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Mark 9:42
ESV "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.
NIV "If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea.
NASB Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it is better for him if a heavy millstone is hung around his neck and he is thrown into the sea.
CSB "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to fall away —it would be better for him if a heavy millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.
NLT But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone hung around your neck.
KJV And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.
NKJV “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea.

What does Mark 9:42 mean?

"Sin" is from the Greek root word skandalizo which can mean to sin, but also means to draw someone away from whom they followed. "Little ones" is often interpreted as referring to the child Jesus presented in Mark 9:36–37. The Greek root word is mikros, which can mean someone younger but can also mean someone of lower rank and a lesser experience, like the unfamiliar man who cast out demons (Mark 9:38). When the disciples told that man to stop, they were telling him to sin.

"Millstone" is from the Greek root word mulos, and "great" is from the Greek root word onikos. While a mulos is just a millstone, onikos refers to something used with a donkey. Excavations from the area show that the mill used in Jesus' time wasn't just two wide cylinders on top of one another. The base stone was a heavy disk, the diameter perhaps twice its height, set on the ground with a circular track cut out of the flat top, leaving a raised lip and center. From the center rose a wooden post that pierced a heavy crossbeam. One end of the crossbeam acted as an axle for a smaller stone wheel that stood upright inside the larger cylinder's track. The other end of the post was harnessed to a donkey which walked around the base stone. As the smaller cylinder rolled around the post, it crushed grain in the carved track of the base stone.

This type of mill was particularly large, and the smaller stone wheel could be three feet in diameter and eighteen inches thick, making it more than enough to drown someone. The method of death is not fantasy, either. When the governor Quirinus commissioned the registration of the Jews and Joseph took the pregnant Mary to Bethlehem, Judas the Galilean led a revolt that resulted in some of his lieutenants being executed in exactly this manner (Acts 5:37). Still, Jesus says that drowning with a millstone around one's neck would be better than going to hell.

We're used to thinking of temptation as an enticement to do something wrong. At its core, however, all temptation is an attempt to draw someone away from God. Jesus explains this could be by keeping them from serving (Mark 9:38) or discouraging them from approaching Jesus (Mark 10:13–16). We need to seriously consider our church culture and whether we have established rules that keep others from fulfilling their God-given responsibilities of serving Him or learning more about Him.
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