Matthew 17
Legacy Standard Bible
The Transfiguration
17 And (A)six days later Jesus *brought with Him (B)Peter and James and John his brother, and *led them up on a high mountain by themselves. 2 And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. 3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. 4 And Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, (C)I will make three [a]booths here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, (D)a voice out of the cloud said, “(E)This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!” 6 And when the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. 7 And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, “Get up, and (F)do not be afraid.” 8 And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone.
9 (G)And as they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “(H)Tell the vision to no one until (I)the Son of Man has (J)risen from the dead.” 10 And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Why then do the scribes say that (K)Elijah must come first?” 11 And He answered and said, “Elijah is coming and will restore all things; 12 but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did [b]to him whatever they wished. So also (L)the Son of Man is going to suffer [c]at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist.
Jesus Casts Out a Demon
14 (M)And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus, falling on his knees before Him and saying, 15 “[d]Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has [e](N)seizures and suffers terribly; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 And I brought him to Your disciples, and they could not cure him.” 17 And Jesus answered and said, “O you unbelieving and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.” 18 And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured [f]at once.
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20 And He *said to them, “Because of your little faith; for truly I say to you, (O)if you have faith [g]the size of (P)a mustard seed, you will say to (Q)this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and (R)nothing will be impossible to you. 21 [h][(S)But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”]
22 (T)And while they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be [i]delivered into the hands of men; 23 and (U)they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.” And they were deeply grieved.
The Temple Tax
24 Now when they came to Capernaum, those who collected (V)the [j]two-drachma tax came to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay (W)the [k]two-drachma tax?” 25 He *said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect (X)tolls or (Y)taxes, from their sons or from strangers?” 26 And when Peter said, “From strangers,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are [l]exempt. 27 However, so that we do not [m](Z)offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a [n]stater. Take that and give it to them for Me and you.”
Footnotes
- Matthew 17:4 Or tents, tabernacles, cf. Lev 23:34-43; Deut 16:13-15; Zech 14:16-19
- Matthew 17:12 Or in his case; lit in him
- Matthew 17:12 Lit by them
- Matthew 17:15 Or Sir
- Matthew 17:15 Lit moonstruck; Gr seleniazo
- Matthew 17:18 Lit from that hour
- Matthew 17:20 Lit as
- Matthew 17:21 Early mss omit this v
- Matthew 17:22 Or betrayed
- Matthew 17:24 A Greek silver coin, approx. a laborer’s daily wage
- Matthew 17:24 A Greek silver coin, approx. a laborer’s daily wage
- Matthew 17:26 Or free
- Matthew 17:27 Lit cause them to stumble
- Matthew 17:27 Lit standard coin, approx. 4 days of a laborer’s wages
Matthew 17
International Children’s Bible
Jesus with Moses and Elijah
17 Six days later, Jesus took Peter, James, and John the brother of James up on a high mountain. They were all alone there. 2 While they watched, Jesus was changed. His face became bright like the sun. And his clothes became white as light. 3 Then two men were there, talking with him. The men were Moses and Elijah.[a]
4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you want, I will put three tents here—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
5 While Peter was talking, a bright cloud covered them. A voice came from the cloud. The voice said, “This is my Son and I love him. I am very pleased with him. Obey him!”
6 The followers with Jesus heard the voice. They were so frightened that they fell to the ground. 7 But Jesus went to them and touched them. He said, “Stand up. Don’t be afraid.” 8 When the followers looked up, they saw Jesus was now alone.
9 When Jesus and the followers were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Don’t tell anyone about the things you saw on the mountain. Wait until the Son of Man has been raised from death. Then you may tell.”
10 The followers asked Jesus, “Why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first, before the Christ comes?”
11 Jesus answered, “They are right to say that Elijah is coming. And it is true that Elijah will make everything the way it should be. 12 But I tell you, Elijah has already come. People did not know who he was. They did to him everything they wanted to do. It will be the same with the Son of Man. Those same people will make the Son of Man suffer.” 13 Then the followers understood that Jesus was talking about John the Baptist.
Jesus Heals a Sick Boy
14 Jesus and his followers went back to the crowd. A man came to Jesus and bowed before him. 15 The man said, “Lord, please help my son. He has epilepsy[b] and is suffering very much. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16 I brought him to your followers, but they could not cure him.”
17 Jesus answered, “You people have no faith. Your lives are all wrong. How long must I stay with you? How long must I continue to be patient with you? Bring the boy here.” 18 Jesus gave a strong command to the demon inside the boy. Then the demon came out, and the boy was healed.
19 The followers came to Jesus when he was alone. They said, “Why couldn’t we force the demon out?”
20 Jesus answered, “You were not able to drive out the demon because your faith is too small. I tell you the truth. If your faith is as big as a mustard seed,[c] you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there.’ And the mountain will move. All things will be possible for you. 21 [That kind of spirit comes out only if you use prayer and give up eating.]”[d]
Jesus Talks About His Death
22 Later, the followers met together in Galilee. Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man will be given into the control of some men. 23 They will kill him, but on the third day he will be raised from death.” And the followers were filled with sadness.
Jesus Talks About Paying Taxes
24 Jesus and his followers went to Capernaum. There some men came to Peter. They were the men who collected the Temple tax. They asked, “Does your teacher pay the Temple tax?”
25 Peter answered, “Yes, Jesus pays the tax.”
Peter went into the house where Jesus was. Before Peter could speak, Jesus said to him, “The kings on the earth collect different kinds of taxes. But who are the people who pay the taxes? Are they the king’s children? Or do others pay the taxes? What do you think?”
26 Peter answered, “Other people pay the taxes.”
Jesus said to Peter, “Then the children of the king don’t have to pay taxes. 27 But we don’t want to make these tax collectors angry. So go to the lake and fish. After you catch the first fish, open its mouth. Inside its mouth you will find a coin. Take that coin and give it to the tax collectors. That will pay the tax for you and me.”
Footnotes
- 17:3 Moses and Elijah Two of the most important Jewish leaders in the past.
- 17:15 epilepsy A disease that causes a person sometimes to lose control of his body, and maybe faint, shake strongly, or not be able to move.
- 17:20 mustard seed This seed is very small, but the plant grows taller than a man.
- 17:21 That . . . eating. Some Greek copies do not contain the bracketed text.
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