9:1 Jesus continued: “I tell you truly that some of you standing here will certainly not experience death without having seen the kingdom of God coming with power.”

9:2 And six days later Jesus took Peter, James and John alone with him up a high mountain. Suddenly he was transformed in front of them;

9:3 his clothing became extremely gleaming white, such as no launderer on earth could make them.

9:4 Then Elijah and Moses appeared, and they were conversing with Jesus.

9:5 Then Peter blurted out to Jesus, “Rabbi, it’s great for us to be here! We should make three sanctuaries: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”

9:6 (he didn’t know what to say, since they were so afraid).

9:7 But a cloud enveloped them, and from it came a voice that said, “This is my dear son; listen to him!”

9:8 When they looked around, suddenly they saw no one else there with them except Jesus.

9:9 On their way down the mountain, Jesus commanded them not to say a thing about what they had seen, until the Human had risen from the dead.

9:10 They kept the command, discussing among themselves what he had meant by rising from the dead.

9:11 So they asked him, “What did the scripture scholars mean about Elijah having to come first?”

9:12 “Elijah does indeed come first,” he assured them, “and he is restoring everything. Yet how can it be written that the Human must suffer a lot and be scorned?

9:13 But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did what they wanted to him, just as it was written about him.”

9:14 When they reached the other disciples they saw a large crowd around them, and they were debating the scripture scholars.

9:15 The crowd recognized Jesus immediately and were thrilled to see him, so they raced toward him and greeted him.

9:16 Then he asked them what they were arguing about,

9:17 and one person out of the crowd replied, “Teacher, I brought you my son. He has a mute spirit,

9:18 and whenever it seizes him it takes control and causes him to foam at the mouth and grind his teeth, and he is wasting away. I asked your disciples to throw it out but they couldn’t.”

9:19 Jesus replied, “Faithless generation! How long will I be with you? How long will I put up with you? Bring him to me.”

9:20 So they brought him, and when the spirit saw Jesus it started right away to convulse the boy violently. It made him fall to the ground and roll around, foaming at the mouth.

9:21 And Jesus asked the father, “How long has he been like this?” “From childhood,” he replied.

9:22 “On many occasions it has thrown him into the fire or into water to kill him. But if you can, help us; have pity on us!”

9:23 “If I can?” asked Jesus. “Everything is possible to those who believe!”

9:24 Right away the boy’s father cried out, “I believe; help my unbelief!”

9:25 Then Jesus, seeing that the crowd was rushing toward him, rebuked the unclean spirit and said, “Deaf and mute spirit, I command you to get out of him and never enter him again!”

9:26 And with much screaming and convulsing it left, making the boy to appear dead; in fact, most of the people believed he was dead.

9:27 But Jesus grasped him by the hand, and he awakened and stood up.

9:28 When Jesus entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we throw it out?”

9:29 “This kind cannot be thrown out except with prayer,” he answered.

9:30 After this they went through Galilee, but Jesus did not want anyone to know,

9:31 because of what he was teaching his disciples: “The Human is to be handed over to people who will kill him. But three days after they do that, he will arise.”

9:32 Yet they didn’t know what he meant and were afraid to ask.

9:33 Then they arrived in Capernaum, and when they got to the house he asked them what they had been discussing along the way.

9:34 But they didn’t answer, because they had been arguing over who was the greatest.

9:35 So Jesus sat down and called the Twelve to him and said, “Whoever wants to be first will be last of all, and the servant to all.”

9:36 Then he had a child stand in front of them, whom he picked up and held in his arms. And he said to them,

9:37 “Whoever accepts one of these little ones in my name is really accepting me, and whoever accepts me is really accepting the One who sent me.”

9:38 Then John spoke up: “Teacher, we saw someone throwing out demons in your name and we stopped them, because they’re not one of us.”

9:39 But Jesus replied, “Don’t stop them, because no one who does a powerful deed in my name can turn right around and malign me.

9:40 For whoever is not against us is for us.

9:41 Whoever gives you a cup of water, just because you belong to the Anointed, will certainly be paid their wages.

9:42 And if anyone sets a trap for one of these little ones who trust me, it would be better if a very large millstone were tied around their neck and they were thrown into the sea!

9:43 “If your own hand sets a trap for you, cut it off; better to go through life crippled than to keep both hands and be sent to Gehenna where the fire is never quenched.

9:44

9:45 And if your own foot sets a trap for you, cut it off; better to go through life lame than to keep both feet and be thrown into Gehenna.

9:46

9:47 And if your own eye sets a trap for you, get rid of it; better to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to keep both eyes and be thrown into Gehenna, ‘where

9:48 the worm does not die and the fire is not extinguished’.

9:49 “Everyone will be ‘salted’ by means of fire.

9:50 Salt is good, but not if it loses its saltiness; how could you re-season it? So keep yourselves ‘salty’, and be at peace with each other.”