The Transfiguration

1Six days later, Jesus *took with Him Peter and [a]James, and his brother John, and *led them up on a high mountain by themselves. 2And He was transfigured before them; and 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. 4Peter responded and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If You want, I will make three [b]tabernacles here: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 5While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice from the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him!” 6When the disciples heard this, they fell [c]face down to the ground and were terrified. 7And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, “Get up, and do not be afraid.” 8And raising their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone.

9When they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.” 10And His disciples asked Him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” 11And He answered and said, “Elijah is coming and will restore all things; 12but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did [d]to him whatever they wanted. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer [e]at their hands.” 13Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist.

The Demon-possessed Boy

14When they came to the crowd, a man came up to [f]Jesus, falling on his knees before Him and saying, 15“[g]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. 16And I brought him to Your disciples, and they could not cure him.” 17And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.” 18And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was healed [h]at once.

19Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20And He *said to them, “Because of your meager faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith [i]the size of 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.[j]”

22And while they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be [k]handed over to men; 23and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.” And they were deeply grieved.

The Temple Tax

24Now when they came to Capernaum, those who collected the [l]two-drachma tax came to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the [m]two-drachma tax?” 25He *said, “Yes.” And 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 customs or [n]poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?” 26When Peter said, “From strangers,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are [o]exempt. 27However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a [p]stater. Take that and give it to them for you and Me.”

[a] 1 Or Jacob
[b] 4 Or sacred tents
[c] 6 Lit on their faces
[d] 12 Lit in him; or in his case
[e] 12 Lit by them
[f] 14 Lit Him
[g] 15 Or Sir
[h] 18 Lit from that hour
[i] 20 Lit like
[j] 20 Late mss add (traditionally v 21): But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting
[k] 22 Or betrayed
[l] 24 Equivalent to about two denarii or two days’ wages for a laborer, paid as a temple tax
[m] 24 Equivalent to about two denarii or two days’ wages for a laborer, paid as a temple tax
[n] 25 I.e., a tax on each person in the census
[o] 26 Lit free
[p] 27 A silver four-drachma Greek coin