Luke 3
New American Standard Bible
John the Baptist Preaches
3 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when (A)Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and (B)Herod was tetrarch of Galilee and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, 2 in the high priesthood of (C)Annas and (D)Caiaphas, (E)the word of God came to John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness. 3 And he came into all (F)the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance [a]for the forgiveness of sins; 4 as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:
“(G)The voice of one calling [b]out in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
Make His paths straight!
5 (H)Every ravine will be filled,
And every mountain and hill will be lowered;
The crooked will become straight,
And the rough roads smooth;
6 (I)And all [c]flesh will (J)see the salvation of God!’”
7 So he was saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, “(K)You [d]offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Therefore produce fruits that are consistent with repentance, and (L)do not start saying [e]to yourselves, ‘(M)We have Abraham as our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children for Abraham. 9 But indeed the axe is already being laid at the root of the trees; so (N)every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
10 And the crowds were questioning him, saying, “(O)Then what are we to do?” 11 And he would answer and say to them, “The one who has two [f]tunics is to (P)share with the one who has none; and the one who has food is to do likewise.” 12 Now even (Q)tax collectors came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what are we to do?” 13 And he said to them, “[g]Collect no more than what you have been ordered to.” 14 And soldiers also were questioning him, saying, “What are we to do, we as well?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone, nor [h](R)harass anyone, and (S)be content with your wages.”
15 Now while the people were in a state of expectation and they all were thinking carefully in their hearts about John, (T)whether he himself perhaps was the [i]Christ, 16 (U)John responded to them all, saying, “As for me, I baptize you with water; but He is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the straps of His sandals; He will baptize you [j]with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His (V)winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with (W)unquenchable fire.”
18 So with many other exhortations he preached the gospel to the people. 19 But when (X)Herod the tetrarch was reprimanded by him regarding (Y)Herodias, his brother’s wife, and regarding all the evil things which (Z)Herod had done, 20 Herod also added this to them all: (AA)he locked John up in prison.
Jesus Is Baptized
21 (AB)Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus also was baptized, and while He was (AC)praying, heaven was opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came from heaven: “(AD)You are My beloved Son, in You I am well pleased.”
Genealogy of Jesus
23 (AE)When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years old, being, as was commonly held, the son of (AF)Joseph, [k]the son of [l]Eli, 24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, 25 the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of [m]Hesli, the son of Naggai, 26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, 27 the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, (AG)the son of Zerubbabel, the son of [n]Shealtiel, the son of Neri, 28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, 29 the son of [o]Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, 30 the son of Simeon, the son of [p]Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, 31 the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, 32 (AH)the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of [q]Salmon, the son of [r]Nahshon, 33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of [s]Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, 34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, (AI)the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, 35 the son of Serug, the son of [t]Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of [u]Heber, the son of Shelah, 36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, (AJ)the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, 37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, 38 the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.
Footnotes
- Luke 3:3 Or with reference to
- Luke 3:4 Or out, Prepare in the wilderness the way
- Luke 3:6 I.e., mankind
- Luke 3:7 Or brood
- Luke 3:8 Or among
- Luke 3:11 A long shirt worn next to the skin
- Luke 3:13 Lit Do
- Luke 3:14 Or blackmail
- Luke 3:15 I.e., Messiah
- Luke 3:16 The Gr here can be translated in, with, or by
- Luke 3:23 Lit of Eli, and so throughout the genealogy
- Luke 3:23 Also spelled Heli
- Luke 3:25 Also spelled Esli
- Luke 3:27 Gr Salathiel; names of people in the Old Testament are given in their Old Testament form through v 38
- Luke 3:29 Gr Jesus
- Luke 3:30 Gr Judas
- Luke 3:32 Gr Sala
- Luke 3:32 Gr Naasson
- Luke 3:33 Gr Arni
- Luke 3:35 Gr Ragau
- Luke 3:35 Gr Eber
Luke 3
The Message
A Baptism of Life-Change
3 1-6 In the fifteenth year of the rule of Caesar Tiberius—it was while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea; Herod, ruler of Galilee; his brother Philip, ruler of Iturea and Trachonitis; Lysanias, ruler of Abilene; during the Chief-Priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas—John, Zachariah’s son, out in the desert at the time, received a message from God. He went all through the country around the Jordan River preaching a baptism of life-change leading to forgiveness of sins, as described in the words of Isaiah the prophet:
Thunder in the desert!
