The Meaning of Mark 9:39 Explained

Mark 9:39

KJV: But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me.

YLT: And Jesus said, 'Forbid him not, for there is no one who shall do a mighty work in my name, and shall be able readily to speak evil of me:

Darby: But Jesus said, Forbid him not; for there is no one who shall do a miracle in my name, and be able soon after to speak ill of me;

ASV: But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man who shall do a mighty work in my name, and be able quickly to speak evil of me.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

But  Jesus  said,  Forbid  him  not:  for  there is  no man  which  shall do  a miracle  in  my  name,  that  can  lightly  speak evil  of me. 

What does Mark 9:39 Mean?

Study Notes

miracle
work of power upon my name, who will find it possible soon after to revile me.

Context Summary

Mark 9:30-50 - The Path To Greatness
Such were the hopes awakened by the Transfiguration and the following miracles that the disciples were led to speculate upon their relative position in the Kingdom. Jesus therefore took a little child for His text, and preached to them a sermon on humility. How constantly the Master speaks of the little ones! He says that we must be converted to become like them; that to cause them to stumble will involve terrible penalties; that they are not to be despised; that each has an angel of the Father's presence-chamber appointed to his charge; that to seek and to save one He is prepared as the shepherd to traverse the mountains; that it is not the Father's will that one of them should perish. How infinitely tender and humble was His love for them!
Let us strive to cut off whatever causes us to stumble. It may be a friendship, a pastime, a pursuit, a course of reading; but there must be no quarter given, no excuse accepted. As soon as the soul dares to make this supreme renunciation, there is an accession of life. Whenever the body loses the use of one member, such as the eye, there is an accession of vigor in others; so, to deny the lower is to open the door to the higher, and, though maimed, to enter into life. Mark 9:44-48 evidently refer to the valley of Hinnom, where fires were kept burning to consume waste. [source]

Chapter Summary: Mark 9

1  Jesus is transfigured
11  He instructs his disciples concerning the coming of Elijah;
14  casts forth a deaf and mute spirit;
30  foretells his death and resurrection;
33  exhorts his disciples to humility;
38  bidding them not to prohibit such as are not against them,
42  nor to give offense to any of the faithful

Greek Commentary for Mark 9:39

Forbid him not [mē kōluete)]
Stop hindering him (mē and the present-imperative) as John had been doing. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Mark 9:39

Luke 9:50 “Against you is for you” [κατ μων υπερ μων]
Mark 9:40 has “against us is for us” The Koiné Greek ē and μη κωλυετε μη — ū were often pronounced alike and it was easy to interchange them. So many MSS. here read just as in Mark. The point is precisely the same as it is a proverbial saying. See a similar saying in Luke 11:23: “He that is not with me is against me.” The prohibition here as in Mark 9:39 is general: “Stop hindering him” The lesson of toleration in methods of work for Christ is needed today. [source]
Acts 19:9 Disobedient [επειτουν]
Imperfect again, showing the growing disbelief and disobedience Late verb from κακολογος — kakologos (speaker of evil) for the old κακως λεγω — kakōs legō Already in Mark 7:10; Mark 9:39; Matthew 15:4. Now these Jews are aggressive opponents of Paul and seek to injure his influence with the crowd. Note “the Way” as in Acts 9:2 for Christianity. He departed from them Second aorist active participle of απιστημι — aphistēmi made an “apostasy” (standing off, cleavage) as he did at Corinth (Acts 18:7, μεταβας — metabas making a change). Separated the disciples (απωρισεν τους ματητας — aphōrisen tous mathētas). First aorist active indicative of αποριζω — aphorizō old verb to mark limits (horizon) as already in Acts 13:2. Paul himself was a spiritual Pharisee “separated” to Christ (Romans 1:1). The Jews regarded this withdrawal as apostasy, like separating the sheep from the goats (Matthew 25:32). Paul now made a separate church as he had done at Thessalonica and Corinth. In the school of Tyrannus Σχολη — Scholē (our school) is an old word from σχειν — schein (εχω — echō) to hold on, leisure and then in later Greek (Plutarch, etc.) a place where there is leisure as here. Only this example in the N.T. This is the Greek notion of “school,” the Jewish being that of “yoke” as in Matthew 11:29. The name Tyrannus (our tyrant) is a common one. It is an inscription in the Columbarium of the Empress Livia as that of a physician in the court. Furneaux suggests the possibility that a relative of this physician was lecturing on medicine in Ephesus and so as a friend of Luke, the physician, would be glad to help Paul about a place to preach. It was probably a public building or lecture hall with this name whether hired by Paul or loaned to him. The pagan sophists often spoke in such halls. The Codex Bezae adds “from the fifth hour to the tenth” as the time allotted Paul for his work in this hall, which is quite possible, from just before midday till the close of the afternoon (from before the noon meal till two hours before sunset) each day. Here Paul had great freedom and a great hearing. As the church grows there will be other places of meeting as the church in the house of Aquila and Priscilla (1 Corinthians 16:19). [source]
Acts 19:9 Speaking evil of the Way [κακολογουντες την οδον]
Late verb from κακολογος — kakologos (speaker of evil) for the old κακως λεγω — kakōs legō Already in Mark 7:10; Mark 9:39; Matthew 15:4. Now these Jews are aggressive opponents of Paul and seek to injure his influence with the crowd. Note “the Way” as in Acts 9:2 for Christianity. [source]

What do the individual words in Mark 9:39 mean?

- And Jesus said Not forbid him No one for there is who will do a work of power in the name of Me and will be able readily to speak evil of Me
δὲ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν Μὴ κωλύετε αὐτόν οὐδεὶς γάρ ἐστιν ὃς ποιήσει δύναμιν ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματί μου καὶ δυνήσεται ταχὺ κακολογῆσαί με

  - 
Parse: Article, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
Ἰησοῦς  Jesus 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: Ἰησοῦς  
Sense: Joshua was the famous captain of the Israelites, Moses’ successor.
εἶπεν  said 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: λέγω  
Sense: to speak, say.
κωλύετε  forbid 
Parse: Verb, Present Imperative Active, 2nd Person Plural
Root: κωλύω  
Sense: to hinder, prevent forbid.
οὐδεὶς  No  one 
Parse: Adjective, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: οὐδείς 
Sense: no one, nothing.
ἐστιν  there  is 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: εἰμί  
Sense: to be, to exist, to happen, to be present.
ποιήσει  will  do 
Parse: Verb, Future Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ποιέω  
Sense: to make.
δύναμιν  a  work  of  power 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: δύναμις  
Sense: strength power, ability.
ὀνόματί  name 
Parse: Noun, Dative Neuter Singular
Root: ὄνομα  
Sense: name: univ.
μου  of  Me 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive 1st Person Singular
Root: ἐγώ  
Sense: I, me, my.
δυνήσεται  will  be  able 
Parse: Verb, Future Indicative Middle, 3rd Person Singular
Root: δύναμαι  
Sense: to be able, have power whether by virtue of one’s own ability and resources, or of a state of mind, or through favourable circumstances, or by permission of law or custom.
ταχὺ  readily 
Parse: Adverb
Root: ταχύς  
Sense: quickly, speedily (without delay).
κακολογῆσαί  to  speak  evil  of 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Infinitive Active
Root: κακολογέω  
Sense: to speak evil of, revile, abuse, one.
με  Me 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Accusative 1st Person Singular
Root: ἐγώ  
Sense: I, me, my.