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Matthew 17

1After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother with him and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2He was transformed before them: his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. 3And look, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with him. 4Peter answered Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will make three shelters here: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 5While he was still speaking, look, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and look, 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 very afraid. 7Jesus approached, touched them, and said, “Get up, and do not fear.” 8They lifted their eyes and saw no one except Jesus himself alone.

9As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Tell no one the vision until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” 10The disciples asked him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” 11He answered, “Elijah does come and will restore everything. 12But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is about to suffer at their hands.” 13Then the disciples understood that he had spoken to them about John the Baptist.

14When they came to the crowd, a person approached him, knelt before him, 15and said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, because he has seizures and suffers terribly. For he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.” 17Jesus answered, “Unbelieving and twisted generation! How long will I be with you? How long will I put up with you? Bring him here to me.” 18Jesus rebuked it, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was healed from that hour. 19Then the disciples approached Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly I tell you, if you have faith like a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you. 21But this kind does not come out except by prayer and fasting.”

22As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be handed over into human hands. 23They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised.” And they were deeply grieved.

24When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax approached Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma tax?” 25He said, “Yes.” When he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect duties or tax—from their sons or from others?” 26When he said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free. 27But so that we do not cause them to stumble, go to the sea, cast a hook, and take the first fish that comes up. When you open its mouth, you will find a stater. Take it and give it to them for me and you.”

Translation notes 6

17:1–5 — Transformed; shelters. “Transformed” is traditionally “transfigured”; the shining face and clothing describe the visible change. Peter says “I will make,” not “let us make,” in the base. Shelters can also be called booths or tents. The voice repeats the baptismal declaration in 3:17 and adds “Listen to him.”

17:9–13 — Vision and Elijah. “Vision” describes what the disciples saw without declaring it unreal. The base does not repeat “first” in verse 11. The disciples' identification of Elijah with John is stated by Matthew rather than supplied by the translation.

17:15–18 — Seizures and the demon. The Greek verb traditionally rendered “moonstruck” describes the condition expressed here as seizures. The following account explicitly identifies a demon; the translation does not replace that explanation with a modern medical diagnosis. “It” in verse 18 identifies the demon as the object of the rebuke; the Greek pronoun itself is less explicit.

17:20–21 — Little faith; bracketed verse. The base has “little faith,” rather than “unbelief.” Verse 21 is absent from SBLGNT and important early witnesses. It is retained in double brackets as a familiar likely addition, probably assimilated from the parallel account in Mark. The Greek wording translated here is recorded in the edition apparatus. “Like a mustard seed” does not insert an explanation of the comparison.

17:22 — Gathering; human hands. The base says they were gathering; another reading describes their staying in Galilee. “Human hands” preserves the bodily image without making the grammatical masculine word for people specify only males.

17:24–27 — Tax, sons, and coin. The two-drachma payment is the temple tax. Jesus' illustration contrasts rulers' sons with other people, not necessarily foreign nationals. The sons' freedom is retained as a family image. A stater was a coin sufficient for both payments. The command ends the account; Matthew does not narrate Peter catching the fish or paying.