Mark 9:25

9:25 The crowd was approaching, so Jesus quickly proceeded with the exorcism. • The I in the command to the demon is emphatic, dramatizing Jesus’ authority and power. • never enter him again! At times exorcisms could be temporary (see Matt 12:43-45; Luke 11:24-26).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Mar 9:25. Δὲ, but) Jesus everywhere avoided a din.—ἀκαθάρτωò—ἄλαλον—κωφόν, unclean—dumb—deaf) The spirit made the wretched boy be so, or else even the spirit itself was so [unclean, dumb, and deaf].—ἐγὼ σοὶ ἐπιτάσσω, I charge thee) I, in antithesis to the disciples, who had not been able to cast out the demon: the disciples themselves say, we, Mar 9:28 [Why could not we cast him out?]. This illustrates the great power of the Lord. The spirit was only the more exasperated to fury by the inability of the disciples.—μήκετι, no more any longer) Those who in the beginning of life have undergone continued adversities, sometimes receive, as it were, a greater privilege as to the rest of their life.—εἰσέλθῃς, enter into) The spirit would have wished to enter again into him.

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

Mar 9:25-29 . The cure . ἐπισυντρέχει ( ἅπ . λεγ .) indicates that the crowd was constantly increasing, so becoming a new crowd ( ὄχλος without art.); natural in the circumstances. Jesus seeing this proceeds to cure without further delay. The spirit is now described as unclean and, with reference to the boy’s symptoms, both dumb and deaf. μηκέτι εἰσέλθῃς , enter not again . This was the essential point in a case of intermittent possession. The spirit went out at the end of each attack, but returned again.

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

Verse 25. I charge thee] Considerable emphasis should be laid on the pronoun: - Thou didst resist the command of my disciples, now I command thee to come out. If this had been only a natural disease, for instance the epilepsy, as some have argued, could our Lord have addressed it, with any propriety, as he has done here: Thou deaf and dumb spirit, come out of him, and enter no more into him? Is the doctrine of demoniacal influence false? If so, Jesus took the most direct method to perpetuate the belief of that falsity, by accommodating himself so completely to the deceived vulgar. But this was impossible; therefore the doctrine of demoniacal influence is a true doctrine, otherwise Christ would never have given it the least countenance or support.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(25) When Jesus saw that the people came running together.—This fact and the words of the rebuke to the “deaf and dumb spirit” are found only in St. Mark.

Enter no more into him.—We may note in these words, used by our Lord in this case only, a tender adaptation to the weak faith of the father. He had seen so many relapses, the last state worse than the first, that it was hard for him to take in the thought that the cure would be complete and permanent.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

25. I charge thee] Notice the words of majestic command, I charge thee, I, whom thou darest not to disobey, and against whom it is vain for thee to struggle.

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.

When Jesus saw that the people came running together,.... "to him", as the Syriac version adds, and so the Persic; upon hearing the vehement cry of the father of the child, and the earnest solicitations he made, expecting that something would be done:

he rebuked the foul spirit; that brought this disorder on the child, had continued it so long, and with so much violence. Matthew calls this foul spirit, "the devil"; see Gill on Mat 17:18,

saying unto him, thou dumb and deaf spirit; so calling him, not because the spirit was dumb and deaf, but because he had been the cause of dumbness and deafness in the child: he had at times taken away both his speech and hearing:

I charge thee come out of him, and enter no more into him. Christ, in an authoritative way, ordered the unclean spirit to leave his possession, and never attempt to regain it more. This he said, partly with regard to the devil, who would be desirous of repossession; and partly with respect to the disease, which had its intervals, and returned at certain times; and also with respect to the father of the child, to confirm his faith in the cure, and that he might be in no pain about the return of the disorder.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.

Ver. 25. I charge thee] Cum emphasi dictum et magna authoritate, saith one, when the Lion of the tribe of Judah roar on this wise, devils run and wriggle into their holes, as worms use to do in time of thunder.

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.

