Mark 9:20

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.

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.

Mar 9:20. Ἰδὼν) Others read ἰδὸν, which is to be referred to πνεῦμα. Comp. Heupelii annot. on Mark, p. 230. Ἰδὼν remains the established reading, i.e. the boy seeing Him, viz. Jesus: and the construction is conveniently analysed and explained by Hyperbaton,[5] and seeing Him and falling, etc.; wherein the straightway, etc., interrupts the construction the less violently, inasmuch as it is all the same as if he were to say, forthwith he was torn by the spirit. A similar figure of speech occurs, ch. Mar 3:17.

[5] Words transposed contrary to the ordinary and natural construction: ἤνεγκαν αὐτὸν (the boy) πρὸς αὐτὸν (Jesus); καὶ ἰδὼν (the boy) αὐτὸν (Jesus), εὐθέως τὸ πνεῦμα ἑσπάραξεν αὐτὸν (the boy); καὶ πεσὼν (the boy), etc.—ED. and TRANSL.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mar 9:20 . ἰδὼν may be taken as referring to the boy (Schanz), in which case we should have an anacolouthistic nominative for the accusative, the writer having in view to express his meaning in passives ( ἐκυλίετο ); or to the spirit ( πνεῦμα ) by a construction ad sensum = the spirit seeing Jesus made a last attack (Weiss in Meyer, et al. ). This is most in keeping with the mode of conceiving the matter natural to the evangelist. The visible fact was a fresh fit, and the explanation, from the possession point of view, that the spirit, seeing Jesus, and knowing that his power was at an end, made a final assault.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

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. Text via Bolls.life.

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.

(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.

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.

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:

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

spirit

This refers to the unclean spirit. See how you translated this in Mark 9:17.

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.

20. συνεσπάραξεν ([1941][1942][1943][1944][1945] 33) rather than ἐσπάραξεν ([1946][1947][1948][1949]).

[1941] Codex Sinaiticus. 4th cent. Discovered by Tischendorf in 1859 at the Monastery of St Katharine on Mount Sinai. Now at St Petersburg. The whole Gospel, ending at Mar 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1911.

[1942] Codex Vaticanus. 4th cent., but perhaps a little later than א. In the Vatican Library almost since its foundation by Pope Nicolas V., and one of its greatest treasures. The whole Gospel, ending at Mar 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1889.

[1943] Codex Ephraemi. 5th cent. A palimpsest: the original writing has been partially rubbed out, and the works of Ephraem the Syrian have been written over it; but a great deal of the original writing has been recovered; of Mark we have Mar 1:17 to Mar 6:31, Mar 8:5 to Mar 12:29, Mar 13:19 to Mar 16:20. In the National Library at Paris.

[1944] Codex Regius. 8th cent. An important witness. At Paris. Contains Mar 1:1 to Mar 10:15; Mar 10:30 to Mar 15:1; Mar 15:20 to Mar 16:20, but the shorter ending is inserted between Mar 16:8 and Mar 16:9, showing that the scribe preferred it to the longer one.

[1945] Codex Sangallensis. 9th or 10th cent. Contains the Gospels nearly complete, with an interlinear Latin translation. The text of Mark is specially good, agreeing often with CL. At St Gall.

[1946] Codex Alexandrinus. 5th cent. Brought by Cyril Lucar, Patriarch of Constantinople, from Alexandria, and afterwards presented by him to King Charles I. in 1628. In the British Museum. The whole Gospel. Photographic facsimile, 1879.

[1947] Codex Oxoniensis. 9th cent. Contains Mark, except Mar 3:35 to Mar 6:20.

[1948] Codex Petropolitanus. 9th cent. Gospels almost complete. Mar 16:18-20 is in a later hand.

[1949] Codex Athous Laurae. 8th cent. Like N and Σ, it is written in silver letters on purple vellum. Contains Mar 9:5 to Mar 16:20, and, as in L, the shorter ending is inserted between Mar 16:8 and Mar 16:9. As in Δ, the text of Mark is specially good.

20. καὶ ἰδὼν κ.τ.λ. There is the common confusion of personality between the demoniac and the demon; cf. Mar 3:11. In any case we have a confusion of construction, as often in Mk. Either ἰδών refers to τὸ πνεῦμα, the masc. being used because Mk thinks of the demon as a person; or ἰδών refers to the boy, and the sentence means “when the boy saw Jesus, straightway he was convulsed by the demon.”

συνεσπάραξεν. Also in Lk. Stronger than σπάραξαν (Mar 1:26), where, as here, Syr-Sin. has “threw him down.” Cf. συμπληρόω, συντέμνω.

ἐκυλίετο. Here only in N.T., but freq. in LXX. Cf. κυλισμός (2Pe 2:22). The change from aor. to imperf. is accurate.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

20.] ἰδών is out of strict concord with πνεῦμα, but has regard to its personal signification: see also ver. 26 below. This construction is often found in the Apocalypse (reff.).

“The kingdom of Satan, in small and great, is ever stirred into a fiercer activity by the coming near of the kingdom of Christ. Satan has great wrath, when his time is short.” (Trench, Mir. 365.)

Vv. 21-27 are peculiar to Mark.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

20. ἰδὼν—having seen. Regularly, the part. agrees with neither τὸ πνεῦμα, nor αὐτόν after συνεσπάραξεν. According to the sense, since the action of the verb belongs to the spirit, and is occasioned by the action denoted by the participle, it would be the spirit which is described as having seen Jesus. But he does this with the eyes of the man, and hence the masc. form of the part.

In all these stories, the man and the evil spirit get mixed up in this way. The outward acts belong to the man, but the informing spirit is sometimes that of the man, and sometimes the evil spirit. συνεσπάραξεν—convulsed him.1

συνεσπάραξεν, instead of ἐσπάραξεν, Tisch. Treg. marg. א BCL Δ 33, mss. Lat. Vet. Memph. Syrr.

ἐκυλίετο—he rolled around. Wallow suggests things not implied in this verb.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mark is more specific in his detail of the convulsion which seized the lad as he was coming to Jesus. He notes the convulsion as coming on at the demoniac's sight of our Lord. "When he saw him, straightway the spirit," etc. Also his falling on the ground, wallowing and foaming. We might expect the detail of these symptoms in Luke, the physician.

21 - 27. Peculiar to Mark. He gives the dialogue between Jesus and the boy 's father, and relates the process of the cure in graphic detail.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.