The Transfiguration

17 (A)And after six days Jesus took with him (B)Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was (C)transfigured before them, and (D)his face shone like the sun, and (E)his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for (F)Elijah.” He was still speaking when, behold, (G)a bright cloud overshadowed them, and (H)a voice from the cloud said, (I)“This is my beloved Son,[a] with whom I am well pleased; (J)listen to him.” When (K)the disciples heard this, (L)they fell on their faces and were terrified. But Jesus came and (M)touched them, saying, “Rise, and (N)have no fear.” And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

(O)And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, (P)“Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.” 10 And the disciples asked him, “Then why do the scribes say (Q)that first Elijah must come?” 11 He answered, “Elijah does come, and (R)he will restore all things. 12 But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but (S)did to him whatever they pleased. (T)So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.” 13 (U)Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.

Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon

14 (V)And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, 15 said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has (W)seizures and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. 16 And I brought him to your disciples, and (X)they could not heal him.” 17 And Jesus answered, “O faithless and (Y)twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? (Z)How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” 18 And Jesus (AA)rebuked the demon,[b] and it[c] came out of him, and (AB)the boy was healed instantly.[d] 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20 He said to them, (AC)“Because of your little faith. For (AD)truly, I say to you, (AE)if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, (AF)you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and (AG)nothing will be impossible for you.”[e]

Jesus Again Foretells Death, Resurrection

22 (AH)As they were gathering[f] in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, 23 and they will kill him, and he will be raised on (AI)the third day.” And they were greatly distressed.

The Temple Tax

24 (AJ)When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of (AK)the two-drachma tax went up to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the tax?” 25 He said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, (AL)“What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or (AM)tax? From their sons or from others?” 26 And when he said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free. 27 However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel.[g] Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself.”

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 17:5 Or my Son, my (or the) Beloved
  2. Matthew 17:18 Greek it
  3. Matthew 17:18 Greek the demon
  4. Matthew 17:18 Greek from that hour
  5. Matthew 17:20 Some manuscripts insert verse 21: But this kind never comes out except by prayer and fasting
  6. Matthew 17:22 Some manuscripts remained
  7. Matthew 17:27 Greek stater, a silver coin worth four drachmas or approximately one shekel

Jesus’ transformation

17 Six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and brought them to the top of a very high mountain. He was transformed in front of them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light.

Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Jesus. Peter reacted to all of this by saying to Jesus, “Lord, it’s good that we’re here. If you want, I’ll make three shrines: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

While he was still speaking, look, a bright cloud overshadowed them. A voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son whom I dearly love. I am very pleased with him. Listen to him!” Hearing this, the disciples fell on their faces, filled with awe.

But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.

As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Don’t tell anybody about the vision until the Human One[a] is raised from the dead.”

10 The disciples asked, “Then why do the legal experts say that Elijah must first come?”

11 Jesus responded, “Elijah does come first and will restore all things. 12 In fact, I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they didn’t know him. But they did to him whatever they wanted. In the same way the Human One[b] is also going to suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples realized he was telling them about John the Baptist.

Healing of a boy who was demon-possessed

14 When they came to the crowd, a man met Jesus. He knelt before him, 15 saying, “Lord, show mercy to my son. He is epileptic and suffers terribly, for he often falls into the fire or the water. 16 I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him.”

17 Jesus answered, “You faithless and crooked generation, how long will I be with you? How long will I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” 18 Then Jesus spoke harshly to the demon. And it came out of the child, who was healed from that time on.

19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and said, “Why couldn’t we throw the demon out?”

20 “Because you have little faith,” he said. “I assure you that if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Go from here to there,’ and it will go. There will be nothing that you can’t do.”[c]

Second prediction of Jesus’ death and resurrection

22 When the disciples came together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Human One[d] is about to be delivered over into human hands. 23 They will kill him. But he will be raised on the third day.” And they were heartbroken.

Paying the temple tax

24 When they came to Capernaum, the people who collected the half-shekel temple tax came to Peter and said, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?”

25 “Yes,” he said.

But when they came into the house, Jesus spoke to Peter first.“What do you think, Simon? From whom do earthly kings collect taxes, from their children or from strangers?”

26 “From strangers,” he said.

Jesus said to him, “Then the children don’t have to pay. 27 But just so we don’t offend them, go to the lake, throw out a fishing line and hook, and take the first fish you catch. When you open its mouth, you will find a shekel coin. Take it and pay the tax for both of us.”

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 17:9 Or Son of Man
  2. Matthew 17:12 Or Son of Man
  3. Matthew 17:20 17:21 is omitted in most critical editions of the Gk New Testament This kind doesn’t come out except through prayer and fasting.
  4. Matthew 17:22 Or Son of Man