What Does Mark 9:18 Mean in the King James?

And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.

Mark 9:18 · KJV

The analysis reads the King James wording.

King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.

This verse in the Selah Decoded Version

THE KEY

The verbs make suffering a force that seizes the body, convulses it, and leaves it withering while those trying to help reach their limit.

THE MEANING

This verse names suffering that takes hold through the body and drains it. It also keeps the failure of help in view: a person can be overwhelmed, and those around them can reach the edge of their strength.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

It undoes the belief that overwhelming suffering should stop if the sufferer or their helpers try hard enough; here, they try, and they cannot stop it.

THE ROOT

καταλάβῃ

katalabē

GROWS FROM

λαμβάνω

lambanō

take, receive, or lay hold of

“taketh” in this verse is katalabē. The verb ⁨καταλαμβάνω⁩ (katalambanō, seize or overtake) grows from the word for taking hold. The suffering is pictured as something that grips him and overtakes his body, not as an idea or choice.

ALSO GROWS

lambanō: take or receive

λαμβάνω

This is the underlying word for taking hold, which makes the force of the seizure concrete.

katalambanō: seize, overtake, or grasp

καταλαμβάνω

Here it names the force that takes hold of him; elsewhere the same word can describe something being grasped or overtaken.

ξηραίνεται

xērainetai

GROWS FROM

ξηρ-

xēr-

dry

“pineth away” in this verse is xērainetai. The Greek verb carries the image of drying up or withering. Alongside the convulsions, the verse shows a body being drained and diminished.

ALSO GROWS

xēros: dry

ξηρός

The adjective shares the dry root and gives the bodily image a tangible quality.

xērainō: dry up or wither

ξηραίνω

This is the verb behind “pineth away,” showing the result as withering.

ἴσχυσαν

ischysan

GROWS FROM

ἰσχύω

ischyō

be strong, have strength, or be able

“could not” in this verse is ischysan. The Greek word for “could” is tied to strength and capacity. The verse describes a real limit in the helpers’ ability; it does not say that their inability proves a lack of care.

ALSO GROWS

ischys: strength or might

ἰσχύς

This noun shares the strength stem behind “could not” and clarifies the kind of capacity that is absent.

ischyros: strong or powerful

ἰσχυρός

This related form makes visible the contrast between available strength and the force overwhelming the boy.

THE PATTERN

Affliction can overwhelm available human strength and leave a person visibly diminished.

And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,

Mark 5:26 · KJVThe woman’s suffering continues despite repeated efforts to help, and her condition worsens.

For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life:

2 Corinthians 1:8 · KJVThe verse describes distress that exceeds the strength available to bear it.

I am feeble and sore broken: I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart.

Psalm 38:8 · KJVThe speaker gives bodily words to suffering that has left him feeble and broken.

THE THREAD

And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.

Mark 11:20 · KJV

Mark uses the same Greek verb for withering here and for the boy’s body “pin[ing] away.” In both verses, the word makes diminished vitality visible as something drying up.

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