Chronological

17 Six days later, Yeshua took Kefa, Ya‘akov and his brother Yochanan and led them up a high mountain privately. ² As they watched, he began to change form — his face shone like the sun, and his clothing became as white as light. ³ Then they looked and saw Moshe and Eliyahu speaking with him. ⁴ Kefa said to Yeshua, “It’s good that we’re here, Lord. I’ll put up three shelters if you want — one for you, one for Moshe and one for Eliyahu.” ⁵ While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them; and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him!” ⁶ When the talmidim heard this, they were so frightened that they fell face down on the ground. ⁷ But Yeshua came and touched them. “Get up!” he said, “Don’t be afraid.” ⁸ So they opened their eyes, looked up and saw only Yeshua by himself.

⁹ As they came down the mountain, Yeshua ordered them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” ¹⁰ The talmidim asked him, “Then why do the Torah-teachers say that Eliyahu must come first?” ¹¹ He answered, “On the one hand, Eliyahu is coming and will restore all things; ¹² on the other hand, I tell you that Eliyahu has come already, and people did not recognize him but did whatever they pleased to him. In the same way, the Son of Man too is about to suffer at their hands.” ¹³ Then the talmidim understood that he was talking to them about Yochanan the Immerser.

¹⁴ As they came up to the crowd, a man approached Yeshua, kneeled down in front of him, ¹⁵ and said, “Sir, have mercy on my son, because he is an epileptic and has such terrible fits that he often falls into the fire or into the water. ¹⁶ I brought him to your talmidim, but they couldn’t heal him.” ¹⁷ Yeshua answered, “Perverted people, without any trust! How long will I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him here to me!” ¹⁸ Yeshua rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, so that from that moment he was healed.

¹⁹ Then the talmidim went to him privately and said, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” ²⁰ He said to them, “Because you have such little trust! Yes! I tell you that if you have trust as tiny as a mustard seed, you will be able to say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there!’ and it will move; indeed, nothing will be impossible for you!” ^21 [a]

²² As they were going about together in the Galil, Yeshua said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of people ²³ who will put him to death, and on the third day he will be raised.” And they were filled with sadness.

²⁴ When they came to K’far-Nachum, the collectors of the half-shekel came to Kefa and said, “Doesn’t your rabbi pay the Temple tax?” ²⁵ “Of course he does,” said Kefa. When he arrived home, Yeshua spoke first. “Shim‘on, what’s your opinion? The kings of the earth — from whom do they collect duties and taxes? From their sons or from others?” ²⁶ “From others,” he answered. “Then,” said Yeshua, “The sons are exempt. ²⁷ But to avoid offending them — go to the lake, throw out a line, and take the first fish you catch. Open its mouth, and you will find a shekel. Take it and give it to them for me and for you.”

9 Yes!” he went on, “I tell you that there are some people standing here who will not experience death until they see the Kingdom of God come in a powerful way!”

² Six days later, Yeshua took Kefa, Ya‘akov and Yochanan and led them up a high mountain privately. As they watched, he began to change form, ³ and his clothes became dazzlingly white, whiter than anyone in the world could possibly bleach them. ⁴ Then they saw Eliyahu and Moshe speaking with Yeshua. ⁵ Kefa said to Yeshua, “It’s good that we’re here, Rabbi! Let’s put up three shelters — one for you, one for Moshe and one for Eliyahu.” ⁶ (He didn’t know what to say, they were so frightened.) ⁷ Then a cloud enveloped them; and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” ⁸ Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Yeshua.

⁹ As they came down the mountain, he warned them not to tell anyone what they had seen until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. ¹⁰ So they kept the matter to themselves; but they continued asking each other, “What is this ‘rising from the dead’?” ¹¹ They also asked him, “Why do the Torah-teachers say that Eliyahu has to come first?” ¹² “Eliyahu will indeed come first,” he answered, “and he will restore everything. Nevertheless, why is it written in the Tanakh that the Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected? ¹³ There’s more to it: I tell you that Eliyahu has come, and they did whatever they pleased to him, just as the Tanakh says about him.”

¹⁴ When they got back to the talmidim, they saw a large crowd around them and some Torah-teachers arguing with them. ¹⁵ As soon as the crowd saw him, they were surprised and ran out to greet him. ¹⁶ He asked them, “What’s the discussion about?” ¹⁷ One of the crowd gave him the answer: “Rabbi, I brought my son to you because he has an evil spirit in him that makes him unable to talk. ¹⁸ Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground — he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth and becomes stiff all over. I asked your talmidim to drive the spirit out, but they couldn’t do it.” ¹⁹ “People without any trust!” he responded. “How long will I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him to me!” ²⁰ They brought the boy to him; and as soon as the spirit saw him, it threw the boy into a convulsion. ²¹ Yeshua asked the boy’s father, “How long has this been happening to him?” “Ever since childhood,” he said; ²² “and it often tries to kill him by throwing him into the fire or into the water. But if you can do anything, have pity on us and help us!” ²³ Yeshua said to him, “What do you mean, ‘if you can’? Everything is possible to someone who has trust!” ²⁴ Instantly the father of the child exclaimed, “I do trust — help my lack of trust!” ²⁵ When Yeshua saw that the crowd was closing in on them, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You deaf and dumb spirit! I command you: come out of him, and never go back into him again!” ²⁶ Shrieking and throwing the boy into a violent fit, it came out. The boy lay there like a corpse, so that most of the people said he was dead. ²⁷ But Yeshua took him by the hand and raised him to his feet, and he stood up.

²⁸ After Yeshua had gone indoors, his talmidim asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” ²⁹ He said to them “This is the kind of spirit that can be driven out only by prayer.”

