Mark 9:45 (DBY)

Passage

And if thy foot serve as a snare to thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life lame, than having thy two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire unquenchable;

Nearby Context

Mark 9:43 And if thy hand serve as a snare to thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having thy two hands to go away into hell, into the fire unquenchable;

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

Mark 9:45 And if thy foot serve as a snare to thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life lame, than having thy two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire unquenchable;

Mark 9:46 [where their worm dies not, and the fire is not quenched].

Mark 9:47 And if thine eye serve as a snare to thee, cast it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into the hell of fire,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "foot", "serve", "snare", "thee", "better", "enter", and "life". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "foot" and "serve", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 44's "where their worm dies not and the..." into verse 46's "where their worm dies not and the...", so "foot" and "serve" 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 "foot" and "serve" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.