Mark 9:41 (DRB)

Passage

And whosoever shall scandalize one of these little ones that believe in me: it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck and he were cast into the sea.

Nearby Context

Mark 9:39 For he that is not against you is for you.

Mark 9:40 For whosoever shall give you to drink a cup of water in my name, because you belong to Christ: amen I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.

Mark 9:41 And whosoever shall scandalize one of these little ones that believe in me: it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck and he were cast into the sea.

Mark 9:42 And if thy hand scandalize thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life, maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into unquenchable fire:

Mark 9:43 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not extinguished.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "whosoever", "shall", "scandalize", "little", "ones", "believe", "better", and "millstone". 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 40's "For whosoever shall give you to drink..." into verse 42's "And if thy hand scandalize thee cut...", 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.