1After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John the brother of James, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. 2There he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun, and his garments became as white as light. 3And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with him. 4So Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If yoʋ want, awe will make three shelters here, one for yoʋ, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 5While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; listen to him!” 6When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were utterly afraid. 7But Jesus came over and touched them, saying, “Rise; do not be afraid.” 8And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus.
9As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Do not tell anyone about the vision you saw until the Son of Man has brisen from the dead.” 10Then chis disciples asked him, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” 11Jesus answered dthem, “Elijah does indeed come efirst, and he will restore all things. 12But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wanted. Even so the Son of Man is about to suffer at their hands.” 13Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them about John the Baptist.
14When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus, kneeling before him 15and saying, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and fsuffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. 16I brought him to yoʋr disciples, but they could not heal him.” 17Jesus answered, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to me.” 18Then Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that hour. 19Afterward the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20Jesus said to them, “Because of your gunbelief. For truly I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. 21hBut this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
22While they were istaying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered up into the hands of men. 23They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised up.” And the disciples were greatly distressed.
24When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax came to Peter and said, “Your teacher pays the two-drachma tax, doesn't he?” 25He said, “Yes.” And when jPeter came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do yoʋ think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth receive toll or tax? From their own sons or from strangers?” 26kPeter said to him, “From strangers.” And Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free. 27But so that we may not offend them, go to the sea, cast a hook, and take the first fish yoʋ catch. When yoʋ open its mouth, yoʋ will find a stater coin. Take it and give it to them for yoʋ and me.”
The "six days" likely ties this account to Moses' ascent of Mt. Sinai in Exodus 24 (cf. especially 24:16). There are a number of other parallels, and the Orthodox Church appoints portions of Exodus 24 and 33 to be read at Vigil for the Transfiguration.
The "high mountain" here is likely Mt. Hermon, but the Orthodox tradition associates it with Mt. Tabor (cf. 16:13 and note on Mark 9:2).
Amongst the parallel accounts of the Transfiguration (Mark 9:2-10; Luke 9:28-36), only St. Matthew records that the disciples "fell on their faces," perhaps carrying on the motif of prostration before Jesus.
New Testament text: Text-Critical English New Testament (TCENT) — © Robert Adam Boyd, CC BY 4.0. Texts & Translations →