9:11 Then 1 they asked him, 2 “Why do the experts in the law 3 say that Elijah must come first?” 9:12 He said to them, “Elijah does indeed come first, and restores all things. And why is it written that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be despised? 9:13 But I tell you that Elijah has certainly come, and they did to him whatever they wanted, just as it is written about him.”
1 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
2 tn Grk “And they were asking him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant and has not been translated.
3 tn Or “Why do the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.
4 sn I will send you Elijah the prophet. In light of the ascension of Elijah to heaven without dying (2 Kgs 2:11), Judaism has always awaited his return as an aspect of the messianic age (see, e.g., John 1:19-28). Jesus identified John the Baptist as Elijah, because he came in the “spirit and power” of his prototype Elijah (Matt 11:14; 17:1-13; Mark 9:2-13; Luke 9:28-36).