MARK 9:38 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object, magenta:vocative, red:negative.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT John was saying to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name,[fn] and we were preventing him because he was not following with us.”

Some manuscripts include here the words who does not follow us.

UST John said to Jesus, “Instructor, we noticed someone who was forcing demons out of people. He claimed that he represented you as he did that. So, we told him to stop doing that, because he was not one of us apprentices.”

BSB John said to Him, “Teacher, we saw someone else driving out demons in Your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not accompany us.”

MSB John said to Him, “Teacher, we saw someone [who does] not follow You[fn] driving out demons in Your name, and we forbade him,[fn] because he does not accompany us.”

9:38 CT someone else

9:38 CT we tried to hinder him

BLB John answered Him, "Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we were forbidding him, because he was not following us."

AICNT John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone [[who does not follow us]][fn] casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him because he was not following us.”

9:38, who does not follow us: Some manuscripts include.

OEB ‘Teacher,’ said John, ‘we saw a man driving out demons by using your name, and we tried to prevent him, because he did not follow us.’

WEBBE John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone who doesn’t follow us casting out demons in your name; and we forbade him, because he doesn’t follow us.”

WMBB Yochanan said to him, “Rabbi, we saw someone who doesn’t follow us casting out demons in your name; and we forbade him, because he doesn’t follow us.”

NET John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him because he was not following us.”

LSV And John answered Him, saying, “Teacher, we saw a certain one casting out demons in Your Name, who does not follow us, and we forbade him, because he does not follow us.”

FBV John said to Jesus, “Rabbi, we saw someone driving out demons in your name. We tried to stop him because he wasn't one of us.”

TCNT John said to him [fn]in response, “Teacher, we saw someone [fn]who does not follow us casting out demons in yoʋr name, and we told him to stop because he does not follow us.”

9:38 in response ¦ — CT

9:38 who does not follow us casting out demons in yoʋr name, and we told him to stop because he does not follow us. 82.4% ¦ casting out demons in yoʋr name. MSS 7.2% ¦ casting out demons in yoʋr name, and we told him to stop because he was not following us. CT 0.7%

T4T John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone who was expelling demons, ◄claiming he had authority from you to do that/while telling people that you have told him to do it►. So we told him to stop doing it because he was not one of us disciples.”

LEB ¶ John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone expelling demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he was not following us.”

BBE John said to him, Master, we saw one driving out evil spirits in your name: and we said that he might not, because he is not one of us.

Moff John said to him, "Teacher, we saw a man casting out daemons in your name; but he does not follow us, and so we stopped him."

Wymth "Rabbi," said John to Him, "we saw a man making use of your name to expel demons, and we tried to hinder him, on the ground that he did not follow us."

ASV John said unto him, Teacher, we saw one casting out demons in thy name; and we forbade him, because he followed not us.

DRA But Jesus said: Do not forbid him. For there is no man that doth a miracle in my name, and can soon speak ill of me.

YLT And John did answer him, saying, 'Teacher, we saw a certain one in thy name casting out demons, who doth not follow us, and we forbade him, because he doth not follow us.'

Drby And John answered him saying, Teacher, we saw some one casting out demons in thy name, who does not follow us, and we forbad him, because he does not follow us.

RV John said unto him, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name: and we forbade him, because he followed not us.
(John said unto him, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy/your name: and we forbade him, because he followed not us. )

SLT And John answered him, saying, Teacher, we saw a certain one casting out demons in thy name, who follows not us: and we checked him, for he follows not us.

Wbstr And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out demons in thy name, and he followeth not us; and we forbad him, because he followeth not us.

KJB-1769 ¶ And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us.
(¶ And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy/your name, and he followeth/follows not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth/follows not us. )

KJB-1611 ¶ And Iohn answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out deuils in thy Name, and he followeth not vs, and we forbade him, because he followeth not vs.
(¶ And Yohn answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy/your Name, and he followeth/follows not us, and we forbade him, because he followeth/follows not us.)

Bshps Iohn aunswered him, saying: Maister, we sawe one caste out deuylles in thy name, & he foloweth not vs: and we forbad him, because he foloweth vs not.
(Yohn answered him, saying: Master, we saw one cast/threw out deviles in thy/your name, and he followeth/follows not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth/follows us not.)

