Mark 9:11 (DBY)

Passage

And they asked him saying, Why do the scribes say that Elias must first have come?

Nearby Context

Mark 9:9 And as they descended from the mountain, he charged them that they should relate to no one what they had seen, unless when the Son of man should be risen from among [the] dead.

Mark 9:10 And they kept that saying, questioning among themselves, what rising from among [the] dead was.

Mark 9:11 And they asked him saying, Why do the scribes say that Elias must first have come?

Mark 9:12 And he answering said to them, Elias indeed, having first come, restores all things; and how is it written of the Son of man that he must suffer much, and be set at nought:

Mark 9:13 but I say unto you that Elias also is come, and they have done to him whatever they would, as it is written of him.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "asked", "saying", "scribes", "elias", "must", "first", and "come". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "asked" and "saying", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 10's "And they kept that saying questioning among..." into verse 12's "And he answering said to them Elias...", so "asked" and "saying" 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 "asked" and "saying" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.