^9:28Now⁹⁵ about eight days⁹⁶ after these sayings, Jesus⁹⁷ took with him Peter, John, and James, and went up the mountain to pray. ^9:29As⁹⁸ he was praying,⁹⁹ the appearance of his face was transformed,¹⁰⁰ and his clothes became very bright, a brilliant white.¹⁰¹^9:30Then¹⁰² two men, Moses and Elijah,¹⁰³ began talking with him.¹⁰⁴^9:31They appeared in glorious splendor and spoke about his departure¹⁰⁵ that he was about to carry out¹⁰⁶ at Jerusalem.¹⁰⁷^9:32Now Peter and those with him were quite sleepy,¹⁰⁸ but as they became fully awake,¹⁰⁹ they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. ^9:33Then¹¹⁰ as the men¹¹¹ were starting to leave,¹¹² Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us make three shelters,¹¹³ one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he was saying. ^9:34As¹¹⁴ he was saying this, a cloud¹¹⁵ came¹¹⁶ and overshadowed¹¹⁷ them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. ^9:35Then¹¹⁸ a voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One.¹¹⁹ Listen to him!”¹²⁰

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Footnotes

95 Grk “Now it happened that about.” 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.
96 Matt 17:1 and Mark 9:2 specify the interval more exactly, saying it was the sixth day. Luke uses ὡσεί (hōsei, “about”) to give an approximate reference.
97 Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
98 Grk “And as.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
99 Here the preposition ἐν (en) plus the dative articular aorist infinitive has been translated as a temporal clause ( ).
100 Or “the appearance of his face became different.” In 1st century Judaism and in the NT, there was the belief that the righteous get new, glorified bodies in order to enter heaven (1 Cor 15:42–49; 2 Cor 5:1–10). This transformation means the righteous will share the glory of God. One recalls the way Moses shared the Lord’s glory after his visit to the mountain in Exod 34. So the disciples saw the appearance of his face transformed, and they were getting a sneak preview of the great glory that Jesus would have (only his glory is more inherent to him as one who shares in the rule of the kingdom).
101 Or “became bright as a flash of lightning” (cf. ἐξαστράπτω); or “became brilliant as light” (cf. λευκός 1).
102 Grk “And behold.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. The Greek word ἰδού (idou) at the beginning of this statement has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis ( 1).
103 Commentators and scholars discuss why Moses and Elijah are present. The most likely explanation is that Moses represents the prophetic office (Acts 3:18–22) and Elijah pictures the presence of the last days (Mal 4:5–6), the prophet of the eschaton (the end times).
104 Grk “two men were talking with him, who were Moses and Elijah.” The relative clause has been simplified to an appositive and transposed in keeping with contemporary English style.
105 Grk “his exodus,” which refers to Jesus’ death in Jerusalem and journey back to glory. Here is the first lesson that the disciples must learn. The wondrous rule comes only after suffering.
106 Or “accomplish,” “bring to completion.”
107 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
108 Grk “weighed down with sleep” (an idiom).
109 Or “after they became fully awake,” “but they became fully awake and saw.”
110 Grk “And it happened that as.” 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 been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
111 Grk “as they”; the referent (“the men,” referring to Moses and Elijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
112 Grk “to leave from him.”
113 Or “booths,” “dwellings” (referring to the temporary booths constructed in the celebration of the feast of Tabernacles). By making three shelters Peter apparently wanted to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles or Booths that looked forward to the end and to treat Moses, Elijah, and Jesus as equals. It was actually a way of expressing honor to Jesus, but the remark at the end of the verse makes it clear that it was not enough honor.
114 Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
115 This cloud is the cloud of God’s presence and the voice is his as well.
116 Or “appeared.”
117 Or “surrounded.”
118 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
119 Most , especially the later ones, have ἀγαπητός (agapētos, “the one I love”; A C* W f13 33 𝔐 it), or ἀγαπητὸς ἐν ῷ (ἠ) υδόκησα (agapētos en hō (ē)udokēsa, “the one I love, in whom I am well pleased”; C3 D Ψ ) here, instead of ἐκλελεγμένος (eklelegmenos, “the Chosen One”), but these variants are probably assimilations to Matt 17:5 and Mark 9:7. The text behind the translation also enjoys excellent support from 𝔓45, 75 א B L Ξ (579) 892 1241 co. The participle ὁ ἐκλελεγμένος (ho eklelegmenos), which could be translated “the One who has been chosen,” is best understood as a title rather than a descriptive phrase, probably deriving from Isa 42:1 () which uses the similar ὁ ἐκλεκτός (ho eklektos) which also appears in Luke 23:35. This divine endorsement is like Luke 3:22 at Jesus’ baptism. One difference here is the mention of the Chosen One, a reference to the unique and beloved role of the regal, messianic Son.
120 The expression listen to him comes from Deut 18:15 and makes two points: 1) Jesus is a prophet like Moses, a leader-prophet, and 2) they have much yet to learn from him.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.)

While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

About eight days after this conversation, he took along Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray. As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly, two men were talking with him—Moses and Elijah. They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish in Jerusalem.

Peter and those with him were in a deep sleep, and when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men who were standing with him. As the two men were departing from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it’s good for us to be here. Let’s set up three shelters: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he was saying.

While he was saying this, a cloud appeared and overshadowed them. They became afraid as they entered the cloud. Then a voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, the Chosen One; listen to him!”

NLTNew Living Translation

About eight days later Jesus took Peter, John, and James up on a mountain to pray. And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was transformed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly, two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared and began talking with Jesus. They were glorious to see. And they were speaking about his exodus from this world, which was about to be fulfilled in Jerusalem.

Peter and the others had fallen asleep. When they woke up, they saw Jesus’ glory and the two men standing with him. As Moses and Elijah were starting to leave, Peter, not even knowing what he was saying, blurted out, “Master, it’s wonderful for us to be here! Let’s make three shelters as memorials—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” But even as he was saying this, a cloud overshadowed them, and terror gripped them as the cloud covered them.

Then a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, my Chosen One. Listen to him.”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Now it happened that about eight days after these words, he took along Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. And as he was praying, the appearance of his face became different, and his clothing became white, gleaming like lightning. And behold, two men were talking with him, who were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and were speaking about his departure which he was about to fulfill in Jerusalem.

Now Peter and those with him were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men who were standing with him. And it happened that as they were going away from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here. And let us make three shelters, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah,” not knowing what he was saying. And while he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered into the cloud. And a voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One. Listen to him!”

KJV 1900King James Version

And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering. And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias: Who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem. But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: and when they were awake, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him. And it came to pass, as they departed from him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias: not knowing what he said. While he thus spake, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud. And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.

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