Mark 9:6
in Mark 9For they were all so terrified that Peter did not know what else to say.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For he knew not what to answer; for they became sore afraid.
KJV
For he wist not what to say; for they were sore afraid.
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This verse in Mark 9
Commentary
11 notes on this verseFor he wist not what to say,.... He did not know what he should say, or what was proper to be said by him, at such a time, in such circumstances, and before such persons; for they were sore afraid. The Persic version reads, "he was": and so the Latin translation of the Syriac, though that itself is, "they were"; for all three were filled with consternation at what they saw and heard; so that they were scarcely themselves, and knew not well what they said or did.
This site's exposition
it is good for us to be here
on Mark 9:5-6
Peter's three shelters, one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah, would set Moses and Elijah level with Jesus. Mark gives the reason plainly: they were all so terrified that Peter did not know what else to say.
This site's exposition
Peter did not know what else to say
Origen notes that Mark adds this remark in his own voice. John Chrysostom reads the fear as one that lifted the disciples above their usual state of mind. John Gill adds that all three were filled with dismay at what they saw and heard.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
(in Matt tom. xii. 40) Mark says in his own person, For he wist not what to say.
CHRYSOSTOM.f Again, Peter neither comprehended that the Lord worked His transfiguration for the showing forth of His true glory, nor that He did this in order to teach men, nor that it was impossible for them to leave the multitude and dwell in the mountain. It goes on, For they were sore afraid. But this fear of theirs was one by which they were raised from their usual state of mind to one higher, and they recognised that those who appeared to them were Moses and Elias. The soul also was drawn on to a state of heavenly feeling, as though carried away from human sense by the heavenly vision.
A like danger to which also befell Peter, and John, and James, (who confronted not the same light) without risking the loss of their reason and mind; and if they, who were unable to endure the glory of the Son, had only seen the Father, they must have died then and there: "For no man shall see God, and live.
The Medieval Church2 voices
Peter, however, was afraid to come down from the mountain (for he dreaded the Lord's crucifixion) and therefore said: "It is good for us to be here," and not to go down into the midst of the Jews; for if Your enemies come here, we …
Or else, Peter, fearing to come down from the mount because he had now a presentiment that Christ must be crucified, said, It is good for us to be here, and not to go down there, that is, in the midst of the Jews; but if they who are furious against Thee come hither, we have Moses who beat down the Egyptians, we have also Elias, who brought fire down from heaven and destroyed the five hundred.
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
), not knowing what would be the end thereof. The voice that came from heaven, was an attestation of Christ's mediatorship,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1857)
The connection of this passage with the end of the last chapter ought never to be overlooked. Our Lord had been speaking of His own coming death and passion — of the necessity of self-denial, if men would be His disciples — of the need of losing our lives, if we would have them saved. But in the same breath he goes on to speak of His future kingdom and glory. He takes off the edge of His "hard sayings," by promising a sight of that glory to some of those who heard Him.
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1857)
proposed
The connection of this passage with the end of the last chapter ought never to be overlooked. Our Lord had been speaking of His own coming death and passion — of the necessity of self-denial, if men would be His disciples — of the need of losing our lives, if we would have them saved. But in the same breath he goes on to speak of His future kingdom and glory. He takes off the edge of His "hard sayings," by promising a sight of that glory to some of those who heard Him. And in the history of the transfiguration, which is here recorded, we see that promise fulfilled. The first thing which demands our notice in these verses, is the marvelous vision they contain of the glory which Christ and His people shall have at His second coming . There can be no doubt that this was one of the principal purposes of the transfiguration. It was meant to teach the disciples, that though their Lord was lowly and poor in appearance now, He would one day appear in such royal majesty as became the Son of God. It was meant to teach those who when their Master came the second time, His saints, like Moses and Elijah, would appear with Him. It was meant to remind them, that though reviled and persecuted now, because they belonged to Christ, they would one day be clothed with honor, and be partakers of their Master's glory. We have reason to thank God for this vision. We are often tempted to give up Christ's service, because of the cross and affliction which it entails. We see few with us, and many against us. We find our names cast out as evil, and all manner of evil said of us, because we believe and love the Gospel. Year after year we see our companions in Christ's service removed by death, and we feel as if we knew little about them, except that they are gone to an unknown world, and that we are left alone. All these things are trying to flesh and blood.
The words behind it
8 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| οὐ | ou | Not | G3756 → | 1664 times |
| γὰρ | gar | for | G1063 → | 1039 times |
| ᾔδει | edei | he knew | G1492 → | 374 times |
| τί | ti | what | G5101 → | 563 times |
| ἀποκριθῇ, | apokrithea | he may answer, | G611 → | 231 times |
| ἔκφοβοι | ekphoboi | terrified | G1630 → | |
| γὰρ | gar | for | G1063 → | 1039 times |
| ἐγένοντο.¶ | egenonto | they were. | G1096 → | 667 times |
οὐNot
ouG3756 →1664 times
γὰρfor
garG1063 →1039 times
ᾔδειhe knew
edeiG1492 →374 times
τίwhat
tiG5101 →563 times
ἀποκριθῇ,he may answer,
apokritheaG611 →231 times
ἔκφοβοιterrified
ekphoboiG1630 →
γὰρfor
garG1063 →1039 times
ἐγένοντο.¶they were.
egenontoG1096 →667 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Revelation 1:17When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. But He placed His right hand on me and said, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last,
it leads to
- Isaiah 44:6
Thus says the LORD, the King and Redeemer of Israel, the LORD of Hosts: “I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God but Me.
- Revelation 22:13
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
- Daniel 10:8–10
So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision. No strength remained in me; my face grew deathly pale, and I was powerless.
- Daniel 8:17–18
As he came near to where I stood, I was terrified and fell facedown. “Son of man,” he said to me, “understand that the vision concerns the time of the end.”
- Isaiah 41:4
Who has performed this and carried it out, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD—the first and the last—I am He.”
- Isaiah 44:6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies17
About Mark
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Mark; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Tertullian, Against Praxeas; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Mark and Theophylact of Ohrid, Catena Aurea by Aquinas.