^9:18Once⁶² when Jesus⁶³ was praying⁶⁴ by himself, and his disciples were nearby, he asked them,⁶⁵ “Who do the crowds say that I am?”⁶⁶^9:19They⁶⁷ answered,⁶⁸ “John the Baptist; others say Elijah;⁶⁹ and still others that one of the prophets of long ago has risen.”⁷⁰^9:20Then⁷¹ he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter⁷² answered,⁷³ “The Christ⁷⁴ of God.” ^9:21But he forcefully commanded⁷⁵ them not to tell this to anyone,⁷⁶^9:22saying, “The Son of Man must suffer⁷⁷ many things and be rejected by the elders,⁷⁸ chief priests, and experts in the law,⁷⁹ and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”⁸⁰

Read in Logos

Footnotes

62 Grk “And it happened that.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
63 Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
64 Prayer is a favorite theme of Luke and he is the only one of the gospel authors to mention it in the following texts (with the exception of 22:41): Luke 3:21; 5:16; 6:12; 9:28–29; 11:1; 22:41; 23:34, 46.
65 Grk “the disciples were with him, and he asked them, saying.”
66 “Who do the crowds say that I am?” The question of who Jesus is occurs frequently in this section of Luke: 7:49; 8:25; 9:9. The answer resolves a major theme of Luke’s Gospel.
67 Grk “And they.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
68 Grk “And answering, they said.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “They answered.”
69 The appearance of Elijah would mean that the end time had come. According to 2 Kgs 2:11, Elijah was still alive. In Mal 4:5 it is said that Elijah would be the precursor of Messiah.
70 The phrase has risen could be understood to mean “has been resurrected,” but this is only a possible option, not a necessary one, since the phrase could merely mean that a figure had appeared on the scene who mirrored an earlier historical figure. Note that the three categories in the reply match the ones in Luke 9:7–8.
71 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
72 Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
73 Grk “Peter answering, said.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “Peter answered.”
74 Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.” See the note on Christ in .
75 The combination of the participle and verb ἐπιτιμήσας and παρήγγειλεν (epitimēsas and parēngeilen, “commanding, he ordered”) is a hendiadys that makes the instruction emphatic.
76 No explanation for the command not to tell this to anyone is given, but the central section of Luke, chapters 9–19, appears to reveal a reason. The disciples needed to understand who the Messiah really was and exactly what he would do before they were ready to proclaim Jesus as such. But they and the people had an expectation that needed some instruction to be correct.
77 The necessity that the Son of Man suffer is the particular point that needed emphasis, since for many 1st century Jews the Messiah was a glorious and powerful figure, not a suffering one.
78 Rejection in Luke is especially by the Jewish leadership (here elders, chief priests, and experts in the law), though in Luke 23 almost all will join in.
79 Or “and scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in .
80 The description of the Son of Man being rejected … killed, and … raised is the first of six passion summaries in Luke: 9:44; 17:25; 18:31–33; 24:7; 24:46–47.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” And they answered, “John the Baptist. But others say, Elijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.” Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”

And he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?”

They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.”

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.”

Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

While he was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”

They answered, “John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, that one of the ancient prophets has come back.”

“But you,” he asked them, “who do you say that I am?”

Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.”

But he strictly warned and instructed them to tell this to no one, saying, “It is necessary that the Son of Man suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, be killed, and be raised the third day.”

NLTNew Living Translation

One day Jesus left the crowds to pray alone. Only his disciples were with him, and he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”

“Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other ancient prophets risen from the dead.”

Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”

Peter replied, “You are the Messiah sent from God!”

Jesus warned his disciples not to tell anyone who he was. “The Son of Man must suffer many terrible things,” he said. “He will be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He will be killed, but on the third day he will be raised from the dead.”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And it happened that while he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, saying, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” And they answered and said, “John the Baptist, but others, Elijah, and others, that one of the ancient prophets has risen.” And he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.”

But he warned and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, “It is necessary for the Son of Man to suffer many things and to be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and to be killed, and to be raised on the third day.

KJV 1900King James Version

And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him: and he asked them, saying, Whom say the people that I am? They answering said, John the Baptist; but some say, Elias; and others say, that one of the old prophets is risen again. He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said, The Christ of God. And he straitly charged them, and commanded them to tell no man that thing; Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.

Public Domain