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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Mat C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22 C23 C24 C25 C26 C27 C28
Mat 17 V1 V2 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20 V21 V22 V23 V24 V25 V26 V27
OET (OET-LV) And see, Mōsaʸs/(Mosheh) and Aʸlias/(ʼĒliyyāh) was_seen to_them conversing_with with him.
In this section, Jesus changed his appearance. He made his face and his clothes shine very brightly. He did this in front of Peter, James and John. At the same time, the disciples saw Moses and Elijah. Then they heard the voice of God. When the disciples saw and heard all this, they understood that Jesus was not an ordinary teacher. They better understood that he really was the Messiah.
This section immediately follow 16:28 which says, “Truly, I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.” This section begins to fulfill that verse.
Here are some other possible headings for this section:
The disciples saw Jesus’ appearance change
Jesus’ glory was revealed on the mountain
There are parallel passages for this section in Mark 9:2–12 and Luke 9:28–36.
Suddenly Moses and Elijah appeared before them, talking with Jesus.
Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared. They were talking with him.
All at once, they saw the prophets Moses and Elijah talking with him/Jesus.
Suddenly: The Greek word that the BSB translates as Suddenly literally means “look” or “see.” It focuses attention on what follows and indicates that it is important, unexpected, or amazing. In this passage, Moses and Elijah unexpectedly appeared.
Here are some other ways to translate this word:
Behold (ESV)
All of a sudden
unexpectedly
Translate this word in a way that you would ordinarily use to describe something sudden or startling.
Moses and Elijah: Moses and Elijah were both Old Testament prophets who lived many years before Jesus. But God brought them to the mountain to talk with Jesus.
If people in your area will not know that Moses and Elijah lived long before Jesus, you may want to include some implied information. For example:
Moses and Elijah, prophets of long ago
Moses: The name Moses first occurs in 8:4c. You should spell his name here as you did there.
Elijah: The name Elijah first occurs in 11:14b. You should spell his name here as you did there.
appeared before them: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as appeared is literally “was seen.” This form of the verb is often used to describe beings who appear in a supernatural manner. Here, this verb indicates that the disciples suddenly saw Elijah and Moses. The disciples did not see them coming from a distance.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
Elijah and Moses appeared to them
Moses and Elijah were there (CEV)
They saw Elijah and Moses
before them: These words indicate that all three disciples saw the same thing.
In some languages, it will not be necessary to add this phrase. For example:
Moses and Elijah appeared (NLT)
talking with Jesus: In Greek, the grammar probably indicates that Moses and Elijah were already talking with Jesus when the disciples saw them. The grammar could also indicate that Moses, Elijah and Jesus were still talking when Peter interrupted them (17:4). Try to translate in a way that allows for either of those two meanings.
Matthew does not suggest that the disciples were close enough to hear what they were talking about. Matthew just indicates that the disciples could see from where they were standing that Jesus was talking with these two prophets.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
ἰδοὺ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἰδού ὤφθη αὐτοῖς Μωϋσῆς καί Ἠλίας συλλαλοῦντες μετʼ αὐτοῦ)
The word behold draws the attention of the audience and asks them to listen carefully. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express behold with a word or phrase that asks the audience to listen, or you could draw the audience’s attention in another way. Alternate translation: [listen] or [suddenly]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
ὤφθη αὐτοῖς Μωϋσῆς καὶ Ἠλείας
˓was˒_seen ˱to˲_them Moses (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἰδού ὤφθη αὐτοῖς Μωϋσῆς καί Ἠλίας συλλαλοῦντες μετʼ αὐτοῦ)
If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: [they saw Moses and Elijah]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
συνλαλοῦντες
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἰδού ὤφθη αὐτοῖς Μωϋσῆς καί Ἠλίας συλλαλοῦντες μετʼ αὐτοῦ)
Matthew means that Moses and Elijah were talking with Jesus. You could include this information if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [and the two of them were talking]
Note 4 topic: writing-pronouns
αὐτοῦ
him
The pronoun him refers to Jesus. If this is not clear for your readers, you could use the person's name here. Alternate translation: [Jesus]
OET (OET-LV) And see, Mōsaʸs/(Mosheh) and Aʸlias/(ʼĒliyyāh) was_seen to_them conversing_with with him.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.