Matthew 17:20

Matthew 17:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
• New International Version (NIV)He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)He said to them, "Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you."
• New King James Version (NKJV)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.

Context of Matthew 17:20

18Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed at once. 19Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and asked, “Why could we not drive it out?” He answered, “Because of your little faith [your lack of trust and confidence in the power of God]; for I assure you and most solemnly say to you, if you have [living] faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and [if it is God’s will] it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. 21[But this kind of demon does not go out except by prayer and fasting.]” 22When they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed and handed over to men [who are His enemies];

Matthew 17:20 word by word

Ὁ δὲ λέγει αὐτοῖς· διὰ τὴν ὀλιγοπιστίαν ὑμῶν. ἀμὴν γὰρ λέγω ὑμῖν· ἐὰν ἔχητε πίστιν ὡς κόκκον σινάπεως, ἐρεῖτε τῷ ὄρει τούτῳ· μετάβα ἔνθεν ἐκεῖ, καὶ μεταβήσεται· καὶ οὐδὲν ἀδυνατήσει ὑμῖν.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Andδέde · thenG1161
• JesusἸησοῦςIēsous · JesusG2424
• saidλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• unto themαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• Becauseδιάdia · through/because ofG1223
• ofἀπιστίαapistia · unbeliefG570
• yourσύsu · youG4771
• forγάρgar · forG1063
• verilyἀμήνamēn · amenG281
• Ifἐάνean · ifG1437
• ye haveἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
• faithπίστιςpistis · faithG4102
• asὡςhōs · as/whenG5613
• a grainκόκκοςkokkos · seedG2848
• of mustard seedσίναπιsinapi · mustardG4615
• ye shall sayἐρῶereō · to sayG2046
• untoὄροςoros · mountainG3735
• thisοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
• Removeμεταβαίνωmetabainō · to departG3327
• henceἐντεῦθεν, ἔνθενenteuthen · from hereG1782
• to yonder placeἐκεῖekei · thereG1563
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• nothingοὐδείςoudeis · noneG3762
• shall be impossibleἀδυνατέωadunateō · be impossibleG101

Cross-references for Matthew 17:20

• Matthew 17:17And Jesus answered, “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.”
• Matthew 14:30But when he saw [the effects of] the wind, he was frightened, and he began to sink, and he cried out, “Lord, save me!”
• Hebrews 3:19So we see that they were not able to enter [into His rest—the promised land] because of unbelief and an unwillingness to trust in God.
• Matthew 21:21Jesus replied to them, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, if you have faith [personal trust and confidence in Me] and do not doubt or allow yourself to be drawn in two directions, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen [if God wills it].
• Mark 11:23I assure you and most solemnly say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea!’ and does not doubt in his heart [in God’s unlimited power], but believes that what he says is going to take place, it will be done for him [in accordance with God’s will].
• Luke 17:6And the Lord said, “If you have [confident, abiding] faith in God [even as small] as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree [which has very strong roots], ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea’; and [if the request was in agreement with the will of God] it would have obeyed you.
• 1 Corinthians 12:9to another [wonder-working] faith [is given] by the same [Holy] Spirit, and to another the [extraordinary] gifts of healings by the one Spirit;
• 1 Corinthians 13:2And if I have the gift of prophecy [and speak a new message from God to the people], and understand all mysteries, and [possess] all knowledge; and if I have all [sufficient] faith so that I can remove mountains, but do not have love [reaching out to others], I am nothing.
• Matthew 13:31He gave them another parable [to consider], saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field;
• Mark 4:31It is like a mustard seed, which, when it is sown on the ground, even though it is smaller than all the [other] seeds that are [sown] on the soil,
• Mark 9:23Jesus said to him, “[You say to Me,] ‘If You can?’ All things are possible for the one who believes and trusts [in Me]!”
• Luke 1:37For with God nothing [is or ever] shall be impossible.”
• Luke 18:27But He said, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.”

Commentaries on Matthew 17:20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20Because of your unbelief - Are we preachers of the Gospel? Do the things of God rest upon our minds with a deep and steady conviction? Can we expect that a doctrine which we do not, from conviction, credit ourselves, can be instrumental in our hands of begetting faith in others? So we preached, end so ye believed. The word preached generally begets in the people the same spirit which the preacher possesses. Instead of Ϛ, unbelief, the famous Vatican MS…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20As a grain of mustard-seed - See the notes at Matthew 13:31-32. The mustard-seed was the smallest of all seeds. It has been supposed by some, therefore, that he meant to say, If you have the smallest or feeblest faith that is genuine, you can do all things. The mustard-seed produced the largest of all herbs. It has been supposed by others, therefore, to mean, If you have increasing, expanding, enlarged faith, growing and strengthening from small…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 14-21Verses 14-21 The case of afflicted children should be presented to God by faithful and fervent prayer. Christ cured the child. Though the people were perverse, and Christ was provoked, yet care was taken of the child. When all other helps and succours fail, we are welcome to Christ, may trust in him, and in his power and goodness. See here an emblem of Christ's undertaking as our Redeemer. It encourages parents to bring children to Christ, whose souls are…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20Here, the phrase so little faith means the same as no faith. faith the size of a mustard seed: This suggests that even a tiny amount of faith can help the disciples achieve great things (Hebrews 21:21; compare 1 Corinthians 13:2). It also suggests that if they let their faith increase (see Matthew 13:31–32), they could act with strong belief. "Moving mountains" is a saying that means overcoming obstacles and achieving God's goals (Isaiah 40:4; 49:11…Read the comment

Topics related to Matthew 17:20

• Doubting
• Faith
• Jesus, the Christ
• Miracles
• Mountain
• Unbelief

In the dictionaries

• Jesus
• Jesus, Jesus Christ, Christ Jesus
• Betray
• Cure
• Tabernacle
• Talking
• Games
• Impossible
• Intercession
• Jesus Christ

Commentaries on Matthew 17

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Catena Aurea
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• John Lightfoot Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings