MARK 9:11 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) [ref]They asked Yeshua, “Isn’t it written that Eliyah will be the first to return?”

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT And they were questioning him, saying, “Why do the scribes say that it is necessary for Elijah to come first?”

UST Then those three apprentices asked Jesus, “The teachers of the Jewish law tell us that the prophet Elijah has to be here before the Messiah gets here. Are they right about that?”

BSB And they asked [Jesus], “{Why do} the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”

BLB And they were asking Him, saying, "The scribes say that it behooves Elijah to come first."

AICNT And they asked him, saying, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”

OEB ‘How is it,’ they asked Jesus, ‘that our teachers of the Law say that Elijah has to come first?’

WEBBE They asked him, saying, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”

WMBB (Same as above)

NET Then they asked him, “Why do the experts in the law say that Elijah must come first?”

LSV And they were questioning Him, saying that the scribes say that Elijah must come first.

FBV “Why do the religious teachers state that Elijah has to come first?” they asked him.

TCNT Then they asked him, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”

T4T The three disciples had just seen Elijah, but Elijah had not done anything to prepare people to accept Jesus. So they asked Jesus, “The men who teach the Jewish laws say that Elijah must come back to the earth before the Messiah comes to earth. But you have been here a long time and Elijah came just today. So is what they are teaching wrong?”

LEB And they asked him, saying, “_⌊Why do_⌋[fn] the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”

9:11 Literally “what is it that”

BBE And they put a question to him, saying, Why do the scribes say that Elijah has to come first?

Moff So they put this question to him, "Why do the [Pharisees and] scribes say that Elijah has to come first?"

Wymth They also asked Him, "How is it that the Scribes say that Elijah must first come?"

ASV And they asked him, saying, How is it that the scribes say that Elijah must first come?

DRA Who answering, said to them: Elias, when he shall come first, shall restore all things; and as it is written of the Son of man, that he must suffer many things and be despised.

YLT And they were questioning him, saying, that the scribes say that Elijah it behoveth to come first.

Drby And they asked him saying, Why do the scribes say that Elias must first have come?

RV And they asked him, saying, The scribes say that Elijah must first come.

SLT And having asked him, saying, That the scribes say that Elias must first come.

Wbstr And they asked him, saying, Why say the scribes that Elijah must first come?

KJB-1769 ¶ And they asked him, saying, Why say the scribes that Elias must first come?
(¶ And they asked him, saying, Why say the scribes that Elias/Elijah must first come? )

KJB-1611 ¶ And they asked him, saying, Why say the Scribes that Elias must first come?
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation)

Bshps And they asked hym, saying: Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?
(And they asked him, saying: Why then say the scribes that Elias/Elijah must first come?)

Gnva Also they asked him, saying, Why say the Scribes, that Elias must first come?
(Also they asked him, saying, Why say the Scribes, that Elias/Elijah must first come? )

Cvdl And they axed him, and sayde: Why saye the scrybes then, that Elias must first come?
(And they asked him, and said: Why say the scribes then, that Elias/Elijah must first come?)

TNT And they axed him sayinge: why then saye the scribe that Helyas muste fyrste come?
(And they asked him saying: why then say the scribe that Elias/Elijah muste first come? )

Wycl And he answeride, and seide to hem, Whanne Helie cometh, he schal first restore alle thingis; and as it is writun of mannus sone, that he suffre many thingis, and be dispisid.
(And he answered, and said to hem, When Elye/Elijah cometh/comes, he shall first restore all things; and as it is written of man’s son, that he suffer many things, and be despised.)

Luth Und sie fragten ihn und sprachen: Sagen doch die Schriftgelehrten, daß Elia muß zuvor kommen.
(And they/she/them asked him/it and said: Sagen though/but the scribes, that Elia must before coming.)

ClVg Qui respondens, ait illis: Elias cum venerit primo, restituet omnia: et quomodo scriptum est in Filium hominis, ut multa patiatur et contemnatur.[fn]
(Who responding, he_said to_them: Elias when/with will_have_placed at_first, will_restore everything: and how written it_is in/into/on Son of_man, as fine suffer and contemnatur. )

9.11 Restituet, etc. Scilicet convertet cor patrum ad filios, et cor filiorum ad patres. Restituet enim morti quod debet et diu vivendo sustulit, unde addit: Quomodo scriptum. Quasi dicat: Sicut de Christi passione prophetæ multifarie scripserunt: sic et Elias multa passurus est. Restituet ergo omnia. Primo, corda hominum illius temporis ad credendum in Christo, resistendum Antichristo. Deinde, ponet animam pro Christo.

9.11 Restituet, etc. Of_course convertet heart of_the_fathers to children, and heart of_children to fathers. Restituet because death that must and long_time living sustulit, from_where/who adds: How/In_what_manner written. As_if let_him_say: Like from/about of_Christ passionately the_prophets multifarie they_wrote: so and Elias fine about_to_suffer it_is. Restituet therefore everything. At_first, hearts of_men of_that time to to_be_believed in/into/on to_Christ/Messiah, resistendum Antichristo. Then/Next, will_put the_soul for to_Christ/Messiah.

UGNT καὶ ἐπηρώτων αὐτὸν λέγοντες, ὅτι λέγουσιν οἱ γραμματεῖς ὅτι Ἠλείαν δεῖ ἐλθεῖν πρῶτον?
(kai epaʸrōtōn auton legontes, hoti legousin hoi grammateis hoti Aʸleian dei elthein prōton?)

SBL-GNT καὶ ἐπηρώτων αὐτὸν λέγοντες· Ὅτι λέγουσιν οἱ γραμματεῖς ὅτι Ἠλίαν δεῖ ἐλθεῖν πρῶτον;
(kai epaʸrōtōn auton legontes; Hoti legousin hoi grammateis hoti Aʸlian dei elthein prōton;)

RP-GNT Καὶ ἐπηρώτων αὐτόν, λέγοντες ὅτι Λέγουσιν οἱ γραμματεῖς ὅτι Ἠλίαν δεῖ ἐλθεῖν πρῶτον;
(Kai epaʸrōtōn auton, legontes hoti Legousin hoi grammateis hoti Aʸlian dei elthein prōton;)

TC-GNT Καὶ ἐπηρώτων αὐτόν, λέγοντες ὅτι Λέγουσιν οἱ γραμματεῖς ὅτι [fn]Ἠλίαν δεῖ ἐλθεῖν πρῶτον;
(Kai epaʸrōtōn auton, legontes hoti Legousin hoi grammateis hoti Aʸlian dei elthein prōton; )

9:11 ηλιαν ¦ ηλειαν WH

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, orange:accents differ, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 9:2–13: Three disciples saw Jesus’ glory

In 8:27–30 Peter stated that Jesus was the Christ. In 8:31–38 Jesus told the disciples about his future suffering, death, and resurrection. Then in 9:2–13 God caused Jesus to be glorified for a short time. Peter, James, and John saw this.

During that time, Moses and Elijah appeared and talked with Jesus. Peter suggested building shelters for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. God showed these disciples that Jesus was greater than the great prophets Moses and Elijah, because Jesus was God’s Son.

It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it.

Here are some other possible headings for this section:

God shows three disciples who Jesus really is

Jesus shone brightly

The glory of Jesus was shown to three disciples

The change of/in Jesus’ appearance

There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 17:1–12 and Luke 9:28–36.

9:11a

And they asked Jesus,

Then they asked him,
The disciples asked Jesus,

9:11b

“Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”

“Why do the teachers of law say that it is necessary for Elijah to come first?”
“Don’t the experts in the Law of Moses say that Elijah must come before the Christ/Messiah comes?”

9:11a–b

Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?: This is a real question. The disciples asked this question because they were confused. They had just seen Elijah on the mountain. They knew that Jesus was the Christ. They also knew about the prophecy that Elijah would come to preach before the Christ came. So they did not understand the prophecy in relation to Jesus.

Here are some other ways to translate this question:

Why do the teachers of religious law insist that Elijah must return before the Messiah comes? (NLT)

Are the teachers of the law correct in saying that it is necessary that Elijah come first before the Messiah comes? And if so, why has he not yet come?

the scribes: The Greek word that the BSB translates as the scribes refers to men who studied, interpreted, and taught the law of Moses. They are called scribes because the original work of these men was to copy the laws of Moses by hand. In New Testament times, this was no longer their main task. Instead, it was to teach the law. Here are some other ways to translate this term:

teachers of the law of Moses (CEV)

teachers of religious law (NLT)

experts on the law

See how you translated this phrase in 1:22c or 8:31c. See teacher of the law in the Glossary.

Elijah must come first: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as must is literally “it is necessary.” The Scripture said that Elijah would come first. Therefore, it was necessary for him to come.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

it is necessary for Elijah to come first

it is required that Elijah come first

come: In this context, the verb come means “return to earth.” God took Elijah directly to heaven before the prophecy, but the prophecy indicates that he would come back to Israel. For example:

come to earth again

return to Israel

first: In this context, the word first means “before the Christ comes.”

Here are some other ways to translate this:

before the Christ does

before the Christ comes

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: writing-pronouns

ἐπηρώτων

˱they˲_˓were˒_asking

Here, the pronoun they refers to Peter, James, and John. If it would be helpful in your language, you could indicate that explicitly. Alternate translation: [Peter, James, and John were questioning]

Note 2 topic: writing-quotations

λέγοντες

saying

Consider natural ways of introducing direct quotations in your language. Alternate translation: [and they asked]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

Ἠλείαν δεῖ ἐλθεῖν

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἐπηρώτων αὐτόν λέγοντες ὅτι λέγουσιν Οἱ γραμματεῖς ὅτι Ἠλίαν δεῖ ἐλθεῖν πρῶτον)

Here the disciples are referring to a prophecy in [Malachi 4:5–6](../mal/04/05.md). This prophecy states that God will send Elijah before the day of the Lord arrives, and he will prepare people. Elijah was a prophet who did many powerful things a long time before Malachi wrote down this prophecy. The scribes teach that this means that Elijah must come before the Messiah does. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make that idea more explicit. Alternate translation: [it is necessary for Elijah, who was a prophet long ago, to come] or [the Scriptures indicate that it is necessary for Elijah the prophet to come]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

ἐλθεῖν

˓to˒_come

Here, the word come refers to Elijah appearing in the world and doing what God called him to do. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable phrase or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [to appear] or [to do what he is predicted to do]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

πρῶτον

first

Here the disciples imply that Elijah comes first because he comes before the Messiah does. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make that idea more explicit. Alternate translation: [first, before the Messiah comes]

Parallel MARK 9:11

Section 9:2–13: Three disciples saw Jesus’ glory

9:11a

9:11b

9:11a–b