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Luke 3:1-18
New American Standard Bible
Luke 3:1-18
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.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 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 3:1-18
New International Version
Luke 3:1-18
New International Version
John the Baptist Prepares the Way(A)(B)
3 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate(C) was governor of Judea, Herod(D) tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— 2 during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas,(E) the word of God came to John(F) son of Zechariah(G) in the wilderness. 3 He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.(H) 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:
“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.
5 Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill made low.
The crooked roads shall become straight,
the rough ways smooth.
6 And all people will see God’s salvation.’”[a](I)
7 John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers!(J) Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?(K) 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’(L) For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 9 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”(M)
10 “What should we do then?”(N) the crowd asked.
11 John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”(O)
12 Even tax collectors came to be baptized.(P) “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”
13 “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,”(Q) he told them.
14 Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”
He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely(R)—be content with your pay.”
15 The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John(S) might possibly be the Messiah.(T) 16 John answered them all, “I baptize you with[b] water.(U) But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with[c] the Holy Spirit and fire.(V) 17 His winnowing fork(W) is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”(X) 18 And with many other words John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to them.
Luke 3:1-18
Contemporary English Version
Luke 3:1-18
Contemporary English Version
The Preaching of John the Baptist
(Matthew 3.1-12; Mark 1.1-8; John 1.19-28)
3 For 15 years[a] Emperor Tiberius had ruled that part of the world. Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod[b] was the ruler of Galilee. Herod's brother, Philip, was the ruler in the countries of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was the ruler of Abilene. 2 Annas and Caiaphas were the Jewish high priests.[c]
At that time God spoke to Zechariah's son John, who was living in the desert. 3 So John went along the Jordan Valley, telling the people, “Turn back to God and be baptized! Then your sins will be forgiven.” 4 (A) Isaiah the prophet wrote about John when he said,
“In the desert
someone is shouting,
‘Get the road ready
for the Lord!
Make a straight path
for him.
5 Fill up every valley
and level every mountain
and hill.
Straighten the crooked paths
and smooth out
the rough roads.
6 Then everyone will see
the saving power of God.’ ”
7 (B) Crowds of people came out to be baptized, but John said to them, “You bunch of snakes! Who warned you to run from the coming judgment? 8 (C) Do something to show that you really have given up your sins. Don't start saying you belong to Abraham's family. God can turn these stones into children for Abraham.[d] 9 (D) An ax is ready to cut the trees down at their roots. Any tree that doesn't produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into a fire.”
10 The crowds asked John, “What should we do?”
11 John told them, “If you have two coats, give one to someone who doesn't have any. If you have food, share it with someone else.”
12 (E) When tax collectors[e] came to be baptized, they asked John, “Teacher, what should we do?”
13 John told them, “Don't make people pay more than they owe.”
14 Some soldiers asked him, “And what about us? What do we have to do?”
John told them, “Don't force people to pay money to make you leave them alone. Be satisfied with your pay.”
15 Everyone became excited and wondered, “Could John be the Messiah?”
16 John said, “I am just baptizing with water. But someone more powerful is going to come, and I am not good enough even to untie his sandals.[f] He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 17 His threshing fork[g] is in his hand, and he is ready to separate the wheat from the husks. He will store the wheat in his barn and burn the husks with a fire that never goes out.”
18 In many different ways John preached the good news to the people.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 3.1 For 15 years: This was either a.d. 28 or 29, and Jesus was about 30 years old (see 3.23).
- 3.1 Herod: Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great.
- 3.2 Annas and Caiaphas … high priests: Annas was high priest from a.d. 6 until 15. His son-in-law Caiaphas was high priest from a.d. 18 until 37.
- 3.8 children for Abraham: The Jewish people thought they were God's chosen people because of God's promises to their ancestor Abraham.
- 3.12 tax collectors: These were usually Jewish people who paid the Romans for the right to collect taxes. They were hated by other Jews who thought of them as traitors to their country and to their religion.
- 3.16 untie his sandals: This was the duty of a slave.
- 3.17 threshing fork: After Jewish farmers had trampled out the grain, they used a large fork to pitch the grain and the husks into the air. Wind would blow away the light husks, and the grain would fall back to the ground, where it could be gathered up.
Luke 3:1-20
The Message
Luke 3:1-20
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.
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New International Version (NIV) 
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Contemporary English Version (CEV) 
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The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson