Bible Strands
Mark 9:20
So they brought him, and seeing Jesus, the spirit immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The disciples bring the demon-possessed boy to Jesus after His command in the preceding verse. Upon seeing Jesus, the spirit immediately seizes the boy and forces him into a violent convulsion.
The words — ἰδὼν (idōn) means "having seen," and ἤνεγκαν (ēnegkan) means "they brought." These verbs establish the narrative sequence: the disciples comply with the command, and the spirit reacts instantly to the visual encounter.
The thread — This pattern of demonic convulsion upon encountering Jesus mirrors Mark 1:26, Luke 4:35, and Luke 9:42, where unclean spirits violently react to His presence before being cast out.
Why it lands — The verse demands recognition of the spirit’s immediate resistance to Christ’s authority and the boy’s complete helplessness, requiring the reader to observe the contrast between human failure and divine power without softening the confrontation.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Mark 1:26 At this, the unclean spirit threw the man into convulsions and came out with a loud shriek.
- Luke 4:35 But Jesus rebuked the demon. “Be silent!” He said. “Come out of him!” At this, the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without harming him.
- Luke 9:42 Even while the boy was approaching, the demon slammed him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.
- 1 Peter 5:8 Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
- Job 1:10 Have You not placed a hedge on every side around him and his household and all that he owns? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.
- Job 2:6 “Very well,” said the LORD to Satan. “He is in your hands, but you must spare his life.”
- Mark 5:3 This man had been living in the tombs and could no longer be restrained, even with chains.
- Mark 9:18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. I asked Your disciples to drive it out, but they were unable.”
- Mark 9:26 After shrieking and convulsing him violently, the spirit came out. The boy became like a corpse, so that many said, “He is dead.”
- Luke 8:29 For Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was bound with chains and shackles, he had broken the chains and been driven by the demon into solitary places.