Matthew 16:13-17

Peter’s Confession

16:13 When ¹  Jesus came to the area of Caesarea Philippi, ²  he asked his disciples, ³  “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 16:14 They answered, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, ⁴  and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 16:15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16:16 Simon Peter answered, ⁵  “You are the Christ, ⁶  the Son of the living God.” 16:17 And Jesus answered him, ⁷  “You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood ⁸  did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven!

[16:13]  ¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[16:13]  ² map For location see Map1 C1; Map2 F4.

[16:13]  ³ tn Grk “he asked his disciples, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant and has been left untranslated.

[16:14]  ⁴ sn The appearance of Elijah would mean that the end time had come. According to 2 Kgs 2:11, Elijah was still alive. In Mal 4:5 it is said that Elijah would be the precursor of Messiah.

[16:16]  ⁵ tn Grk “And answering, Simon Peter said.”

[16:16]  ⁶ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[16:17]  ⁷ tn Grk “answering, Jesus said to him.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant, but the syntax of this phrase has been modified for clarity.

[16:17]  ⁸ tn The expression “flesh and blood” could refer to “any human being” (so TEV, NLT; cf. NIV “man”), but it could also refer to Peter himself (i.e., his own intuition; cf. CEV “You didn’t discover this on your own”). Because of the ambiguity of the referent, the phrase “flesh and blood” has been retained in the translation.