9:19a

O unbelieving generation!: The phrase O unbelieving generation here indicates that Jesus was speaking directly to the people. It also indicates emotion. Jesus was disturbed that the people living at that time did not believe in him.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

You unbelieving generation! (NET Bible)
-or-
What an unbelieving generation! (Revised English Bible)

unbelieving: The words that the Berean Standard Bible translates as unbelieving likely indicates that the people were not believing/trusting in God. In some languages it may be necessary to make that explicit. For example:

You people have no faith in God.

generation: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as generation refers to the adults who are alive during the same period of time. The text does not specify exactly who Jesus referred to in this context. (He may have referred specifically to the crowd and the scribes, who were mentioned in 9:14b–c. He may even have been thinking of the disciples. ) You should translate unbelieving generation with a phrase that refers in general to the people who were present. For example:

You people have no faith. (New Century Version)
-or-
You faithless people! (New Living Translation)

See also the notes on 8:12b and 8:38b.

Jesus replied: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Jesus replied is literally “Having answered them, he said….” (There is a textual issue here. (1) Some Greek manuscripts have Jesus replied to them. For example, the Good News Bible says: “Jesus said to them” (Berean Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, New International Version, Good News Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Standard Bible, New Living Translation, God’s Word, Contemporary English Version, NET Bible, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English, Revised English Bible, New Century Version, English Standard Version). (2) Other Greek manuscripts have Jesus replied to him. This indicates that Jesus responded to the father. For example, the King James Version says: “He answereth him” (King James Version). It is recommended that you follow option (1). You can translate this as “Jesus replied to them” or simply “Jesus replied.”) Here, the word “answered” means “responded.” Jesus responded to the man’s statement about the disciples. He was probably also responding to the entire crowd who was arguing (9:16). He was not speaking directly to the boy’s father. So it may be more natural to say:

Jesus said to them (Good News Bible)
-or-
Jesus said (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Jesus responded

The Berean Standard Bible places the words Jesus replied in the middle of Jesus’ spoken words. In Greek, these words occur at the beginning of 9:19. Place these words where it is natural in your language.

9:19b–c

you?…you?: The forms of the word you here are plural.

9:19b

How long must I remain with you?: This is a rhetorical question. Jesus expressed his frustration and anger. Jesus was frustrated that the disciples and the other people there did not have faith in him. He wondered how long he would have to remain on the earth before they trusted him. There are at least two ways to translate this frustration:

• As a rhetorical question. For example:

How much longer must I be with you? (NET Bible)
-or-
How long must I be with you until you believe? (New Living Translation, 1996 edition)

• As a statement. For example:

Staying with you is so difficult!
-or-
I have been with you such a long time and yet you still do not believe!

9:19c

How long must I put up with you?: This is another rhetorical question. Jesus probably used this second rhetorical question to emphasize how frustrated he was. Jesus was frustrated because the disciples and the people did not believe in him. He wondered how much longer he would have to endure their lack of faith. There are at least two ways to translate this rebuke:

• As a rhetorical question. For example:

How much longer must I endure you? (NET Bible)
-or-
How long must I wait for you to believe

• As a statement. For example:

Having patience with you is so difficult!
-or-
I have to endure your unbelief for such a long time!

Use whichever form is most natural to express this rebuke in your language.

put up with: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the English idiom put up with means “endure,” “bear with” or “be patient with.” For example the NET Bible says:

How much longer must I endure you?

9:19d

In some languages, it may be natural to begin 9:19d with “Then he said…”

the boy: In this context the word boy refers to a male probably less than thirteen years old and more than three years old.

© 2008 by SIL International®

Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.