John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Mark 9:22
And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire ,.... When he has been near it; so that one part or other of his body has been scorched, or burnt, and his life in danger: and into the waters to destroy him : when he has been near any brook, or river, it has thrown him into it, in order to drown him, as into the fire to burn him. The Ethiopic version before fire and water reads, "into the deep"; meaning either the sea or some deep pit, or off a precipice. All this is said to aggravate the... read more
John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Mark 9:21
And he asked his father ,.... As he lay rolling about in this miserable condition, that the length and stubbornness of his disorder might be known, and so the cure the more remarkable, and appear the more expressive of his divine power and goodness: how long is it ago since this came unto him ? since this evil spirit entered into him, and these disorders have attended him? and he said of a child ; or "from his infancy"; so that it was not for any actual sin that he had committed,... read more