Matthew 17:14-21

The Power of Faith over a Demon

14 When they reached the crowd, a man approached and knelt down before Him.

15 "Lord," he said, "have mercy on my son, because he has seizures^[a] and suffers severely. He often falls into the fire and often into the water.

16 I brought him to Your disciples, but they couldn't heal him."

17 Jesus replied, "You unbelieving and rebellious ^[b] generation! How long will I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him here to Me."

18 Then Jesus rebuked the demon,^[c] and it^[d] came out of him, and from that moment^[e] the boy was healed.

19 Then the disciples approached Jesus privately and said, "Why couldn't we drive it out?"

20 "Because of your little faith," He^[f] told them. "For I assure you: If you have faith the size of ^[g] a mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. [

21 However, this kind does not come out except by prayer and fasting.]" ^[h]

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit he is moonstruck; thought to be a form of epilepsy
• [b]. Or corrupt, or perverted, or twisted; Dt 32:5
• [c]. Lit rebuked him or it
• [d]. Lit the demon
• [e]. Lit hour
• [f]. Other mss read your unbelief," Jesus
• [g]. Lit faith like
• [h]. Other mss omit bracketed text; Mk 9:29