“Prepare God’s arrival!
Make the road smooth and straight!
Every ditch will be filled in,
Every bump smoothed out,
The detours straightened out,
All the ruts paved over.
Everyone will be there to see
The parade of God’s salvation.”
7-9 When crowds of people came out for baptism because it was the popular thing to do, John exploded: “Brood of snakes! What do you think you’re doing slithering down here to the river? Do you think a little water on your snakeskins is going to deflect God’s judgment? It’s your life that must change, not your skin. And don’t think you can pull rank by claiming Abraham as ‘father.’ Being a child of Abraham is neither here nor there—children of Abraham are a dime a dozen. God can make children from stones if he wants. What counts is your life. Is it green and flourishing? Because if it’s deadwood, it goes on the fire.”
10 The crowd asked him, “Then what are we supposed to do?”
11 “If you have two coats, give one away,” he said. “Do the same with your food.”
12 Tax men also came to be baptized and said, “Teacher, what should we do?”
13 He told them, “No more extortion—collect only what is required by law.”
14 Soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”
He told them, “No harassment, no blackmail—and be content with your rations.”
15 The interest of the people by now was building. They were all beginning to wonder, “Could this John be the Messiah?”
16-17 But John intervened: “I’m baptizing you here in the river. The main character in this drama, to whom I’m a mere stagehand, will ignite the kingdom life, a fire, the Holy Spirit within you, changing you from the inside out. He’s going to clean house—make a clean sweep of your lives. He’ll place everything true in its proper place before God; everything false he’ll put out with the trash to be burned.”
18-20 There was a lot more of this—words that gave strength to the people, words that put heart in them. The Message! But Herod, the ruler, stung by John’s rebuke in the matter of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, capped his long string of evil deeds with this outrage: He put John in jail.
21-22 After all the people were baptized, Jesus was baptized. As he was praying, the sky opened up and the Holy Spirit, like a dove descending, came down on him. And along with the Spirit, a voice: “You are my Son, chosen and marked by my love, pride of my life.”
Son of Adam, Son of God
23-38 When Jesus entered public life he was about thirty years old, the son (in public perception) of Joseph, who was—
son of Heli,
son of Matthat,
son of Levi,
son of Melki,
son of Jannai,
son of Joseph,
son of Mattathias,
son of Amos,
son of Nahum,
son of Esli,
son of Naggai,
son of Maath,
son of Mattathias,
son of Semein,
son of Josech,
son of Joda,
son of Joanan,
son of Rhesa,
son of Zerubbabel,
son of Shealtiel,
son of Neri,
son of Melchi,
son of Addi,
son of Cosam,
son of Elmadam,
son of Er,
son of Joshua,
son of Eliezer,
son of Jorim,
son of Matthat,
son of Levi,
son of Simeon,
son of Judah,
son of Joseph,
son of Jonam,
son of Eliakim,
son of Melea,
son of Menna,
son of Mattatha,
son of Nathan,
son of David,
son of Jesse,
son of Obed,
son of Boaz,
son of Salmon,
son of Nahshon,
son of Amminadab,
son of Admin,
son of Arni,
son of Hezron,
son of Perez,
son of Judah,
son of Jacob,
son of Isaac,
son of Abraham,
son of Terah,
son of Nahor,
son of Serug,
son of Reu,
son of Peleg,
son of Eber,
son of Shelah,
son of Kenan,
son of Arphaxad,
son of Shem,
son of Noah,
son of Lamech,
son of Methuselah,
son of Enoch,
son of Jared,
son of Mahalaleel,
son of Kenan,
son of Enos,
son of Seth,
son of Adam,
son of God.
Luke 3
Young's Literal Translation
3 And in the fifteenth year of the government of Tiberius Caesar -- Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod tetrarch of Galilee, and Philip his brother, tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene --
2 Annas and Caiaphas being chief priests -- there came a word of God unto John the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness,
3 and he came to all the region round the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of reformation -- to remission of sins,
4 as it hath been written in the scroll of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying, `A voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, straight make ye His paths;
5 every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straightness, and the rough become smooth ways;
6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'
7 Then said he to the multitudes coming forth to be baptised by him, `Brood of vipers! who did prompt you to flee from the coming wrath?