Gnva Then Iohn answered him, saying, Master, we sawe one casting out deuils by thy Name, which followeth not vs, and we forbade him, because he followeth vs not.
(Then Yohn answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils by thy/your Name, which followeth/follows not us, and we forbade him, because he followeth/follows us not. )

Cvdl Ihon answered him, and sayde: Master, we sawe one dryue out deuels in thy name, but he foloweth not vs, and we forbad him because he foloweth vs not.
(Yohn answered him, and said: Master, we saw one drive out devils in thy/your name, but he followeth/follows not us, and we forbad him because he followeth/follows us not.)

TNT Iohn answered him sayinge: Master we sawe one castynge out devyls in thy name which foloweth not vs and we forbade him because he foloweth vs not.
(Yohn answered him saying: Master we saw one casting/throwing out devils in thy/your name which followeth/follows not us and we forbade him because he followeth/follows us not. )

Wycl And Jhesus seide, Nyle ye forbede him; for ther is no man that doith vertu in my name, and may soone speke yuel of me.
(And Yhesus said, Not/Don’t ye/you_all forbid him; for there is no man that doth/does virtue in my name, and may soon speak evil of me.)

Luth Johannes aber antwortete ihm und sprach: Meister, wir sahen einen, der trieb Teufel in deinem Namen aus, welcher uns nicht nachfolget; und wir verboten‘s ihm darum, daß er uns nicht nachfolget.
(Yohannes but replied him and spoke: master, we/us saw a, the/of_the drove devil in your name(s) out, which us/to_us/ourselves not successor; and we/us forbidden him therefore, that he us/to_us/ourselves not successor.)

ClVg Jesus autem ait: Nolite prohibere eum: nemo est enim qui faciat virtutem in nomine meo, et possit cito male loqui de me:[fn]
(Yesus however he_said: Don't to_prohibit him: nobody/no_one it_is because who/which let_him_do virtue in/into/on by_name mine, and can quickly male to_speak from/about me: )

9.38 Nolite prohibere. BEDA. Hinc Apostolus: Sed sive occasione sive veritate Christus annuntietur, etc., usque ad detestari et prohibere debemus.

9.38 Don't to_prohibit. BEDA. Hence Apostolus: But if/or on_occasion if/or with_truth Christ/Messiah annuntietur, etc., until to detestari and to_prohibit we_must.

UGNT ἔφη αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰωάννης, Διδάσκαλε, εἴδομέν τινα ἐν τῷ ὀνόματί σου ἐκβάλλοντα δαιμόνια, καὶ ἐκωλύομεν αὐτόν, ὅτι οὐκ ἠκολούθει ἡμῖν.
(efaʸ autōi ho Yōannaʸs, Didaskale, eidomen tina en tōi onomati sou ekballonta daimonia, kai ekōluomen auton, hoti ouk aʸkolouthei haʸmin.)

SBL-GNT ⸂Ἔφη αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰωάννης⸃· Διδάσκαλε, εἴδομέν τινα ⸀ἐν τῷ ὀνόματί σου ἐκβάλλοντα δαιμόνια, ⸂καὶ ἐκωλύομεν αὐτόν, ὅτι οὐκ ἠκολούθει ἡμῖν⸃.
(⸂Efaʸ autōi ho Yōannaʸs⸃; Didaskale, eidomen tina ⸀en tōi onomati sou ekballonta daimonia, ⸂kai ekōluomen auton, hoti ouk aʸkolouthei haʸmin⸃.)

RP-GNT Ἀπεκρίθη δὲ αὐτῷ Ἰωάννης, λέγων, Διδάσκαλε, εἴδομέν τινα τῷ ὀνόματί σου ἐκβάλλοντα δαιμόνια, ὃς οὐκ ἀκολουθεῖ ἡμῖν· καὶ ἐκωλύσαμεν αὐτόν, ὅτι οὐκ ἀκολουθεῖ ἡμῖν.
(Apekrithaʸ de autōi Yōannaʸs, legōn, Didaskale, eidomen tina tōi onomati sou ekballonta daimonia, hos ouk akolouthei haʸmin; kai ekōlusamen auton, hoti ouk akolouthei haʸmin.)

TC-GNT [fn]Ἀπεκρίθη [fn]δὲ αὐτῷ [fn]Ἰωάννης, [fn]λέγων, Διδάσκαλε, [fn]εἴδομέν τινα [fn]τῷ ὀνόματί σου ἐκβάλλοντα δαιμόνια, [fn]ὃς οὐκ ἀκολουθεῖ ἡμῖν· καὶ ἐκωλύσαμεν αὐτόν, ὅτι οὐκ ἀκολουθεῖ ἡμῖν.
(Apekrithaʸ de autōi Yōannaʸs, legōn, Didaskale, eidomen tina tōi onomati sou ekballonta daimonia, hos ouk akolouthei haʸmin; kai ekōlusamen auton, hoti ouk akolouthei haʸmin. )

9:38 απεκριθη ¦ εφη CT

9:38 δε ¦ — ANT CT

9:38 ιωαννης ¦ ο ιωαννης 𝔐^pt ANT ECM NA PCK SBL TH TR ¦ ο ιωανης WH

9:38 λεγων ¦ — CT

9:38 ειδομεν ¦ ειδαμεν WH

9:38 τω ¦ εν τω ANT CT SCR

9:38 ος ουκ ακολουθει ημιν και εκωλυσαμεν αυτον οτι ουκ ακολουθει ημιν 82.4% ¦ ος ουκ ακολουθει ημιν MSS 7.2% ¦ και εκωλυομεν αυτον οτι ουκ ηκολουθει ημιν CT 0.7%

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 9:38–41: Jesus told who is for him and who is against him

In this section, the disciple John told Jesus that he and the other disciples had tried to stop a man from expelling demons in Jesus’ name. They did this because the man was not one of the twelve disciples. Jesus then taught them that many people other than the twelve disciples were following him. He said that all of these people will be rewarded for what they do in his name.

It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it.

Here are some other possible headings for this section heading:

Jesus told who is on his side and who is on the side against him

Whoever Is Not Against Us Is For Us (NIV)

On using the name of Jesus (NJB)

The parallel passage for this section is in Luke 9:49–50.

9:38a

John said to Him, “Teacher,

¶ Then John said, “Teacher,
¶ The disciple John said to Jesus, “Teacher,

This is the beginning of a new story. It may be necessary in your language to introduce a new story in some way. For example, the NCV has:

Then John said…

John said to Him: Some Greek manuscripts say “John answered” (as in the KJV). This indicates that John responded to Jesus’ words and deeds in 9:33–37. Other Greek manuscripts say said. Many English versions use the verb said here, and it is recommended that you do the same.

John: Here the name John refers to one of Jesus’ twelve disciples. It does not refer to John the Baptist. If people in your area will think that this name refers to John the Baptist, you may want to include some implied information. For example:

the disciple John

See how you translated the name John in 9:2a.

Teacher: The disciples and others often called Jesus Teacher. This was a polite title for a Jewish religious leader. It was a title of respect for a Jewish man who had authority to teach the things about God. It does not mean “school teacher.” See how you translated this term of address in 4:38c and 9:17b.

9:38b

we saw someone else driving out demons in Your name,

we^(excl) saw a man forcing demons out of people by using the power/authority of your^(sing) name,
we^(excl) saw a man causing demons to leave people through your^(sing) power.

driving out demons: The Greek word that the BSB translates as driving out is literally “casting/throwing out.” This is the same word as in 9:18e. The term driving out demons means to cause demons to stop controlling a person.

Jewish people often spoke of demons as being in someone. Different cultures have different ways of speaking about people being controlled by demons and being released from the control of demons. Use a natural expression for this in your language.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

forcing demons out (GW)

causing demons to leave people

sending demons away

exorcizing demons

freeing people who were controlled by demons

See how you translated the similar phrase “drove out demons” in 1:34b.

demons: The Greek word that the BSB translates as demons refers to spirits that are evil and can control people’s actions. The word demons refers to the same type of spirits as the Greek terms that are often translated as “evil spirits” and “unclean spirits.”

