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And as He was praying, the appearance of His face changed, and His clothes became radiantly white.
Luke 9:29 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB As he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became white and dazzling.
  • KJV And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering.
  • NKJV As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening.
  • NASB And while He was praying, the appearance of His face became different, and His clothing became white and gleaming.
  • NLT And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was transformed, and his clothes became dazzling white.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

As Jesus prays, His face changes and His clothing becomes dazzling white. The Transfiguration reveals the hidden glory of the Son of God.

Overview

While praying, Jesus is visibly transformed, His face and garments radiating heavenly light. This momentary unveiling shows the divine glory that His humanity ordinarily concealed. It confirms the truth of Peter's confession and assures the disciples that the coming suffering would not diminish His true majesty.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 12

  • Matt 17:2There He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.
  • Mark 9:2–3After six days Jesus took with Him Peter, James, and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There He was transfigured before them.
  • 2 Pet 1:16–18For we did not follow cleverly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.
  • Exod 34:29–35And when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was unaware that his face had become radiant from speaking with the LORD.
  • Isa 53:2He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no stately form or majesty to attract us, no beauty that we should desire Him.
  • Phil 3:7–8But whatever was gain to me I count as loss for the sake of Christ.
  • Isa 33:17Your eyes will see the King in His beauty and behold a land that stretches afar.
  • Rev 20:11Then I saw a great white throne and the One seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from His presence, and no place was found for them.
  • Acts 6:15All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
  • Mark 16:12After this, Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them as they walked along in the country.
  • John 1:14The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
  • Rev 1:13–16and among the lampstands was One like the Son of Man, dressed in a long robe, with a golden sash around His chest.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Luke videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Luke 9:29YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on LukeMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.

How Luke 9:29 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.