Mark 9 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.

And he told them, "I'm telling you the truth — some of you standing here right now won't die before you see God's kingdom arrive in power."

Six days later, Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain, just the four of them, alone. And right there in front of them, he was transformed.

His clothes became blazing white — whiter than any bleach on earth could ever make them.

Then Elijah appeared to them, along with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.

Peter jumped in and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, this is incredible that we're here! Let us put up three shelters — one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."

He didn't really know what to say — they were completely terrified.

Then a cloud formed and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: "This is my Son, the one I deeply love. Listen to him!"

And just like that, when they looked around, they didn't see anyone with them anymore — only Jesus.

As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus told them not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

They held onto that statement, discussing among themselves what "rising from the dead" could possibly mean.

Then they asked him, "Why do the religious scholars say that Elijah has to come first?"

He told them, "Elijah does come first and puts everything back in order. But then why is it written about the Son of Man that he would go through terrible suffering and be treated as worthless?"

But I'm telling you — Elijah has already come, and they did whatever they wanted to him, exactly as it was written about him.

When they got back to the other followers, they saw a huge crowd gathered around them and religious scholars arguing with them.

The whole crowd was startled the moment they saw Jesus, and they ran up to greet him.

He asked them, "What are you arguing about with them?"

Someone from the crowd answered him, "Teacher, I brought my son to you — he has a spirit in him that won't let him speak.

Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and goes completely rigid. I asked your followers to drive it out, but they couldn't do it."

Jesus responded, "You faithless generation — how long do I have to be with you? How long do I have to put up with you? Bring him to me."

So they brought the boy to him. The moment the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into convulsions. He fell on the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.

Jesus asked his father, "How long has this been happening to him?" He said, "Since he was a little kid.

It's thrown him into fire and water over and over, trying to kill him. But if you can do anything — please, have compassion on us and help us!"

Jesus said to him, "'If you can'? Everything is possible for the person who trusts."

Immediately the boy's father cried out, "I do trust! Help me where I don't!"

When Jesus saw that a crowd was quickly gathering, he commanded the unclean spirit, "You spirit that makes him deaf and mute — I'm ordering you: come out of him and never go back into him again!"

The spirit screamed, threw the boy into terrible convulsions, and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that most of the crowd said, "He's dead."

But Jesus grabbed his hand and lifted him up, and he stood on his own two feet.

After he went inside a house, his followers asked him privately, "Why couldn't we drive it out?"

He told them, "This kind can only come out through prayer."

They left that area and traveled through Galilee. Jesus didn't want anyone to know where they were,

because he was teaching his followers. He told them, "The Son of Man is going to be handed over to people, and they're going to kill him. But three days after they kill him, he'll rise again."

But they didn't understand what he was saying, and they were afraid to ask him about it.

They came to Capernaum, and once they were inside the house, he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the road?"

But they stayed quiet, because on the road they had been arguing with each other about which of them was the greatest.

He sat down, called the twelve over, and said to them, "If anyone wants to be first, they need to be last — and the servant of everyone else."

Then he took a little child, stood the child right in the middle of them, picked the child up in his arms, and said to them,

"Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me. And whoever welcomes me isn't just welcoming me — they're welcoming the one who sent me."

John said to him, "Teacher, we saw someone driving out spirits using your name, and we tried to stop him because he wasn't following along with us."

But Jesus said, "Don't stop him. No one who does a miracle using my name can turn around and trash-talk me the next moment.

Whoever isn't against us is for us.

I'm telling you the truth — anyone who gives you a cup of water because you belong to the One will absolutely not lose their reward.

And whoever causes one of these little ones who trust in me to stumble — it would be better for them if a massive millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea.

If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It's better to enter life missing a hand than to go into Gehenna — the unquenchable fire — with both hands intact.

[This verse is not included in the earliest manuscripts.]

And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It's better to enter life limping than to be thrown into Gehenna with both feet.

[This verse is not included in the earliest manuscripts.]

And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out. It's better to enter God's kingdom with one eye than to be thrown into Gehenna with both eyes,

where 'the worm never dies and the fire never goes out.'

Everyone will be salted with fire.

Salt is good. But if salt loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other.