And Jesus was saying to them, “^aTruly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God having come in power.”

2 ^aAnd six days later, Jesus *took with Him ^bPeter and James and John, and *brought them up on a high mountain alone by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; 3 and ^aHis garments were shining intensely white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them. 4 And Elijah appeared to them along with Moses and they were conversing with Jesus. 5 And Peter answered and *said to Jesus, “^aRabbi, it is good for us to be here; ^blet us make three ¹booths, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 6 For he did not know what to answer; for they became terrified. 7 Then a cloud ¹formed, overshadowing them, and ^aa voice ²came out of the cloud, “^bThis is My beloved Son, ³listen to Him!” 8 And all at once when they looked around, they saw no one with them anymore, except Jesus alone.

9 ^aAnd as they were coming down from the mountain, He ^bgave them orders not to recount to anyone what they had seen, ¹until the Son of Man rose from the dead. 10 And they ¹seized upon ²that statement, arguing with one another ³what rising from the dead meant. 11 And they began asking Him, saying, “Why is it that the scribes say that ^aElijah must come first?” 12 And He said to them, “Elijah does first come and restore all things. And yet how is it written of ^athe Son of Man that ^bHe will suffer many things and be treated with contempt? 13 But I say to you that Elijah has ¹indeed come, and they did to him whatever they wished, just as it is written of him.”

14 ^aAnd when they came back to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. 15 And immediately, when the entire crowd saw Him, they were ^aamazed. And as they ran up, they were greeting Him. 16 And He asked them, “What are you arguing with them?” 17 And one of the crowd answered Him, “Teacher, I brought You my son, possessed with a spirit which makes him mute; 18 and ¹whenever it seizes him, it ²slams him to the ground and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth and ³becomes rigid. I told Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not do it.” 19 And He *answered them and *said, “O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!” 20 And they brought ¹the boy to Him. When he saw Him, immediately the spirit threw him into a convulsion, and falling to the ground, he began rolling around, foaming at the mouth. 21 And He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. 22 And it has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” 23 And Jesus said to him, “‘If You can?’ ^aAll things are possible to him who believes.” 24 Immediately the boy’s father cried out and was saying, “I do believe; help my unbelief.” 25 Now when Jesus saw that ^aa crowd was ¹rapidly gathering, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, ²I command you, come out of him and do not enter him ³again.” 26 And after crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out; and the boy became so much like a corpse that most of them said, “He is dead!” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him; and he stood up. 28 And when He came ^ainto the house, His disciples began questioning Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” 29 And He said to them, “This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer.”

30 ^aFrom there they went out and were going through Galilee, and He was not wanting anyone to know about it. 31 For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, “^aThe Son of Man is to be ¹delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise again three days later.” 32 But ^athey ¹did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him.

33 ^aAnd they came to Capernaum; and when He ¹was in ^bthe house, He began to question them, “What were you discussing on the way?” 34 But they kept silent, for on the way ^athey had discussed with one another which of them was the greatest. 35 And sitting down, He called the twelve and *said to them, “^aIf anyone wants to be first, ¹he shall be last of all and servant of all.” 36 And taking a child, He set him ¹before them. And taking him in His arms, He said to them, 37 “^aWhoever receives ¹one child like this in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me does not receive Me, but Him who sent Me.”

38 ^aJohn said to Him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and ^bwe tried to hinder him because he was not following us.” 39 But Jesus said, “Do not hinder him, for there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name, and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me. 40 ^aFor he who is not against us is ¹for us. 41 For ^awhoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name because you are of Christ, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward.

42 “^aAnd whoever causes one of these ¹little ones who believe to stumble, it ²would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he ³had been cast into the sea. 43 ^aAnd if your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into ^1bhell, into the ^cunquenchable fire, 44 ¹[and where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.] 45 And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than, having your two feet, to be cast into ^1ahell, 46 ¹[and where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.] 47 ^aAnd if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into ^1bhell, 48 ^awhere THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND ^bTHE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.

49 “For everyone will be salted with fire. 50 Salt is good; but ^aif the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you ¹make it salty again? ^bHave salt in yourselves, and ^cbe at peace with one another.”

And Jesus said to them, “^aI assure you and most solemnly say to you, there are ¹some of those who are standing here who will not taste (experience) death before they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”

2 ^aSix days later, Jesus took with Him ^bPeter and James and John, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured (changed in form) before them and began to shine brightly with divine and regal glory; Matt 17:1-8; Luke 9:28-36 3 and ^aHis clothes became radiant and dazzling, intensely white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them. 4 Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were having a conversation with Jesus. 5 Peter responded and said to Jesus, “^aRabbi (Master) , it is good for us to be here; ^blet us make three sacred tents—one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 6 For he did not really know what to say because they were terrified and stunned by the miraculous sight. 7 Then a cloud formed, overshadowing them, and ^1aa voice came out of the cloud, “^bThis is My beloved Son. Listen to Him and obey Him!” 8 Suddenly they looked around and no longer saw anyone with them, except Jesus alone.

