Luke 9:29-31

9:29 As ¹  he was praying, ²  the appearance of his face was transformed, ³  and his clothes became very bright, a brilliant white. ⁴  9:30 Then ⁵  two men, Moses and Elijah, ⁶  began talking with him. ⁷  9:31 They appeared in glorious splendor and spoke about his departure ⁸  that he was about to carry out ⁹  at Jerusalem. ¹⁰ 

[9:29]  ¹ tn Grk “And as.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[9:29]  ² tn Here the preposition ἐν (en) plus the dative articular aorist infinitive has been translated as a temporal clause (ExSyn 595).

[9:29]  ³ tn Or “the appearance of his face became different.”

[9:29]  ⁴ tn 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]  ⁵ tn 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]  ⁶ sn 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]  ⁷ tn 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]  ⁸ tn 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]  ⁹ tn Or “accomplish,” “bring to completion.”

[9:31]  ¹⁰ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.