9:9 As they were coming down from the mountain, he gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
1 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
2 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 sn Jesus instructs the man to declare what the Lord has done for him, in contrast to the usual instructions (e.g., 1:44; 5:43) to remain silent. Here in Gentile territory Jesus allowed more open discussion of his ministry. D. L. Bock (Luke [BECNT], 1:781) suggests that with few Jewish religious representatives present, there would be less danger of misunderstanding Jesus’ ministry as political.
4 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”
5 tn The Greek negative here (οὐ μή, ou mh) is the strongest possible.
6 tn Grk “will not taste.” Here the Greek verb does not mean “sample a small amount” (as a typical English reader might infer from the word “taste”), but “experience something cognitively or emotionally; come to know something” (cf. BDAG 195 s.v. γεύομαι 2).
7 sn Several suggestions have been made as to the referent for the phrase the kingdom of God come with power: (1) the transfiguration itself, which immediately follows in the narrative; (2) Jesus’ resurrection and ascension; (3) the coming of the Spirit; (4) Jesus’ second coming and the establishment of the kingdom. The reference to after six days in 9:2 seems to indicate that Mark had the transfiguration in mind insofar as it was a substantial prefiguring of the consummation of the kingdom (although this interpretation is not without its problems). As such, the transfiguration was a tremendous confirmation to the disciples that even though Jesus had just finished speaking of his death (8:31; 9:31; 10:33), he was nonetheless the promised Messiah and things were proceeding according to God’s plan.
8 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”
9 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”
10 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”
11 tn Grk “the produce” (“the produce of the vine” is a figurative expression for wine).