³⁰ After leaving that place, they went on through the Galil. Yeshua didn’t want anyone to know, ³¹ because he was teaching his talmidim. He told them, “The Son of Man will be betrayed into the hands of men who will put him to death; but after he has been killed, three days later he will rise.” ³² But they didn’t understand what he meant, and they were afraid to ask him.

³³ They arrived at K’far-Nachum. When Yeshua was inside the house, he asked them, “What were you discussing as we were traveling?” ³⁴ But they kept quiet; because on the way, they had been arguing with each other about who was the greatest. ³⁵ He sat down, summoned the Twelve and said to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all.” ³⁶ He took a child and stood him among them. Then he put his arms around him and said to them, ³⁷ “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the One who sent me.”

³⁸ Yochanan said to him, “Rabbi, we saw a man expelling demons in your name; and because he wasn’t one of us, we told him to stop.” ³⁹ But Yeshua said, “Don’t stop him, because no one who works a miracle in my name will soon after be able to say something bad about me. ⁴⁰ For whoever is not against us is for us. ⁴¹ Indeed, whoever gives you even a cup of water to drink because you come in the name of the Messiah — yes! I tell you that he will certainly not lose his reward.

⁴² “Whoever ensnares one of these little ones who trust me — it would be better for him to have a millstone hung around his neck and be thrown in the sea. ⁴³ If your hand makes you sin, cut it off! Better that you should be maimed but obtain eternal life, rather than keep both hands and go to Gei-Hinnom, to unquenchable fire! ^{44 [a] 45} And if your foot makes you sin, cut it off! Better that you should be lame but obtain eternal life, rather than keep both feet and be thrown into Gei-Hinnom! ^{46 [b] 47} And if your eye makes you sin, pluck it out! Better that you should be one-eyed but enter the Kingdom of God, rather than keep both eyes and be thrown into Gei-Hinnom,

⁴⁹ Indeed, everyone is going to be salted with fire. ⁵⁰ Salt is excellent, but if it loses its saltiness, how will you season it? So have salt in yourselves — that is, be at peace with each other.”

²⁸ About a week after Yeshua said these things, he took Kefa, Yochanan and Ya‘akov with him and went up to the hill country to pray. ²⁹ As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed; and his clothing became gleaming white. ³⁰ Suddenly there were two men talking with him — Moshe and Eliyahu! ³¹ They appeared in glorious splendor and spoke of his exodus, which he was soon to accomplish in Yerushalayim. ³² Kefa and those with him had been sound asleep; but on becoming fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. ³³ As the men were leaving Yeshua, Kefa said to him, not knowing what he was saying, “It’s good that we’re here, Rabbi! Let’s put up three shelters — one for you, one for Moshe and one for Eliyahu.” ³⁴ As he spoke, a cloud came and enveloped them. They were frightened as they entered the cloud; ³⁵ and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen. Listen to him!” ³⁶ When the voice spoke, Yeshua was alone once more. They kept quiet — at that time they told no one anything of what they had seen.

³⁷ The next day, as they were coming down out of the hill country, a large crowd met him. ³⁸ Suddenly a man in the crowd shouted, “Rabbi! Look at my son, I beg you, because he’s my only child! ³⁹ What happens is this: a spirit seizes him, and suddenly it lets out a shriek and throws him into convulsions with foaming at the mouth; and only with difficulty will it leave him. It’s destroying him! ⁴⁰ I asked your talmidim to drive the spirit out, but they couldn’t.” ⁴¹ “Perverted people, without any trust!” Yeshua answered, “How long do I have to be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.” ⁴² Even as the boy was coming, the demon dashed him to the ground and threw him into a fit. But Yeshua rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father. ⁴³ All were struck with amazement at the greatness of God. While they were all marvelling at everything Yeshua was doing, he said to his talmidim, ⁴⁴ “Listen very carefully to what I’m going to say. The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men.” ⁴⁵ But they didn’t understand what he meant by this. It had been concealed from them so that they would not grasp its meaning, and they were afraid to ask him about it.

⁴⁶ An argument arose among the talmidim as to which of them might be the greatest. ⁴⁷ But Yeshua, knowing the thoughts of their hearts, took a child, stood him beside himself, ⁴⁸ and said to them, “Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the One who sent me. In other words, the one who is least among you all — this is the one who is great.” ⁴⁹ Yochanan responded, “Rabbi, we saw someone expelling demons in your name; and we stopped him because he doesn’t follow you along with us.” ⁵⁰ Yeshua said to him, “Don’t stop such people, because whoever isn’t against you is for you.”

⁵¹ As the time approached for him to be taken up into heaven, he made his decision to set out for Yerushalayim. ⁵² He sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village in Shomron to make preparations for him. ⁵³ However, the people there would not let him stay, because his destination was Yerushalayim. ⁵⁴ When the talmidim Ya‘akov and Yochanan saw this, they said, “Sir, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to destroy them?”^{[a] 55} But he turned and rebuked them.^{[b] 56} And they went on to another village.

⁵⁷ As they were traveling on the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” ⁵⁸ Yeshua answered him, “The foxes have holes, and the birds flying about have nests, but the Son of Man has no home of his own.” ⁵⁹ To another he said, “Follow me!” but the man replied, “Sir, first let me go away and bury my father.” ⁶⁰ Yeshua said, “Let the dead bury their own dead; you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God!” ⁶¹ Yet another said, “I will follow you, sir, but first let me say good-by to the people at home.” ⁶² To him Yeshua said, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and keeps looking back is fit to serve in the Kingdom of God.”