Mark 9:11 (YLT)

Passage

And they were questioning him, saying, that the scribes say that Elijah it behoveth to come first.

Nearby Context

Mark 9:9 And as they are coming down from the mount, he charged them that they may declare to no one the things that they saw, except when the Son of Man may rise out of the dead;

Mark 9:10 and the thing they kept to themselves, questioning together what the rising out of the dead is.

Mark 9:11 And they were questioning him, saying, that the scribes say that Elijah it behoveth to come first.

Mark 9:12 And he answering said to them, `Elijah indeed, having come first, doth restore all things; and how hath it been written concerning the Son of Man, that many things he may suffer, and be set at nought?

Mark 9:13 But I say to you, That also Elijah hath come, and they did to him what they willed, as it hath been written of him.'

Study Lenses

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

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