Here are some other ways to translate demons:

Use a general term in your language that refers to spirits that are evil and can control people.
Use a specific term in your language that refers to a certain type of spirit. These spirits should be able to do evil things. Do not use a term that refers to the spirits of dead people.
Use a descriptive phrase. For example:
evil/bad spirits
unclean spirits Be sure that an expression like “unclean spirits” does not imply that the spirits are literally dirty.

See how you translated the word demons in 1:34b or 7:26c. See evil spirit in the Glossary for more information.

in Your name: The phrase in Your name indicates using the power or authority of Jesus to do something.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

by using the power and authority of your name (GW)

through your power

as your representative

9:38c–d

and we tried to stop him, because he does not accompany us: Some Greek manuscripts have a different wording and a different order of the clauses in 9:38c–d. But the meaning is the same in each.

9:38c

and we tried to stop him,

and we^(excl) tried to stop him,
We^(excl) were forbidding him to do that,

and we tried to stop him: The Greek word that the BSB translates as tried to stop is literally “were preventing” or “were forbidding.” The tense indicates that the disciples tried to make the man stop. They did this with words. They did not try to physically restrain him. Probably more than one of the disciples told him to stop. But the man probably continued to cast out demons.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

we tried to stop him (NJB)

we tried to hinder him (NASB)

we were forbidding him to do that

We told him to stop (NCV)

to stop him: It is implied that they tried to make him stop using Jesus’ name to cast out demons. If your language needs to say what was stopped, you could say:

to stop doing that

to stop driving/casting out demons using your name

9:38d

because he does not accompany us.”

because he is not associated with us.^(incl)”
because he does not belong to our^(incl) group.”

he does not accompany us: The Greek clause that the BSB translates as he does not accompany us is literally “he was not following us.” The word us probably refers to Jesus and the twelve disciples.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

he doesn’t belong to our group (GNT)

he is not associated with us

General Comment on 9:38c–d

It might be more natural in your language to put the reason (9:38d) before the result (9:38c). For example:

^38dHe was not one of us, ^38cso we tried to stop him.

^38dHe was not one of us; ^38cthat is why we tried to stop him.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / exclusive

εἴδομέν & ἐκωλύομεν & ἡμῖν

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἔφη αὐτῷ Ὁ Ἰωάννης Διδάσκαλε εἴδομεν τινά ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι σοῦ ἐκβάλλοντα δαιμόνια καί ἐκωλύομεν αὐτόν ὅτι οὐκ ἠκολούθει ἡμῖν)

When John says we and us, he is speaking of himself and the other disciples, so we and us would be exclusive, if your language marks that distinction.

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

ἐν τῷ ὀνόματί σου

in the (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἔφη αὐτῷ Ὁ Ἰωάννης Διδάσκαλε εἴδομεν τινά ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι σοῦ ἐκβάλλοντα δαιμόνια καί ἐκωλύομεν αὐτόν ὅτι οὐκ ἠκολούθει ἡμῖν)

Here, name is a way of referring to a person by reference to something associated with him. The expression in your name means that the person was acting with the power and authority of Jesus. Alternate translation: [on your behalf] or [as your representative] or [by your authority]

Note 3 topic: translate-textvariants

ἐν τῷ ὀνόματί σου & καὶ ἐκωλύομεν αὐτόν

Many ancient manuscripts read in your name, and we were preventing him. The ULT follows that reading. Other ancient manuscripts read “in your name who does not follow us, and we were preventing him.” If a translation of the Bible exists in your region, you may wish to use the reading that it uses. If a translation of the Bible does not exist in your region, you may wish to use the reading of the ULT.

Note 4 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result

ἐκωλύομεν αὐτόν, ὅτι οὐκ ἠκολούθει ἡμῖν

˱we˲_˓were˒_forbidding him because not ˱he˲_˓was˒_following ˱with˲_us

If it would be more natural in your language, you could reverse the order of these clauses, since the second clause gives the reason for the result that the first clause describes. Alternate translation: [because he was not following with us, we were preventing him]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

οὐκ ἠκολούθει ἡμῖν

not ˱he˲_˓was˒_following ˱with˲_us

Here, following does not seem to mean “to be one of Jesus’ disciples”, since this man was claiming to act in Jesus’ name. Here, following with us means that this man did not travel in the group of Jesus and his disciples. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [he was not traveling with us in our group] or [he was not part of our group]