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
New Life Version
John the Baptist Makes the Way Ready for Jesus (A)
3 Tiberius Caesar had been ruler for fifteen years. Pontius Pilate was ruler of the country of Judea. Herod was the ruler of the country of Galilee. His brother Philip was the ruler of the countries of Ituraea and Trachonitis. Lysanias was the ruler of the country of Abilene. 2 Annas and Caiaphas were the head religious leaders.
The Word of God came to John the Baptist, the son of Zacharias. John was in the desert. 3 He went into all the country around the Jordan River. He preached that people should be baptized because they were sorry for their sins and had turned from them, and they would be forgiven. 4 The early preacher Isaiah wrote these words: “His voice calls out in the desert. ‘Make the way ready for the Lord. Make the road straight for Him! 5 Every valley will be filled and every mountain and hill will be brought down. The turns in the road will be made straight and the rough places will be made smooth. 6 And all men will see God saving people from the punishment of their sins.’” (B)
7 John said to the people who came to be baptized by him, “You family of snakes! Who told you how to keep from the anger of God that is coming? 8 Do something to let me see that you have turned from your sins. Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you, God can make children for Abraham out of these stones. 9 Even now the ax is on the root of the trees. Every tree that does not give good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” 10 The people asked him, “Then what should we do?” 11 He answered them, “If you have two coats, give one to him who has none. If you have food, you must share some.” 12 Tax-gatherers came to be baptized also. They asked him, “Teacher, what are we to do?” 13 He said to them, “Do not take more money from people than you should.” 14 Also soldiers asked him, “What are we to do?” He answered them, “Take no money from anyone by using your own strength. Do not lie about anyone. Be happy with the pay you get.”
15 The people were looking for something to happen. They were thinking in their hearts about John the Baptist. They wondered if he might be the Christ. 16 But John said to all of them, “I baptize you with water. There is One coming Who is greater than I. I am not good enough to get down and help Him take off His shoes. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 17 He comes ready to clean the grain. He will gather the grain and clean it all. He will put the clean grain into a building. But He will burn that which is no good with a fire that cannot be put out.”
John the Baptist Is Put in Prison (C)
18 John spoke much more as he preached the Good News to the people. 19 He had also spoken sharp words to Herod the ruler because of Herodias. She was his brother Philip’s wife. And John spoke to Herod about all the wrongs he had done. 20 To all these, Herod added another sin by putting John in prison.
The Baptism of Jesus (D)
21 When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized also. As He prayed, the heaven opened. 22 The Holy Spirit came down on Him in a body like a dove. A voice came from heaven and said, “You are My much-loved Son. I am very happy with You.”
The Family of Jesus through Mary (E)
23 Jesus was about thirty years old when He began His work. People thought Jesus was the son of Joseph, the son of Heli. 24 Heli was the son of Matthat. Matthat was the son of Levi. Levi was the son of Melchi. Melchi was the son of Jannai. Jannai was the son of Joseph. 25 Joseph was the son of Mattathias. Mattathias was the son of Amos. Amos was the son of Nahum. Nahum was the son of Esli. Esli was the son of Naggai. 26 Naggai was the son of Maath. Maath was the son of Mattathias. Mattathias was the son of Semein. Semein was the son of Josech. Josech was the son of Juda. 27 Juda was the son of Johanan. Johanan was the son of Rhesa. Rhesa was the son of Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel was the son of Salathiel. Salathiel was the son of Neri. 28 Neri was the son of Melchi. Melchi was the son of Addi. Addi was the son of Cosam. Cosam was the son of Elmadam. Elmadam was the son of Er. 29 Er was the son of Joshua. Joshua was the son of Eliezer. Eliezer was the son of Jorim. Jorim was the son of Matthat. Matthat was the son of Levi. 30 Levi was the son of Simeon. Simeon was the son of Judah. Judah was the son of Joseph. Joseph was the son of Janam. Janam was the son of Eliakim. 31 Eliakim was the son of Melea. Melea was the son of Menna. Menna was the son of Mattatha. Mattatha was the son of Nathan. Nathan was the son of David. 32 David was the son of Jesse. Jesse was the son of Obed. Obed was the son of Boaz. Boaz was the son of Salmon. Salmon was the son of Nahshon. 33 Nahshon was the son of Amminadab. Amminadab was the son of Admin. Admin was the son of Ram. Ram was the son of Hezron. Hezron was the son of Perez. Perez was the son of Judah. 34 Judah was the son of Jacob. Jacob was the son of Isaac. Isaac was the son of Abraham. Abraham was the son of Terah. Terah was the son of Nahor. 35 Nahor was the son of Serug. Serug was the son of Ragau. Ragau was the son of Peleg. Peleg was the son of Eber. Eber was the son of Shelah. 36 Shelah was the son of Cainan. Cainan was the son of Arphaxad. Arphaxad was the son of Shem. Shem was the son of Noah. Noah was the son of Lamech. 37 Lamech was the son of Methuselah. Methuselah was the son of Enoch. Enoch was the son of Jared. Jared was the son of Mahalaleel. Mahaleel was the son of Cainan. 38 Cainan was the son of Enos. Enos was the son of Seth. Seth was the son of Adam. Adam was the son of God.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1969, 2003 by Barbour Publishing, Inc.