8 make, therefore, fruits worthy of the reformation, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have a father -- Abraham; for I say to you, that God is able out of these stones to raise children to Abraham;
9 and already also the axe unto the root of the trees is laid, every tree, therefore, not making good fruit is cut down, and to fire it is cast.'
10 And the multitudes were questioning him, saying, `What, then, shall we do?'
11 and he answering saith to them, `He having two coats -- let him impart to him having none, and he having victuals -- in like manner let him do.'
12 And there came also tax-gatherers to be baptised, and they said unto him, `Teacher, what shall we do?'
13 and he said unto them, `Exact no more than that directed you.'
14 And questioning him also were those warring, saying, `And we, what shall we do?' and he said unto them, `Do violence to no one, nor accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.'
15 And the people are looking forward, and all are reasoning in their hearts concerning John, whether or not he may be the Christ;
16 John answered, saying to all, `I indeed with water do baptise you, but he cometh who is mightier than I, of whom I am not worthy to loose the latchet of his sandals -- he shall baptise you with the Holy Spirit and with fire;
17 whose winnowing shovel [is] in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his floor, and will gather the wheat to his storehouse, and the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.'
18 And, therefore, indeed with many other things, exhorting, he was proclaiming good news to the people,
19 and Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him concerning Herodias the wife of Philip his brother, and concerning all the evils that Herod did,
20 added also this to all, that he shut up John in the prison.
21 And it came to pass, in all the people being baptised, Jesus also being baptised, and praying, the heaven was opened,
22 and the Holy Spirit came down in a bodily appearance, as if a dove, upon him, and a voice came out of heaven, saying, `Thou art My Son -- the Beloved, in thee I did delight.'
23 And Jesus himself was beginning to be about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed, son of Joseph,
24 the [son] of Eli, the [son] of Matthat, the [son] of Levi, the [son] of Melchi, the [son] of Janna, the [son] of Joseph,
25 the [son] of Mattathias, the [son] of Amos, the [son] of Naum, the [son] of Esli,
26 the [son] of Naggai, the [son] of Maath, the [son] of Mattathias, the [son] of Semei, the [son] of Joseph, the [son] of Juda,
27 the [son] of Joanna, the [son] of Rhesa, the [son] of Zerubbabel, the [son] of Shealtiel,
28 the [son] of Neri, the [son] of Melchi, the [son] of Addi, the [son] of Cosam, the [son] of Elmodam, the [son] of Er,
29 the [son] of Jose, the [son] of Eliezer, the [son] of Jorim, the [son] of Matthat,
30 the [son] of Levi, the [son] of Simeon, the [son] of Juda, the [son] of Joseph, the [son] of Jonan, the [son] of Eliakim,
31 the [son] of Melea, the [son] of Mainan, the [son] of Mattatha, the [son] of Nathan,
32 the [son] of David, the [son] of Jesse, the [son] of Obed, the [son] of Booz, the [son] of Salmon, the [son] of Nahshon,
33 the [son] of Amminadab, the [son] of Aram, the [son] of Esrom, the [son] of Pharez,
34 the [son] of Judah, the [son] of Jacob, the [son] of Isaac, the [son] of Abraham, the [son] of Terah, the [son] of Nahor,
35 the [son] of Serug, the [son] of Reu, the [son] of Peleg, the [son] of Eber,
36 the [son] of Salah, the [son] of Cainan, the [son] of Arphaxad, the [son] of Shem, the [son] of Noah, the [son] of Lamech,
37 the [son] of Methuselah, the [son] of Enoch, the [son] of Jared, the [son] of Mahalaleel,
38 the [son] of Cainan, the [son] of Enos, the [son] of Seth, the [son] of Adam, the [son] of God.
Luke 3
Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Messiah’s Herald
3 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar,[a] while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea,(A) Herod was tetrarch[b] of Galilee,(B) his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Iturea[c] and Trachonitis,[d] and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,[e] 2 during the high priesthood of Annas(C) and Caiaphas,(D) God’s word came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.(E) 3 He went into all the vicinity of the Jordan,(F) preaching a baptism of repentance[f] for the forgiveness of sins, 4 as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah:
A voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
Prepare the way for the Lord;
make His paths straight!
5 Every valley will be filled,
and every mountain and hill will be made low;[g]
the crooked will become straight,
the rough ways smooth,
6 and everyone[h] will see the salvation of God.(G)[i]
7 He then said to the crowds who came out to be baptized by him, “Brood of vipers!(H) Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance. And don’t start saying to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’(I) for I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones! 9 Even now the ax is ready to strike[j] the root of the trees! Therefore, every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”(J)
10 “What then should we do?”(K) the crowds were asking him.
11 He replied to them, “The one who has two shirts[k] must share with someone who has none, and the one who has food must do the same.”(L)
12 Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?”(M)
13 He told them, “Don’t collect any more than what you have been authorized.”
14 Some soldiers also questioned him: “What should we do?”
He said to them, “Don’t take money from anyone by force or false accusation; be satisfied with your wages.”
15 Now the people were waiting expectantly, and all of them were debating in their minds[l] whether John might be the Messiah.(N) 16 John answered them all,(O) “I baptize you with[m] water, but One is coming who is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to untie the strap of His sandals. He will baptize you with[n] the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing shovel[o](P) is in His hand to clear His threshing floor and gather the wheat into His barn, but the chaff He will burn up with a fire that never goes out.”(Q) 18 Then, along with many other exhortations, he proclaimed good news to the people. 19 But Herod the tetrarch,(R) being rebuked by him about Herodias, his brother’s wife, and about all the evil things Herod had done,(S) 20 added this to everything else—he locked John up in prison.(T)
The Baptism of Jesus
21 When all the people were baptized,(U) Jesus also was baptized. As He was praying,(V) heaven opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in a physical appearance like a dove. And a voice came from heaven:
You are My beloved Son.
I take delight in You!(W)
The Genealogy of Jesus Christ
23 As He began His ministry, Jesus was about 30 years old and was thought to be[p] the
son of Joseph,(X) son[q] of Heli,
24 son of Matthat, son of Levi,
son of Melchi, son of Jannai,
son of Joseph, 25 son of Mattathias,
son of Amos, son of Nahum,
son of Esli, son of Naggai,
26 son of Maath, son of Mattathias,
son of Semein, son of Josech,
son of Joda, 27 son of Joanan,
son of Rhesa, son of Zerubbabel,(Y)
son of Shealtiel, son of Neri,
28 son of Melchi, son of Addi,
son of Cosam, son of Elmadam,
son of Er, 29 son of Joshua,
son of Eliezer, son of Jorim,
son of Matthat, son of Levi,
30 son of Simeon, son of Judah,
son of Joseph, son of Jonam,
son of Eliakim, 31 son of Melea,
son of Menna, son of Mattatha,
son of Nathan, son of David,
32 son of Jesse,(Z) son of Obed,
son of Boaz, son of Salmon,[r]
son of Nahshon, 33 son of Amminadab,
son of Ram,[s] son of Hezron,
son of Perez, son of Judah,
34 son of Jacob, son of Isaac,
son of Abraham,(AA) son of Terah,
son of Nahor, 35 son of Serug,
son of Reu, son of Peleg,
son of Eber, son of Shelah,
36 son of Cainan, son of Arphaxad,
son of Shem, son of Noah,(AB)
son of Lamech, 37 son of Methuselah,
son of Enoch, son of Jared,
son of Mahalaleel, son of Cainan,
38 son of Enos, son of Seth,
son of Adam, son of God.
Footnotes
- Luke 3:1 Emperor who ruled the Roman Empire a.d. 14–37
- Luke 3:1 Or ruler
- Luke 3:1 A small province northeast of Galilee
- Luke 3:1 A small province northeast of Galilee
- Luke 3:1 A small Syrian province
- Luke 3:3 Or baptism based on repentance
- Luke 3:5 Lit be humbled
- Luke 3:6 Lit all flesh
- Luke 3:6 Is 40:3-5
- Luke 3:9 Lit the ax lies at
- Luke 3:11 Lit tunics
- Luke 3:15 Or hearts
- Luke 3:16 Or in
- Luke 3:16 Or in
- Luke 3:17 A wooden farm implement used to toss threshed grain into the wind so the lighter chaff would blow away and separate from the heavier grain
- Luke 3:23 People did not know about His virgin birth; Mt 1:18-25; Lk 1:26-38
- Luke 3:23 The relationship in some cases may be more distant than a son.
- Luke 3:32 Other mss read Sala
- Luke 3:33 Other mss read Amminadab, son of Aram, son of Joram; other mss read Amminadab, son of Admin, son of Arni
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.