Healing the Epileptic Boy

Mat 17:14–21

Mrk 9:14–29

1. 14 Jesus asked them, “What are you mob all arguing about?”
2. 15 One of the men there said to Jesus, “Teacher, my son has a bad spirit inside him and it stops him from talking.
3. 16 It pushes the boy down on to the ground, his body goes stiff and he rubs his teeth together and spit comes out of his mouth. I asked your followers, ‘Please force that bad spirit out of him.’ But they can’t do it.”
4. 17 Jesus said, “How come you mob that are alive today can’t believe? Do I have to always stay here and do everything for you? Bring the boy here to me.”
5. 18 The people brought the boy to Jesus. As soon as that bad spirit saw Jesus it shook the boy and pushed him down so that he wriggled around on the ground, and a lot of spit came out of his mouth.
6. 19 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has your boy been like this?” The man said, “For a long time, from when he was little kid.
7. 20 Lots of times the bad spirit pushes him into fires and into water. That bad spirit is trying to kill him. Please feel sorry for us and help him if you can.”
8. 21 Jesus said, “You said to me, ‘If you can.’ Don’t you know that God is strong enough to do anything if you trust him to do it?”
9. 22 That boy’s father yelled out, “I believe God can do it. But please help me believe more.”
10. 23 Jesus looked around and saw a big mob of people coming to watch, so he growled at the bad spirit. He said, “Hey. You bad spirit that stops people from talking and hearing, I’m telling you now, come out of this little boy, and stay out of him. You can never go back into him.”
11. 24 Then the bad spirit screamed and forced the boy to take another bad fit and fall down on the ground, then it went out of the boy. The boy looked like he was dead, and a lot of people said, “Poor boy, he is finished.”
12. 25 But Jesus just got hold of the boy’s hand and helped him stand up. Then his father took the boy home.
13. 26 After that Jesus and his followers went into a house, and his followers asked him quietly, “Why couldn’t we force that bad spirit out of the boy?”
14. 27 Jesus told them, “The only way you can force that kind of bad spirit out of anyone is to pray and get God to force it out.”
15. 28 Later Jesus and his followers left that place and went through Galilee country. As they walked along he was teaching his followers. He didn’t want everyone to know where he was going, so they went along secretly and quietly. He told them about what was going to happen to him. He said, “I’m God’s special man from heaven, but bad men will grab me, and they will kill me. But after 3 days I will come alive again.”
16. 29 The followers of Jesus couldn’t understand what he was talking about, but they felt too ashamed to ask him any more questions.

Luk 9:37–43