the affair.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Let those blush who pretend to affirm, that all…
Let those blush who pretend to affirm, that all men come into this world clear of original sin, and perfectly innocent like Adam when first created. For why should this child be tormented by a cruel devil, if he had not been under the guilt of original sin, as it is clear, beyond dispute, that he could not be guilty of any actual transgression? (Ven. Bede)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 20. straightway the spirit] The mere introduction to our…
20. straightway the spirit] The mere introduction to our Lord brings on one of the sudden and terrible paroxysms, to which he was liable.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (20) He fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.—Another…
(20) He fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.—Another graphic touch found only in St. Mark.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And they brought him unto him. The father, it…
And they brought him unto him. The father, it would seem, was not able of himself to bring him, so fierce and violent were the paroxysms of the disorder. And when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him (sunesperaxen ) it might be rendered, convulsed him grievously. Observe the Greek construction (kai idw pneuma), masculine participle with neuter noun. The sight of Christ stirred the evil spirit dwelling in the child. He was irritated by the presence of Christ; for he knew his power, and feared lest he should be cast out. Then came the last and most violent convulsion. He wallowed foaming. The word "to wallow" is probably from the Latin volvo. He rolled about in his agony. St. Gregory, quoted by Trench ("Miracles," p. 397), shows how true all this is to nature; and that "the expulsion of a deadly evil from our spiritual being is not accomplished without a terrible struggle, followed in some cases by extreme prostration."
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 This refers to the unclean spirit. See how you…
spirit
This refers to the unclean spirit. See how you translated this in Mark 9:17.
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convulsion
This is a condition where a person has no control over his body, and his body shakes violently.
Since childhood
"Since he was a small child." It may be helpful to state this as a full sentence. AT: "He has been like this since he was a small child" (See: Ellipsis)
have pity
"have compassion"
translationWords
demon
Jesus
water
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 9:20 The demon’s reaction was nonverbal (contrast 1:24; 5:7,…
9:20 The demon’s reaction was nonverbal (contrast 1:24; 5:7, 9-10; see also 1:34; 3:11-12) but violent, as the father had described (9:18).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.