Luke 9:28-36

Context

The Transfiguration

9:28 Now¹ about eight days² after these sayings, Jesus³ took with him Peter, John, and James, and went up the mountain to pray. 9:29 As⁴ he was praying,⁵ the appearance of his face was transformed,⁶ and his clothes became very bright, a brilliant white.⁷ 9:30 Then⁸ two men, Moses and Elijah,⁹ began talking with him.¹⁰ 9:31 They appeared in glorious splendor and spoke about his departure¹¹ that he was about to carry out¹² at Jerusalem.¹³ 9:32 Now Peter and those with him were quite sleepy,¹⁴ but as they became fully awake,¹⁵ they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. 9:33 Then¹⁶ as the men¹⁷ were starting to leave,¹⁸ Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us make three shelters,¹⁹ one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah” – not knowing what he was saying. 9:34 As²⁰ he was saying this, a cloud²¹ came²² and overshadowed²³ them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 9:35 Then²⁴ a voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One.²⁵ Listen to him!”²⁶ 9:36 After²⁷ the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. So²⁸ they kept silent and told no one²⁹ at that time³⁰ anything of what they had seen.

[9:28] ¹tn Grk “Now it happened that about.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[9:28] ²tn Matt 17:1 and Mark 9:2 specify the interval more exactly, saying it was the sixth day. Luke uses ὡσεί (Jwsei, “about”) to give an approximate reference.

[9:28] ³tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:29] ⁴tn Grk “And as.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[9:29] ⁵tn Here the preposition ἐν (en) plus the dative articular aorist infinitive has been translated as a temporal clause (ExSyn 595).

[9:29] ⁶tn Or “the appearance of his face became different.”

[9:29] ⁷tn Or “became bright as a flash of lightning” (cf. BDAG 346 s.v. ἐξαστράπτω); or “became brilliant as light” (cf. BDAG 593 s.v. λευκός 1).

[9:30] ⁸tn Grk “And behold.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. The Greek word ἰδού (idou) at the beginning of this statement has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[9:30] ⁹sn Commentators and scholars discuss why Moses and Elijah are present. The most likely explanation is that Moses represents the prophetic office (Acts 3:18-22) and Elijah pictures the presence of the last days (Mal 4:5-6), the prophet of the eschaton (the end times).

[9:30] ¹⁰tn Grk “two men were talking with him, who were Moses and Elijah.” The relative clause has been simplified to an appositive and transposed in keeping with contemporary English style.

[9:31] ¹¹tn Grk “his exodus,” which refers to Jesus’ death in Jerusalem and journey back to glory. Here is the first lesson that the disciples must learn. The wondrous rule comes only after suffering.

[9:31] ¹²tn Or “accomplish,” “bring to completion.”

[9:31] ¹³map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[9:32] ¹⁴tn Grk “weighed down with sleep” (an idiom).

[9:32] ¹⁵tn Or “after they became fully awake,” “but they became fully awake and saw.”

[9:33] ¹⁶tn Grk “And it happened that as.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated. Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[9:33] ¹⁷tn Grk “as they”; the referent (“the men,” referring to Moses and Elijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:33] ¹⁸tn Grk “to leave from him.”

[9:33] ¹⁹tn Or “booths,” “dwellings” (referring to the temporary booths constructed in the celebration of the feast of Tabernacles).

[9:34] ²⁰tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[9:34] ²¹sn This cloud is the cloud of God’s presence and the voice is his as well.

[9:34] ²²tn Or “appeared.”

[9:34] ²³tn Or “surrounded.”

[9:35] ²⁴tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[9:35] ²⁵tc Most mss, especially the later ones, have ἀγαπητός (agaphto", “the one I love”; A C* W Ë¹³ 33 Ï it), or ἀγαπητὸς ἐν ᾧ (ἠ)υδόκησα (agaphto" en |w (h)udokhsa, “the one I love, in whom I am well pleased”; C³ D Ψ pc) here, instead of ἐκλελεγμένος (eklelegmeno", “the Chosen One”), but these variants are probably assimilations to Matt 17:5 and Mark 9:7. The text behind the translation also enjoys excellent support from Ì^45,75 א B L Ξ (579) 892 1241 pc co.

[9:35] ²⁶sn The expression listen to him comes from Deut 18:15 and makes two points: 1) Jesus is a prophet like Moses, a leader-prophet, and 2) they have much yet to learn from him.

[9:36] ²⁷tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[9:36] ²⁸tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the concluding summary of the account.

[9:36] ²⁹sn Although the disciples told no one at the time, later they did recount this. The commentary on this scene is 2 Pet 1:17-18.

[9:36] ³⁰tn Grk “in those days.”