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They appeared in glory and spoke about His departure, which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.
Luke 9:31 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB who appeared in glory, and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.
  • KJV Who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem.
  • NKJV who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.
  • NASB who, appearing in glory, were speaking of His departure, which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.
  • NLT They were glorious to see. And they were speaking about his exodus from this world, which was about to be fulfilled in Jerusalem.

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

Moses and Elijah appear in glory and speak of Jesus' departure to be accomplished at Jerusalem. His coming death is the central subject even in this glorious moment.

Overview

The word translated "departure" is literally "exodus," linking Jesus' death to the great deliverance from Egypt. Even amid heavenly glory, the focus is on the cross He will accomplish at Jerusalem. This shows that Christ's suffering is no defeat but the planned, glorious work of redemption foreseen by Law and Prophets.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 12

  • Phil 3:21who, by the power that enables Him to subject all things to Himself, will transform our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body.
  • 1 Pet 1:11–12trying to determine the time and setting to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.
  • 2 Pet 1:15And I will make every effort to ensure that after my departure, you will be able to recall these things at all times.
  • 1 Pet 5:10And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore you, secure you, strengthen you, and establish you.
  • Luke 13:32–34But Jesus replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘Look, I will keep driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach My goal.’
  • John 1:29The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
  • Rev 5:6–12Then I saw a Lamb who appeared to have been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which represent the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
  • Rev 7:14“Sir,” I answered, “you know.” So he replied, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
  • Luke 9:22“The Son of Man must suffer many things,” He said. “He must be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”
  • Col 3:4When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
  • 1 Cor 1:23–24but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,
  • 2 Cor 3:18And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

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 9:31YouTube · 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 9:31 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.