Mark 9:42 (YLT)

Passage

and whoever may cause to stumble one of the little ones believing in me, better is it for him if a millstone is hanged about his neck, and he hath 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 may give you to drink a cup of water in my name, because ye are Christ's, verily I say to you, he may not lose his reward;

Mark 9:42 and whoever may cause to stumble one of the little ones believing in me, better is it for him if a millstone is hanged about his neck, and he hath been cast into the sea.

Mark 9:43 `And if thy hand may cause thee to stumble, cut it off; it is better for thee maimed to enter into the life, than having the two hands, to go away to the gehenna, to the fire--the unquenchable--

Mark 9:44 where their worm is not dying, and the fire is not being quenched.

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 41's "for whoever may give you to drink..." into verse 43's "And if thy hand may cause thee...", so "whoever" and "cause" 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 "cause" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.