Matthew 17:1-13

The Transfiguration

17:1 Six days later ¹  Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John the brother of James, ²  and led them privately up a high mountain. 17:2 And he was transfigured before them. ³  His ⁴  face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. 17:3 Then Moses ⁵  and Elijah ⁶  also appeared before them, talking with him. 17:4 So ⁷  Peter said ⁸  to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you want, I will make ⁹  three shelters ¹⁰  – one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 17:5 While he was still speaking, a ¹¹  bright cloud ¹²  overshadowed ¹³  them, and a voice from the cloud said, ¹⁴  “This is my one dear Son, ¹⁵  in whom I take great delight. Listen to him!” ¹⁶  17:6 When the disciples heard this, they were overwhelmed with fear and threw themselves down with their faces to the ground. ¹⁷  17:7 But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Do not be afraid.” 17:8 When ¹⁸  they looked up, all they saw was Jesus alone.

17:9 As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, ¹⁹  “Do not tell anyone about the vision until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.” 17:10 The disciples asked him, ²⁰  “Why then do the experts in the law ²¹  say that Elijah must come first?” 17:11 He ²²  answered, “Elijah does indeed come first and will restore all things. 17:12 And I tell you that Elijah has already come. Yet they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wanted. In ²³  the same way, the Son of Man will suffer at their hands.” 17:13 Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them about John the Baptist.

Mark 9:2-13

The Transfiguration

9:2 Six days later ²⁴  Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John and led them alone up a high mountain privately. And he was transfigured before them, ²⁵  9:3 and his clothes became radiantly white, more so than any launderer in the world could bleach them. 9:4 Then Elijah appeared before them along with Moses, ²⁶  and they were talking with Jesus. 9:5 So ²⁷  Peter said to Jesus, ²⁸  “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us make three shelters ²⁹  – one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 9:6 (For they were afraid, and he did not know what to say.) ³⁰  9:7 Then ³¹  a cloud ³²  overshadowed them, ³³  and a voice came from the cloud, “This is my one dear Son. ³⁴  Listen to him!” ³⁵  9:8 Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more except Jesus.

9:9 As they were coming down from the mountain, he gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 9:10 They kept this statement to themselves, discussing what this rising from the dead meant.

9:11 Then ³⁶  they asked him, ³⁷  “Why do the experts in the law ³⁸  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.”

[17:1]  ¹ tn Grk “And after six days.”

[17:1]  ² tn Grk “John his brother” with “his” referring to James.

[17:2]  ³ sn In 1st century Judaism and in the NT, there was the belief that the righteous get new, glorified bodies in order to enter heaven (1 Cor 15:42-49; 2 Cor 5:1-10). This transformation means the righteous will share the glory of God. One recalls the way Moses shared the Lord’s glory after his visit to the mountain in Exod 34. So the disciples saw Jesus transfigured, and they were getting a sneak preview of the great glory that Jesus would have (only his glory is more inherent to him as one who shares in the rule of the kingdom).

[17:2]  ⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[17:3]  ⁵ tn Grk “And behold, Moses.” 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).

[17:3]  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).

[17:4]  ⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate that the appearance of Moses and Elijah prompted Peter’s comment.

[17:4]  ⁸ tn Grk “Peter answering said.” This construction is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.

[17:4]  ⁹ 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.

[17:4]  ¹⁰ tn Or “booths,” “dwellings” (referring to the temporary booths constructed in the celebration of the feast of Tabernacles).

[17:5]  ¹¹ tn Grk “behold, a.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated here or in the following clause because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[17:5]  ¹² sn This cloud is the cloud of God’s presence and the voice is his as well.

[17:5]  ¹³ tn Or “surrounded.”

[17:5]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “behold, a voice from the cloud, saying.” This is an incomplete sentence in Greek which portrays intensity and emotion. The participle λέγουσα (legousa) was translated as a finite verb in keeping with English style.

[17:5]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “my beloved Son,” or “my Son, the beloved [one].” The force of ἀγαπητός (agaphtos) is often “pertaining to one who is the only one of his or her class, but at the same time is particularly loved and cherished” (L&N 58.53; cf. also BDAG 7 s.v. 1).

[17:5]  ¹⁶ sn 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.

[17:6]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “they fell down on their faces.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב. has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”

[17:8]  ¹⁸ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[17:9]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “Jesus commanded them, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant and has not been translated.

[17:10]  ²⁰ tn Grk “asked him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant and has not been translated.

[17:10]  ²¹ tn Or “do the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[17:11]  ²² tn Grk “And answering, he said.” This has been simplified in the translation.

[17:12]  ²³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[9:2]  ²⁴ tn Grk “And after six days.”

[9:2]  ²⁵ sn In 1st century Judaism and in the NT, there was the belief that the righteous get new, glorified bodies in order to enter heaven (1 Cor 15:42-49; 2 Cor 5:1-10). This transformation means the righteous will share the glory of God. One recalls the way Moses shared the Lord’s glory after his visit to the mountain in Exod 34. So the disciples saw Jesus transfigured, and they were getting a sneak preview of the great glory that Jesus would have (only his glory is more inherent to him as one who shares in the rule of the kingdom).

[9:4]  ²⁶ 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).

[9:5]  ²⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[9:5]  ²⁸ tn Grk “And answering, Peter said to Jesus.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant and has not been translated.

[9:5]  ²⁹ tn Or “dwellings,” “booths” (referring to the temporary booths constructed in the celebration of the feast of Tabernacles).

[9:6]  ³⁰ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[9:7]  ³¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[9:7]  ³² sn This cloud is the cloud of God’s presence and the voice is his as well.

[9:7]  ³³ tn Grk “And there came a cloud, surrounding them.”

[9:7]  ³⁴ tn Grk “my beloved Son,” or “my Son, the beloved [one].” The force of ἀγαπητός (agaphtos) is often “pertaining to one who is the only one of his or her class, but at the same time is particularly loved and cherished” (L&N 58.53; cf. also BDAG 7 s.v. 1).

[9:7]  ³⁵ sn 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.

[9:11]  ³⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[9:11]  ³⁷ tn Grk “And they were asking him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant and has not been translated.

[9:11]  ³⁸ tn Or “Why do the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.