And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid.
Parallel translations
- WEB When the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces, and were very afraid.
- BSB When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown in terror.
- NKJV And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid.
- NASB When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground and were terrified.
- NLT The disciples were terrified and fell face down on the ground.
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
At the Father's voice from the cloud on the mount of transfiguration, the three disciples fell down in terror. It shows the right human response of awe before the manifest glory and word of God.
Overview
Having heard the Father declare Jesus his beloved Son and command 'Listen to him,' Peter, James, and John are overwhelmed and fall on their faces in fear. Such trembling before God's holiness is a consistent biblical pattern (Exodus 19, Isaiah 6). The scene confirms Jesus' divine sonship and points ahead to his glory beyond the cross.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Acts 26:14And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
- 2 Pet 1:18And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.
- Judg 13:20For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground.
- Acts 22:7And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
- Dan 10:7–9And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves.
- Judg 13:22And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God.
- Lev 9:24And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.
- Ezek 3:23Then I arose, and went forth into the plain: and, behold, the glory of the LORD stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river of Chebar: and I fell on my face.
- Ezek 43:3And it was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city: and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face.
- 1 Chr 21:16And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of the LORD stand between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders of Israel, who were clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces.
- Dan 8:17So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision.
- Dan 10:16–17And, behold, one like the similitude of the sons of men touched my lips: then I opened my mouth, and spake, and said unto him that stood before me, O my lord, by the vision my sorrows are turned upon me, and I have retained no strength.
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 17:6 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
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