Mark 9:42 (ASV)

Passage

And whosoever shall cause one of these little ones that believe on me to stumble, it were better for him if a great millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.

Nearby Context

Mark 9:40 For he that is not against us is for us.

Mark 9:41 For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink, because ye are Christ`s, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.

Mark 9:42 And whosoever shall cause one of these little ones that believe on me to stumble, it were better for him if a great millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.

Mark 9:43 And if thy hand cause thee to stumble, cut it off: it is good for thee to enter into life maimed, rather than having thy two hands to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire.

Mark 9:44 [where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.]

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "whosoever", "shall", "cause", "little", "ones", "believe", "stumble", and "better". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "whosoever" and "shall", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 41's "For whosoever shall give you a cup..." into verse 43's "And if thy hand cause thee to...", so "whosoever" and "shall" belong inside that flow. In Mark context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "whosoever" and "shall" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.