Matthew 17:21 (the possessed boy)

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TK
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Matthew 17:21 (the possessed boy)

Post by TK » Fri Dec 12, 2008 12:56 pm

From Mt. 17:
14 And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.”
17 Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?”
20 So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. 21 However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.
My specific question is regarding v.21. More specifically, I would like to know what the original Greek actually says. Can Paidion or someone else help out?

Thanks!

TK

johnb
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Re: Matthew 17:21 (the possessed boy)

Post by johnb » Sat Dec 20, 2008 10:21 pm

Hi TK,
I'm not extremely familiar with Greek so I hope you get more responses than just me :lol: . I know that the Alexandrian Text omits verse 21 so you will only find it in a KJV or NKJV. Here is a small comparison chart with some Greek references - hope it's helpful;

Matt 17:21

(Anylitical Literal Translation) "But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."

(Greek New Test.) τοῦτο δὲ τὸ γένος οὐκ ἐκπορεύεται εἰ μὴ ἐν προσευχῇ καὶ νηστείᾳ.

(1894 Scrivener Textus Receptus) τουτο δε το γενος ουκ εκπορευεται ει μη εν προσευχη και νηστεια

(KJV+Strongs numbers) Howbeit1161 this5124 kind1085 goeth not out1607, 3756 but1508 by1722 prayer4335 and2532 fasting.3521
Last edited by johnb on Wed Dec 24, 2008 11:18 am, edited 1 time in total.
“The Underground Church is a poor and suffering church, but it has few lukewarm members.” - Richard Wurmbrand

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TK
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Location: North Carolina

Re: Matthew 17:21 (the possessed boy)

Post by TK » Mon Dec 22, 2008 9:12 am

Thanks, John.

I guess my more specific ?? is whether we can tell, from the original language, what the word "kind" is referring to. most people assume it means this kind of demon, but I personally think he is talking about this kind of unbelief. i am not sure how to make sense of the statement if he is talking about this kind of demon. however, i can make more sense out of it if he is talking about this kind of unbelief. doesnt prayer and fasting help remedy our unbelief? and jesus had just chided his disciples for their lack of belief.

TK

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