The Gospel According to St. Matthew

⭑ Literal Standard Version :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 17 -

(Mark 9:1–13; Luke 9:28–36; 2 Peter 1:16–21)

And after six days Jesus takes Peter, and James, and his brother John, and brings them up to a high mountain by themselves,

and He was transfigured before them, and His face shone as the sun, and His garments became white as the light,

and behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking together with Him.

And Peter answering said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good to us to be here; if You will, we may make three shelters here: one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

While he is yet speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud, saying, “This is My Son, the Beloved, in whom I delighted; hear Him.”

And the disciples having heard, fell on their face, and were exceedingly afraid,

and Jesus having come near, touched them, and said, “Rise, do not be afraid,”

and having lifted up their eyes, they saw no one, except Jesus only.

And as they are coming down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, “Say to no one the vision, until the Son of Man may rise out of the dead.”

And His disciples questioned Him, saying, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”

And Jesus answering said to them, “Elijah does indeed come first, and will restore all things,

and I say to you, Elijah already came, and they did not know him, but did with him whatever they would, so also the Son of Man is about to suffer by them.”

Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them concerning John the Immerser.

The Boy with a Demon

(Mark 9:14–29; Luke 9:37–42)

And when they came to the multitude, there came to Him a man, kneeling down to Him,

and saying, “Lord, deal kindly with my son, for he is [a] lunatic, and suffers miserably, for he often falls into the fire, and often into the water,

and I brought him near to Your disciples, and they were not able to heal him.”

And Jesus answering said, “O generation, unsteadfast and perverse, until when will I be with you? Until when will I bear you? Bring him to Me here”;

and Jesus rebuked him, and the demon went out of him, and the boy was healed from that hour.

The Power of Faith

(Luke 17:5–10)

Then the disciples having come to Jesus by Himself, said, “Why were we not able to cast him out?”

And Jesus said to them, “Through your want of faith; for truly I say to you, if you may have faith as a grain of mustard, you will say to this mountain, Move from here to there, and it will move, and nothing will be impossible to you,

The Second Prediction of the Passion

(Mark 9:30–32; Luke 9:43–45)

[[and this kind does not go forth except in prayer and fasting.”]]

And while they are living in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered up into the hands of men,

and they will kill Him, and the third day He will rise,” and they were exceedingly sorry.

The Temple Tax

And they having come to Capernaum, those receiving the didrachmas came near to Peter and said, “Your teacher—does He not pay the didrachmas?” He says, “Yes.”

And when he came into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, “What do you think, Simon? The kings of the earth—from whom do they receive custom or poll-tax? From their sons or from the strangers?”

Peter says to Him, “From the strangers.” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free;

but that we may not cause them to stumble, having gone to the sea, cast a hook, and the fish that has come up first take up, and having opened its mouth, you will find a stater, that having taken, give to them for Me and you.”

(Mark 9:1–13; Luke 9:28–36; 2 Peter 1:16–21)

After six days, Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John his brother, and brought them up into a high mountain by themselves.

He was changed

(a)

before them. His face shone like the sun, and his garments became as white as the light.

Behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them talking with him.

Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you want, let’s make three tents here: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them. Behold, a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.”

When the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces, and were very afraid.

Jesus came and touched them and said, “Get up, and don’t be afraid.”

Lifting up their eyes, they saw no one, except Jesus alone.

As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “Don’t tell anyone what you saw, until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.”

His disciples asked him, saying, “Then why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”

Jesus answered them, “Elijah indeed comes first, and will restore all things;

but I tell you that Elijah has come already, and they didn’t recognize him, but did to him whatever they wanted to. Even so the Son of Man will also suffer by them.”

Then the disciples understood that he spoke to them of John the Baptizer.

The Boy with a Demon

(Mark 9:14–29; Luke 9:37–42)

When they came to the multitude, a man came to him, kneeling down to him and saying,

“Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is epileptic and suffers grievously; for he often falls into the fire, and often into the water.

So I brought him to your disciples, and they could not cure him.”

Jesus answered, “Faithless and perverse generation! How long will I be with you? How long will I bear with you? Bring him here to me.”

Jesus rebuked the demon, and it went out of him, and the boy was cured from that hour.

The Power of Faith

(Luke 17:5–10)

Then the disciples came to Jesus privately, and said, “Why weren’t we able to cast it out?”

He said to them, “Because of your unbelief. For most certainly I tell you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.

The Second Prediction of the Passion

(Mark 9:30–32; Luke 9:43–45)

But this kind doesn’t go out except by prayer and fasting.” (b)

While they were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered up into the hands of men,

and they will kill him, and the third day he will be raised up.” They were exceedingly sorry.

The Temple Tax

When they had come to Capernaum, those who collected the didrachma coins(c) came to Peter, and said, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the didrachma?”

He said, “Yes.” When he came into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth receive toll or tribute? From their children, or from strangers?”

Peter said to him, “From strangers.” Jesus said to him, “Therefore the children are exempt.

But, lest we cause them to stumble, go to the sea, cast a hook, and take up the first fish that comes up. When you have opened its mouth, you will find a stater coin. (d) Take that, and give it to them for me and you.”

Footnotes

(a)17:2 or, transfigured

(b)17:21 NU omits verse 21.

(c)17:24 A didrachma is a Greek silver coin worth 2 drachmas, about as much as 2 Roman denarii, or about 2 days’ wages. It was commonly used to pay the half-shekel temple tax, because 2 drachmas were worth one half shekel of silver. A shekel is about 10 grams or about 0.35 ounces.

(d)17:27 A stater is a silver coin equivalent to four Attic or two Alexandrian drachmas, or a Jewish shekel: just exactly enough to cover the half-shekel temple tax for two people. A shekel is about 10 grams or about 0.35 ounces, usually in the form of a silver coin.