Revelation 6:9

6:9 Now ¹  when the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been violently killed ²  because of the word of God and because of the testimony they had given.

Malachi 4:5

4:5 Look, I will send you Elijah ³  the prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord arrives.

Matthew 17:10-13

17:10 The disciples asked him, ⁴  “Why then do the experts in the law ⁵  say that Elijah must come first?” 17:11 He ⁶  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 ⁷  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 9:11

9:11 Then ⁸  they asked him, ⁹  “Why do the experts in the law ¹⁰  say that Elijah must come first?”

Luke 1:17

1:17 And he will go as forerunner before the Lord ¹¹  in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, ¹²  to make ready for the Lord a people prepared for him.”

Luke 9:7-9

Herod’s Confusion about Jesus

9:7 Now Herod ¹³  the tetrarch ¹⁴  heard about everything that was happening, and he was thoroughly perplexed, ¹⁵  because some people were saying that John ¹⁶  had been raised from the dead, 9:8 while others were saying that Elijah ¹⁷  had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had risen. ¹⁸  9:9 Herod said, “I had John ¹⁹  beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things?” So Herod wanted to learn about Jesus. ²⁰ 

[6:9]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the introduction of a new and somewhat different topic after the introduction of the four riders.

[6:9]  ² tn Or “murdered.” See the note on the word “butcher” in 6:4.

[4:5]  ³ sn I will send you Elijah the prophet. In light of the ascension of Elijah to heaven without dying (2 Kgs 2:11), Judaism has always awaited his return as an aspect of the messianic age (see, e.g., John 1:19-28). Jesus identified John the Baptist as Elijah, because he came in the “spirit and power” of his prototype Elijah (Matt 11:14; 17:1-13; Mark 9:2-13; Luke 9:28-36).

[17:10]  ⁴ tn Grk “asked him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant and has not been translated.

[17:10]  ⁵ tn Or “do the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[17:11]  ⁶ tn Grk “And answering, he said.” This has been simplified in the translation.

[17:12]  ⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[9:11]  ⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

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

[9:11]  ¹⁰ tn Or “Why do the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.

[1:17]  ¹¹ tn Grk “before him”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:17]  ¹² sn These two lines cover all relationships: Turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children points to horizontal relationships, while (turn) the disobedient to the wisdom of the just shows what God gives from above in a vertical manner.

[9:7]  ¹³ sn Herod refers here to Herod Antipas. See the note on Herod Antipas in 3:1.

[9:7]  ¹⁴ sn See the note on tetrarch in 3:1.

[9:7]  ¹⁵ tn Or “was very confused.” See L&N 32.10 where this verse is given as an example of the usage.

[9:7]  ¹⁶ sn John refers to John the Baptist, whom Herod had beheaded (v. 9).

[9:8]  ¹⁷ 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.

[9:8]  ¹⁸ sn The phrase had risen could be understood to mean “had been resurrected,” but this is only a possible option, not a necessary one, since the phrase could merely mean that a figure had appeared on the scene who mirrored an earlier historical figure. The three options of vv. 7-8 will be repeated in v. 19.

[9:9]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “John I beheaded”; John’s name is in emphatic position in the Greek text. The verb is causative, since Herod would not have personally carried out the execution.

[9:9]  ²⁰ tn The expression ἐζήτει ἰδεῖν αὐτόν (ezhtei idein auton, “was seeking to see him”) probably indicates that Herod, for curiosity’s sake or more likely for evil purposes, wanted to get to know Jesus, i.e., who he was and what he was doing. See I. H. Marshall, Luke (NIGTC), 357. Herod finally got his wish in Luke 23:6-12, with inconclusive results from his point of view.