9:7a

a cloud: The cloud represents the presence of God. Use a general expression that could refer to any type of cloud. If your language has only specific terms for each kind of cloud, use the term that would be appropriate here. In some languages the term for a white, puffy, fair-weather cloud would fit this context.

appeared: In this context, the Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as appeared means “came” or “appeared.” For example, the New Jerusalem Bible says:

came

Another way to translate this is:

formed (New American Standard Bible)

enveloped them: There are two ways to interpret the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as enveloped:

(1) It means cast its shadow or overshadowed. The cloud passed between them and the sun, and they were in its shadow. For example, the Good News Bible says:

covered…with its shadow

(Revised Standard Version, Good News Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Standard Bible, God’s Word, New Living Translation, NET Bible, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English, Revised English Bible, King James Version, English Standard Version)

(2) It means surrounded or enveloped. They were on a mountain. So when the cloud came, it surrounded them so that they were in the middle of the cloud. It was like being in a fog. For example, the New International Version says:

enveloped

(New International Version, Berean Standard Bible)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) along with most English versions. (Some English versions such as New Jerusalem Bible “covering them in shadow” and New Century Version “covered them” may be ambiguous or may have essentially the same meaning as “enveloped.” Even so, most English versions do support interpretation (1). However, many commentaries support interpretation (2). Both Louw & Nida (page 177 #14.62) and BDAG (page 378) say that the cloud may function more like a covering than a shadow. Several scholars support the view that the cloud “enveloped” or “surrounded” only Jesus, Moses and Elijah. Several other scholars feel that the cloud probably covered the whole mountaintop and enveloped all six people.) Following this interpretation the word them refers to Jesus, Moses, Elijah, Peter, James, and John.

General Comment on 9:7a

There are several ways to translate the two verbs “appeared” and “overshadowed”:

• In some languages, these ideas are expressed by two or more verbs. For example, the Good News Bible says:

Then a cloud appeared and covered them with its shadow

• In other languages, it may be possible to translate these ideas as one verb. Or it may be possible to make the verb “appeared” implicit. For example, the New Living Translation says:

Then a cloud overshadowed them

9:7b

a voice came from the cloud: The voice was the voice of God. In some languages it may be more natural to say that God was speaking rather than that his voice came. For example:

God spoke from the cloud.
-or-
They heard God speaking from the cloud.

You may need to introduce the words that the voice said in 9:7c with a verb like “say” at the end of this clause. For example:

a voice spoke from the cloud saying

9:7c

This is My beloved Son: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as This is My beloved Son is literally “This is my Son, the loved-one.” The word This refers to Jesus. The words “the loved-one” indicate that Jesus was God the Father’s dear son. It may be more natural in your language to use a different way to translate “the loved-one.”

Here are some other ways to translate this:

This is my Son, the Beloved. (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
This is my dearly-loved Son. (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
-or-
This is my Son, and I love him. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
This is my Son, whom I love. (New International Version)

My beloved Son: Here the words My…Son indicate that Jesus has the same nature as God. They also indicate that the relationship between God and Jesus, his Son, is similar in some way to the relationship of human fathers and sons. God does not have a physical body, and he did not create/produce Jesus the way a human father produces a son. Jesus existed eternally as the Son with his Father.

In some areas people may not understand the way My…Son is used in this context. If that is true in your area, you may wish to include a footnote. For example:

God is the Father of Jesus the Son in a different way than human males are fathers of their sons. The Bible uses the word Son to express the fact that Jesus has the same nature as God. It also indicates that the relationship between God and Jesus, his Son, is similar in some way to the relationship of human fathers and sons.

See how you translated Son in 1:1.

In languages where there is no single word for Son, many translators have used a more general expression, such as:

my child
-or-
my male child

If you decide to use “my male child,” be sure that this expression does not imply that God had another child who was female.

Listen to Him: The verb Listen implies obeying as well as hearing. If people in your area will not understand that the word Listen implies “obey,” you may want to include this implied information. For example:

Listen to him and obey him!

© 2008 by SIL International®

Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.