Limitless Word
And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.
Mark 9:7 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB A cloud came, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”
  • BSB Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is My beloved Son. Listen to Him!”
  • NKJV And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!”
  • NASB Then a cloud formed, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud: “This is My beloved Son; listen to Him!”
  • NLT Then a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son. Listen to him.”

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

A cloud overshadows them and the Father's voice declares, 'This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.' God himself confirms Jesus' identity and authority.

Overview

The cloud signifies God's presence, as at Sinai and the tabernacle, and the voice echoes Jesus' baptism while adding the command to 'listen to him.' This divine endorsement settles Peter's confusion: Jesus is supreme over Moses and Elijah and is to be heeded above all. The Father vindicates the suffering path Jesus foretold, calling the disciples to trust and obey his Son.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 37

  • 2 Pet 1:17For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
  • Matt 3:17And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
  • Luke 9:34–36While he thus spake, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud.
  • Mark 1:11And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
  • Heb 2:1Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.
  • Exod 23:21–22Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.
  • Matt 17:5–7While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
  • John 5:22–25For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:
  • 1 Jn 5:11–12And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
  • John 1:34And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.
  • Ps 2:7I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
  • Deut 18:15–19The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;
  • Rev 1:7Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
  • John 6:69And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.
  • Heb 12:25–26See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:
  • 1 Kgs 8:10–12And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD,
  • Ps 97:2Clouds and darkness are round about him: righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne.
  • Acts 3:22–23For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.
  • John 20:31But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
  • John 3:16–18For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
  • Exod 40:34Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
  • Acts 1:9And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
  • 1 Jn 5:20And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
  • Acts 8:36And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?
  • Matt 26:63–64But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.
  • John 5:37And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.
  • Matt 27:54Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.
  • John 5:18Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.
  • Dan 7:13I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
  • 1 Jn 4:9–10In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
  • John 9:35Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God?
  • Acts 7:37This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear.
  • Rom 1:4And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:
  • John 1:49Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.
  • Exod 24:16And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud.
  • John 19:7The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.
  • Matt 27:43He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Mark videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

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

  • VideoWatch teaching on Mark 9:7YouTube · 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 MarkMatthew 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

Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'

How Mark 9:7 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.