Matthew 17 · Verse 20

Matthew 17:20

And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
Matthew 17:20, King James Version

Matthew 17:20 in other translations

BSB“Because you have so little faith,” He answered. “For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
WEBHe said to them, “Because of your unbelief. For most certainly I tell you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.
ASVAnd he saith unto them, Because of your little faith: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
YLTAnd Jesus said to them, ‘Through your want of faith; for verily I say to you, if ye may have faith as a grain of mustard, ye shall say to this mount, Remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove, and nothing shall be impossible to you,
DARBYAnd he says to them, Because of your unbelief; for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say to this mountain, Be transported hence there, and it shall transport itself; and nothing shall be impossible to you.
BBEAnd he says to them, Because of your little faith: for truly I say to you, If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, Be moved from this place to that; and it will be moved; and nothing will be impossible to you.
WebsterAnd Jesus said to them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say to you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard-seed, ye shall say to this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible to you.

What does Matthew 17:20 mean?

Barnes' Notes
Verse 20. As a grain of mustard seed. Mt 13:31,32. The mustard seed was the smallest of all Seeds. It has been supposed by some, therefore, that he meant to say, if ye have the smallest or feeblest faith that is genuine, ye can do all things. The mustard seed produced the largest of all herbs. It has been supposed by others, therefore, to mean, If you have increasing, expanding, enlarged faith, growing and strengthening from small beginnings, you can perform the most difficult undertaking. There is a principle of vitality in the grain of seed, stretching forward to great results, which illustrates the nature of faith. Your faith should be like that. This is probably the true meaning.

Ye shall say unto this mountain, etc. Probably he pointed to a mountain near, to assure them, if they had such faith, they might accomplish the most difficult undertakings--things that at first would appear impossible.

(q) "unbelief" Heb 3:9 (r) "if ye have" Mt 21:21, Mk 11:23, Lk 17:6, 1Cor 13:2

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 20 Because of your unbelief - Are we preachers of the Gospel? Do the things of God rest upon our minds with a deep and steady conviction? Can we expect that a doctrine which we do not, from conviction, credit ourselves, can be instrumental in our hands of begetting faith in others? So we preached, end so ye believed. The word preached generally begets in the people the same spirit which the preacher possesses. Instead of απιϚιαν, unbelief, the famous Vatican MS. and Cod. Cyprius, six others, Coptic, Ethiopic, Armenian, and Arabic, Origen, and Chrysostom, read ολιγοπιϚιαν, littleness of faith. The disciples had some faith, but not enough - they believed, but not fully. As a grain of mustard seed - Some eminent critics think this a proverbial expression, intimating a Great Degree of faith, because removing mountains, which St. Paul, 1Cor 13:2, attributes to All Faith; i.e. the greatest possible degree of faith, is attributed here, by our Lord, to that faith which is as a grain of mustard seed. However this may be, there can be no doubt that our Lord means, as Bishop Pearce well remarks, a thriving and increasing faith; which like the grain of mustard seed, from being the least of seeds, becomes the greatest of all herbs; even a tree in whose branches the fowls of the air take shelter. See Wakefield's Comment, and the note on Mat 13:32 (note).

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Matthew 17:14-21

The case of afflicted children should be presented to God by faithful and fervent prayer. Christ cured the child. Though the people were perverse, and Christ was provoked, yet care was taken of the child. When all other helps and succours fail, we are welcome to Christ, may trust in him, and in his power and goodness. See here an emblem of Christ's undertaking as our Redeemer. It encourages parents to bring children…

Read the full comment on Matthew 17:14-21 →

Matthew 17:20 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

ὉHo<the>G3588
δὲdeAndG1161
λέγειlegeispokeG3004
αὐτοῖς·autoisto them;G846
διὰdiaBecause ofG1223
τὴνtēntheG3588
ὀλιγοπιστίανoligopistianlittle faith
ὑμῶν.humōnof you.G4771
ἀμὴνamēnAmenG281
γὰρgarforG1063
λέγωlegōI sayG3004
ὑμῖν·huminto you;G4771
ἐὰνeanIfG1437
ἔχητεechēteyou shall haveG2192
πίστινpistinfaithG4102
ὡςhōsasG5613
κόκκονkokkona seedG2848
σινάπεως,sinapeōsof mustard,G4615
ἐρεῖτεereiteyou will sayG4483
τῷtōto theG3588
ὄρειoreimountainG3735
τούτῳ·toutōto this;G3778
μετάβαmetabado moveG3327
ἔνθενenthenfrom here
ἐκεῖ,ekeito there,G1563
καὶkaiandG2532
μεταβήσεται·metabēsetaiit will move;G3327
καὶkaiAndG2532
οὐδὲνoudenno [thing]G3762
ἀδυνατήσειadunatēseiwill be impossibleG101
ὑμῖν.¶huminfor you.G4771

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Matthew 17:20

  • Luke 17:6

    And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.

  • Mark 11:23

    For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

  • Luke 1:37

    For with God nothing shall be impossible.

  • Luke 18:27

    And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.

  • Matthew 21:21

    Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.

  • Mark 9:23

    Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.

  • 1 Corinthians 13:2

    And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

  • Matthew 13:31

    Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:

  • John 11:40

    Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?

  • Mark 4:31

    It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth:

  • Matthew 14:30-31

    But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

  • Hebrews 3:19

    So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Because.
17; 14:30,31; Heb 3:19
If.
21:21; Mr 11:23; Lu 17:6; 1Co 12:9; 13:2
faith.That is, as Bp. Pearce well remarks, a thriving and increasing faith, like a grain of mustard seed, which, from being the least of seeds, becomes the greatest of all herbs.
a grain.
13:31; Mr 4:31
nothing.
Mr 9:23; Lu 1:37; 18:27

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Matthew 17:19

    Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?

  • Matthew 17:20

    And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

  • Matthew 17:21

    Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

Read all of Matthew 17

Matthew 17:20 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y Jesús les dijo: Por vuestra incredulidad; porque de cierto os digo, que si tuviereis fe como un grano de mostaza, diréis á este monte: Pásate de aquí allá: y se pasará: y nada os será imposible.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et Jésus leur dit: À cause de votre incrédulité; car, en vérité, je vous dis: si vous aviez de la foi comme un grain de moutarde, vous diriez à cette montagne: Transporte-toi d’ici là, et elle se transporterait; et rien ne vous serait impossible.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Er aber spricht zu ihnen: Wegen eures Unglaubens; denn wahrlich, ich sage euch, wenn ihr Glauben habt wie ein Senfkorn, so werdet ihr zu diesem Berge sagen: Werde versetzt von hier dorthin! und er wird versetzt werden; und nichts wird euch unmöglich sein.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Hoc autem genus non ejicitur nisi per orationem et jejunium.