25. The people came running together — They had before run forward to him. They now crowded around in close circle to witness the expected miracle. Rebuked the foul spirit — The words were not directed to the child, nor to his disease; but to the spirit that possessed the child and produced the disease. Dumb and deaf — Not that the spirit was dumb and deaf; for it is plain that he heard Jesus, and that he cried when driven from the child.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Vers. 25-29. The multitude had been much excited by the dispute between the scribes and our Lord"s disciples. And now, when they noticed that he had taken the father apart, as no doubt he had done, to question him they came running together (the word is episuntrecei , an unusual word, meaning "they ran together to the place") where he was, crowding upon him. Then he came forward, and with a voice of sublime authority he said, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I command thee, come out of him and enter no more into him. The rest of the narrative shows how malignant and powerful this evil spirit was, who dared so to resist and defy Christ that, in his departure out of the afflicted boy, he almost robbed him of life. "Most unwillingly," says Archbishop Trench, "does the evil spirit depart, seeking to destroy that which he can no longer retain." And he quotes Fuller, who says that he is "like an outgoing tenant, that cares not what mischief he does to the house that he is quitting." Some have supposed that this was an evil spirit possessed of more than ordinary power as well as malignity, and that this was the reason why our Lord"s disciples could not cast him out; so that this expulsion needed the mighty arm of One stronger than the strong. The words in the Greek are powerful, severe, and authoritative: "He rebuked (epetimhse) the unclean spirit, ... Thou dumb and deaf spirit (to pneuma to alalon kai kwfon), I command thee (egw soi epitassw), come out of him, and enter no more into him." This explains our Lord"s words when the disciples remarked afterwards, We could not out it out... This kind can come out by nothing, save by prayer; that is, this particular kind of malicious spirit. For there are different degrees of malice and energy in evil spirits as in evil men. The words "and fasting" are added in many ancient authorities.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Thou deaf and dumb spirit - So termed, because he made the child so. When Jesus spake, the devil heard, though the child could not. I command thee - I myself now; not my disciples.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

25. [1971][1972][1973][1974] omit ὁ before ὄχλος. Syr-Sin. omits τ. ἀκαθάρτῳ.

[1971] 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.

[1972] 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.

[1973] Codex Bezae. 6th cent. Has a Latin translation (d) side by side with the Greek text, and the two do not quite always agree. Presented by Beza to the University Library of Cambridge in 1581. Remarkable for its frequent divergences from other texts. Contains Mark, except Mar 16:15-20, which has been added by a later hand. Photographic facsimile, 1899.

[1974] Codex Oxoniensis. 9th cent. Contains Mark, except Mar 3:35 to Mar 6:20.

25. ἐπισυντρέχει ὄχλος. A multitude came running together (R.V.). Not “the people” (A.V.); there is no art. in the true text, and therefore no ref. to the crowd already mentioned. Apparently Christ and the father had drawn away from it (Mar 7:33, Mar 8:23) while the boy was being fetched, and now a fresh crowd runs towards the group. The double compound occurs nowhere else in N.T., and both prepositions have point, one knot of people on the top of another. Cf. ἐπισυνηγμένη, Mar 1:33.

Τὸ ἄλαλον. Nom. with art. for voc. See on Mar 5:8. All three have ἐπετίμησεν, but the words of the rebuke and the two verses which follow are peculiar to Mk.

ἐγὼ ἐπιτάσσω. Emphatic pronoun; “It is no longer disciples who speak, but ἐγώ, ὃν οἶδας” (Euthym.).

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.

25.] This took place at a distance from the crowd, among those who had run forward to meet our Lord, ver. 15.

ἐγὼ ἐπ. σοί] The personal pronoun is emphatic, as opposed to the want of power on the part of the disciples. This is the only place where we have such a charge as μηκέτι εἰσέλθ. εἰς αὐ.,—shewing the excessive malignity and tenacity of this kind (see ver. 29) of spirit. This is also shewn by ver. 26.

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

25. ὅτι ἐπισυντρέχει (ὁ) ὄχλος—that a (the) crowd is running together besides (those already gathered). The evidence for the insertion or omission of the art. is evenly divided. The anarthrous noun is more consistent with the meaning of ἐπισυντρέχει. ἐπι—adds to συντρέχει, is running together, the meaning besides, i.e. in addition to those already collected.1 The part. ἰδὼν is causal; it was because Jesus saw this, that he rebuked the demon. He did not wish to attract a larger crowd by prolonging the scene, and so, without any further delay, he proceeded with the cure. It is his usual avoidance of any notoriety in his miracles. τὸ ἄλαλον καὶ κωφὸν πνεῦμα—thou dumb and deaf spirit. The story has grown by so much, since the first mention of the spirit. Then it was dumb, which was more than the other Gospels tell us, now it has become deaf and dumb.

τὸ ἄλαλον καὶ κωφὸν πνεῦμα, instead of τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἄλαλον καὶ κωφὸν, Tisch. Treg. WH. א BC* DL Δ 1, 33, 73, 118, Latt. Memph.

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