What Does Mark 9:19 Mean in the King James?
He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
Jesus names the generation’s lack of trust and immediately says to bring the suffering child to him: weak trust does not suspend access.
THE MEANING
Trust can be absent around you, and Jesus is still present with you. The suffering person is still brought directly to him; the group’s failing does not become a barrier to bringing the need into view.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The verse unsettles the belief that help must wait until trust is complete: the command is to bring him to Jesus while the generation is still called faithless.
THE ROOT
ἄπιστος
apistos
GROWS FROM
πιστ-
pist-
Trust, confidence, being persuaded; the prefix ἀ- negates it.
“Faithless” names an absence of trust: not leaning your full weight on another. The same word family holds both trust and steadiness, so the verse describes a broken posture of reliance, not merely an abstract label.
ALSO GROWS
pistis: Trust, confidence
πίστις
The related noun names the trust that is missing from ἄπιστος.
pisteuō: Trust, entrust oneself
πιστεύω
This verb makes the root’s relational sense visible: trust is a way of placing oneself in another’s care.
pistos: Trustworthy, steady
πιστός
The same word family can describe the steadiness that makes trust possible.
ἀνέξομαι
anexomai
GROWS FROM
ἐχ- (ech-), in the compound ἀνέχομαι
Hold, have; in this compound, bear with or endure.
The KJV’s “suffer you” carries the sense of continuing to bear with someone. The question holds real strain, yet Jesus remains present and directs the child toward himself.
ALSO GROWS
echō: Have, hold
ἔχω
This is the base verb within the compound, retaining the image of holding.
anochē: Forbearance, tolerance
ἀνοχή
This related noun names the continued bearing that the compound verb expresses.
THE PATTERN
The burdened are brought into direct presence even while weakness is openly named.
Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.THE THREAD
And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.The same Greek root, πιστ- (pist-), appears in Jesus’ “faithless” diagnosis and the father’s “unbelief.” The father brings both trust and its absence into the open before Jesus.
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