9 ^aAs they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus ^bexpressly ordered them not to tell anyone what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10 So they carefully and faithfully kept the matter to themselves, ¹discussing and questioning with one another what it meant to rise from the dead. 11 They asked Him, saying, “Why do the scribes say that ^aElijah must come first before the Messiah comes?” Mal 4:5, 6 12 He answered them, “Elijah does come first and restores and reestablishes all things. And yet how is it written of ^athe Son of Man that ^bHe will suffer many things grief and physical distress and be treated with contempt utterly despised and rejected? Is 53:3 13 But I say to you that Elijah has in fact come already, and they ¹did to him whatever they wished, just as it is written in Scripture of him.”

14 ^aWhen they came back to the other nine disciples, they saw a large crowd around them, and scribes questioning and arguing with them. Matt 17:14-18; Luke 9:37-42 15 Immediately, when the entire crowd saw Jesus, they were ^astartled and began running up to greet Him. 16 He asked them, “What are you discussing with them?” 17 One of the crowd replied to Him, “Teacher, I brought You my son, possessed with a spirit which makes him unable to speak; 18 and whenever it seizes him intending to do harm, it throws him down, and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth and becomes stiff. I told Your disciples to drive it out, and they could not do it.” 19 He replied, “O unbelieving (faithless) generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!” 20 They brought the boy to Him. When the demonic spirit saw Him, immediately it threw the boy into a convulsion, and falling to the ground he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth. 21 Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he answered, “Since childhood. 22 The demon has often thrown him both into fire and into water, intending to kill him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” 23 Jesus said to him, “ You say to Me, ‘If You can?’ ^aAll things are possible for the one who believes and trusts in Me!” 24 Immediately the father of the boy cried out with a desperate, piercing cry, saying, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief.” 25 When Jesus saw that ^aa crowd was rapidly gathering around them, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You deaf and mute spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again!” 26 After screaming out and throwing him into a terrible convulsion, it came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse so still and pale that many of the spectators said, “He is dead!” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him; and he stood up. 28 When He had gone ^aindoors, His disciples began asking Him privately, “Why were we unable to drive it out?” 29 He replied to them, “This kind of unclean spirit cannot come out by anything but prayer to the Father.”

30 ^aThey went on from there and began to go through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know it, 31 because He was teaching His disciples and preparing them for the future. He told them, “^aThe Son of Man is to be betrayed and handed over to men who are His enemies, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise from the dead three days later.” 32 But ^1athey did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him what He meant.

33 ^aThey arrived at Capernaum; and when He was in ^bthe ¹house, He asked them, “What were you discussing and arguing about on the road?” Matt 18:1-5; Luke 9:46-48 34 But they kept quiet, because on the road ^athey had discussed and debated with one another which one of them was the greatest. 35 Sitting down to teach, He called the twelve disciples and said to them, “^aIf anyone wants to be first, he must be last of all in importance and a servant of all.” 36 Taking a child, He set him before them; and taking him in His arms, He said to them, 37 “^aWhoever receives and welcomes one child such as this in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives not only Me, but Him who sent Me.” Matt 10:40; Luke 10:16; John 13:20

38 ^aJohn said to Him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and ^bwe tried to stop him because he was not accompanying us as Your disciple.” Luke 9:49, 50 39 But Jesus said, “Do not stop him; for there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name, and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me. 40 ^aFor he who is not against us is for us. Num 11:27-29 41 For ^awhoever gives you a cup of water to drink because of your name as followers of Christ, I assure you and most solemnly say to you, he will not lose his reward.

42 “But ^awhoever causes one of these little ones who believe and trust in Me to stumble that is, to sin or lose faith, it would be better for him if a heavy millstone one requiring a donkey’s strength to turn it were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. Matt 18:6; Luke 17:2 43 ^aIf your hand causes you to stumble and sin, cut it off that is, remove yourself from the source of temptation! It is better for you to enter life crippled, than to have two hands and go into ^1bhell, into the ^cunquenchable fire, 44 [¹where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT PUT OUT.] Is 66:24 45 If your foot causes you to stumble and sin, cut it off that is, remove yourself from the source of temptation! It would be better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and be thrown into ^ahell, 46 [¹where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT PUT OUT.] Is 66:24 47 ^aIf your eye causes you to stumble and sin, throw it out that is, remove yourself from the source of temptation! It would be better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than to have two eyes and be thrown into ^bhell, 48 ^awhere THEIR WORM that feeds on the dead DOES NOT DIE, AND ^bTHE FIRE IS NOT PUT OUT. Is 66:24

49 “For everyone will be salted with fire. 50 Salt is good and useful; but ^aif salt has lost its saltiness (purpose) , how will you make it salty? ^bHave salt within yourselves continually, and ^cbe at peace with one another.”