Luke 3
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
The Proclamation of John the Baptist
3 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tibe′ri-us Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Iturae′a and Trachoni′tis, and Lysa′ni-as tetrarch of Abile′ne, 2 in the high-priesthood of Annas and Ca′iaphas,[a] the word of God came to John the son of Zechari′ah in the wilderness; 3 and he went into all the region about the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.
5 Every valley shall be filled,
and every mountain and hill shall be brought low,
and the crooked shall be made straight,
and the rough ways shall be made smooth;
6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”
7 He said therefore to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers![b] Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruits that befit repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 9 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
10 And the multitudes asked him, “What then shall we do?” 11 And he answered them, “He who has two coats, let him share with him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.” 12 Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” 13 And he said to them, “Collect no more than is appointed you.” 14 Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Rob no one by violence or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.”
15 As the people were in expectation, and all men questioned in their hearts concerning John, whether perhaps he were the Christ, 16 John answered them all, “I baptize you with water; but he who is mightier than I is coming, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into his granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
18 So, with many other exhortations, he preached good news to the people. 19 But Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Hero′di-as, his brother’s wife, and for all the evil things that Herod had done, 20 added this to them all, that he shut up John in prison.
The Baptism of Jesus
21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form, as a dove, and a voice came from heaven, “Thou art my beloved Son;[c] with thee I am well pleased.”[d]
The Ancestors of Jesus
23 Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph,[e] the son of Heli, 24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jan′na-i, the son of Joseph, 25 the son of Mattathi′as, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Nag′ga-i, 26 the son of Ma′ath, the son of Mattathi′as, the son of Sem′e-in, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, 27 the son of Jo-an′an, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerub′babel, the son of She-al′ti-el,[f] the son of Neri, 28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elma′dam, the son of Er, 29 the son of Joshua, the son of Elie′zer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, 30 the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eli′akim, 31 the son of Me′le-a, the son of Menna, the son of Mat′tatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, 32 the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Bo′az, the son of Sala, the son of Nahshon, 33 the son of Ammin′adab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, 34 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 Re′u, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, 36 the son of Ca-i′nan, the son of Arphax′ad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, 37 the son of Methu′selah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Maha′lale-el, the son of Ca-i′nan, 38 the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.
Footnotes
- 3.2 See note on Jn 18.13.
- 3.7 brood of vipers: This epithet seems to have been directed mainly at the Pharisees; cf. Mt 3.7.
- Luke 3:22 Or my Son, my (or the) Beloved
- Luke 3:22 Other ancient authorities read today I have begotten thee
- 3.23 This genealogy is more universalist than that of Matthew. Like Matthew, however, it gives the genealogy of Joseph, though Mary may well have been of the family of David.
- Luke 3:27 Greek Salathiel
Luke 3
New King James Version
John the Baptist Prepares the Way(A)
3 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, (B)Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 2 [a]while (C)Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to (D)John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. 3 (E)And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance (F)for the remission of sins, 4 as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying:
(G)“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make His paths straight.
5 Every valley shall be filled
And every mountain and hill brought low;
The crooked places shall be made straight
And the rough ways smooth;
6 And (H)all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’ ”
John Preaches to the People(I)
7 Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, (J)“Brood[b] of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Therefore bear fruits (K)worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. 9 And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore (L)every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
10 So the people asked him, saying, (M)“What shall we do then?”
11 He answered and said to them, (N)“He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, (O)let him do likewise.”
12 Then (P)tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?”
13 And he said to them, (Q)“Collect no more than what is appointed for you.”
14 Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, “And what shall we do?”
So he said to them, “Do not [c]intimidate anyone (R)or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.”
15 Now as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ or not, 16 John answered, saying to all, (S)“I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will (T)baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and (U)gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.”
18 And with many other exhortations he preached to the people. 19 (V)But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him concerning Herodias, his [d]brother Philip’s wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, 20 also added this, above all, that he shut John up in prison.
John Baptizes Jesus(W)
21 When all the people were baptized, (X)it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. 22 And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am (Y)well pleased.”
The Genealogy of Jesus Christ(Z)
23 Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at (AA)about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) (AB)the son of Joseph, the son of Heli, 24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Janna, the son of Joseph, 25 the son of Mattathiah, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, 26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathiah, the son of Semei, the son of Joseph, the son of Judah, 27 the son of Joannas, the son of Rhesa, the son of (AC)Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, 28 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, the son of Levi, 30 the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonan, the son of Eliakim, 31 the son of Melea, the son of Menan, the son of Mattathah, the son of (AD)Nathan, (AE)the son of David, 32 (AF)the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon, 33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, 34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, (AG)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, the son of Shelah, 36 (AH)the son of Cainan, the son of (AI)Arphaxad, (AJ)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 Mahalalel, the son of Cainan, 38 the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, (AK)the son of God.
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
