17 ¹⁴ When they returned to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus, fell on his knees before him, 17 ¹⁵ and said, 'Have pity, sir, on my son: he is an epileptic and has bad fits, and he keeps falling about, often into the fire, often into water. 17 ¹⁶ I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him.' 17 ¹⁷ Jesus answered, 'What an unbelieving and perverse generation! How long shall I be with you? How much longer must I endure you? Bring him here to me.' 17 ¹⁸ Jesus then spoke sternly to the boy; the devil left him, and from that moment he was cured.
17 ¹⁹ Afterwards the disciples came to Jesus and asked him privately, 'Why could not we cast it out?' 17 ²⁰ He answered, 'Your faith is too weak. I tell you this: if you have faith no bigger even than a mustard-seed, you will say to this mountain, "Move from here to there!", and it will move; nothing will prove impossible for you.' 17 ²¹ Some manuscripts add: 'But there is no means of casting out this sort but prayer and fasting.'