Mark 9:32 (YLT)

Passage

but they were not understanding the saying, and they were afraid to question him.

Nearby Context

Mark 9:30 And having gone forth thence, they were passing through Galilee, and he did not wish that any may know,

Mark 9:31 for he was teaching his disciples, and he said to them, `The Son of Man is being delivered to the hands of men, and they shall kill him, and having been killed the third day he shall rise,'

Mark 9:32 but they were not understanding the saying, and they were afraid to question him.

Mark 9:33 And he came to Capernaum, and being in the house, he was questioning them, `What were ye reasoning in the way among yourselves?'

Mark 9:34 and they were silent, for with one another they did reason in the way who is greater;

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "understanding", "saying", "afraid", and "question". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "understanding" and "saying", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 31's "for he was teaching his disciples and..." into verse 33's "And he came to Capernaum and being...", so "understanding" 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 "understanding" and "saying" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.