1 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”
2 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
3 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate that the appearance of Moses and Elijah prompted Peter’s comment.
4 tn Grk “Peter answering said.” This construction is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.
5 tc Instead of the singular future indicative ποιήσω (poihsw, “I will make”), most witnesses (C3 D L W Θ [Φ] 0281 Ë[1],13 33 Ï lat sy co) have the plural aorist subjunctive ποιήσωμεν (poihswmen, “let us make”). But since ποιήσωμεν is the reading found in the parallel accounts in Mark and Luke, it is almost surely a motivated reading. Further, the earliest and best witnesses, as well as a few others (א B C* 700 pc) have ποιήσω. It is thus more likely that the singular verb is authentic.
6 tn Or “booths,” “dwellings” (referring to the temporary booths constructed in the celebration of the feast of Tabernacles).
4 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
5 tn Grk “he was silent.”
6 tn The verb here is passive (ἠγέρθη, hgerqh). This “divine passive” (see ExSyn 437-38) points to the fact that Jesus was raised by God.
7 tc Expansions on the text, especially when the Lord is the subject, are a common scribal activity. In this instance, since the subject is embedded in the verb, three major variants have emerged to make the subject explicit: ὁ κύριος (Jo kurio", “the Lord”; A C D L W 0148 Ë1,13 Ï lat), τὸ σῶμα τοῦ κυρίου (to swma tou kuriou, “the body of the Lord”; 1424 pc), and ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς (Jo Ihsou", “Jesus”; Φ). The reading with no explicit subject, however, is superior on both internal and external grounds, being supported by א B Θ 33 892* pc co.
7 tn Grk “And behold, they cried out, saying.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1). The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant and has not been translated.
8 tn Grk “what to us and to you?” (an idiom). The phrase τί ἡμῖν καὶ σοί (ti Jhmin kai soi) is Semitic in origin, though it made its way into colloquial Greek (BDAG 275 s.v. ἐγώ). The equivalent Hebrew expression in the OT had two basic meanings: (1) When one person was unjustly bothering another, the injured party could say “What to me and to you?” meaning, “What have I done to you that you should do this to me?” (Judg 11:12, 2 Chr 35:21, 1 Kgs 17:18). (2) When someone was asked to get involved in a matter he felt was no business of his own, he could say to the one asking him, “What to me and to you?” meaning, “That is your business, how am I involved?” (2 Kgs 3:13, Hos 14:8). These nuances were apparently expanded in Greek, but the basic notions of defensive hostility (option 1) and indifference or disengagement (option 2) are still present. BDAG suggests the following as glosses for this expression: What have I to do with you? What have we in common? Leave me alone! Never mind! Hostility between Jesus and the demons is certainly to be understood in this context, hence the translation: “Leave us alone….”
9 sn There was an appointed time in which demons would face their judgment, and they seem to have viewed Jesus’ arrival on the scene as an illegitimate change in God’s plan regarding the time when their sentence would be executed.
8 tn Grk “about the eleventh hour.”
9 tn Grk “men”; the word here (ἀνήρ, anhr) usually indicates males or husbands, but occasionally is used in a generic sense of people in general, as here (cf. BDAG 79 s.v. 1.a, 2).
10 tn Grk “at the preaching of Jonah.”
11 tn Grk “behold.”
10 sn On the queen of the South see 1 Kgs 10:1-3 and 2 Chr 9:1-12, as well as Josephus, Ant. 8.6.5-6 (8.165-175). The South most likely refers to modern southwest Arabia, possibly the eastern part of modern Yemen, although there is an ancient tradition reflected in Josephus which identifies this geo-political entity as Ethiopia.
11 tn Grk “behold.”
11 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”
12 tn The Greek negative here (οὐ μή, ou mh) is the strongest possible.
13 tn Grk “will not taste.” Here the Greek verb does not mean “sample a small amount” (as a typical English reader might infer from the word “taste”), but “experience something cognitively or emotionally; come to know something” (cf. BDAG 195 s.v. γεύομαι 2).
14 sn Several suggestions have been made as to the referent for the phrase the Son of Man coming in his kingdom: (1) the transfiguration itself, which immediately follows in the narrative; (2) Jesus’ resurrection and ascension; (3) the coming of the Spirit; (4) Christ’s role in the Church; (5) the destruction of Jerusalem; (6) Jesus’ second coming and the establishment of the kingdom. The reference to six days later in 17:1 seems to indicate that Matthew had the transfiguration in mind insofar as it was a substantial prefiguring of the consummation of the kingdom (although this interpretation is not without its problems). As such, the transfiguration would be a tremendous confirmation to the disciples that even though Jesus had just finished speaking of his death (in vv. 21-23), he was nonetheless the promised Messiah and things were proceeding according to God’s plan.
12 tn Grk “And answering, Jesus said.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.
13 tn Grk “O.” The marker of direct address, ὦ (w), is functionally equivalent to a vocative and is represented in the translation by “you.”
14 tn Or “faithless.”
15 tn Grk “how long.”
16 tn Or “put up with.” See Num 11:12; Isa 46:4.
17 sn The pronouns you…you are plural, indicating that Jesus is speaking to a group rather than an individual.
13 tn Grk “answering, he said to them.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (ajpokriqei") is redundant in English and has not been translated.
14 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”
15 sn With the statement not one stone will be left on another Jesus predicted the total destruction of the temple, something that did occur in
16 tn Grk “not one stone will be left here on another which will not be thrown down.”