Mark 9:42 (LSB)

Passage

“And whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea.

Nearby Context

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

Mark 9:41 For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name because you are of Christ, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward.

Mark 9:42 “And whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea.

Mark 9:43 And if your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire,

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

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 41's "For whoever gives you a cup of..." into verse 43's "And if your hand causes you to...", so "whoever" and "causes" 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 "whoever" and "causes" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.