BibleStudyIt - Luke 3 | Bible Study It

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John the Baptist prepares people to meet Jesus

3 This report is about John, the son of Zechariah. It happened when Tiberius Caesar had been the Roman ruler for 15 years. ^{[ a ]} Pontius Pilate was the Roman ruler of Judea. Herod had authority over the region of Galilee. Herod's brother Philip had authority over Iturea and Trachonitis. Lysanias had authority over Abilene. ^{[ b ]} ² At this time, the leaders of the priests were Annas and Caiaphas. John was living in the wilderness. While he was there, God spoke to him.

³ John went to many places near the Jordan River and spoke a message from God. ‘You have done many wrong things,’ he taught everybody. ‘You must turn away from them and change how you live. Then God will forgive you and I will baptize you.’

⁴ The prophet Isaiah wrote this message from God in his book:

‘Somebody's voice is shouting in the wilderness,
“The Lord will come soon, so prepare a way for him to follow.
Make the paths straight for him.

⁵ Fill in every valley and make every mountain and hill flat.

Take away every bend so that the road is straight.
Take away all the rocks so that the road is flat.

⁶ Then everyone will see how God can save them.” ’ ^{[ c ]}

⁷ Crowds of people were going out into the wilderness. They wanted John to baptize them. He told them, ‘You are like dangerous snakes! God is angry. You are trying to run away from him. But he will soon punish people like you. ⁸ You have to show that you are sorry. Change how you live. Stop doing things that God does not like. Do not begin to say to yourselves, “We are in the family of Abraham. God will surely not punish us.” ^{[ d ]} Listen! God can take these stones and make children for Abraham out of them! ^{[ e ]} ⁹ You are like trees that have bad fruit. God has an axe ready to use. He will cut down every tree that does not make good fruit. He will throw those trees into the fire.’

¹⁰ ‘So what should we do?’ the crowd asked.

¹¹ John answered, ‘If you have two shirts, give one away. Give it to someone who does not have even one shirt. If you have some food, give some of it away. Give some to someone who has no food.’

¹² In the crowd, there were men who took taxes from people. These men also wanted John to baptize them. They asked him, ‘Teacher, what should we do?’ ¹³ John told them, ‘You must take the right amount of money from people. You must not take more money than the rules say you should take.’

¹⁴ Then some soldiers asked John, ‘What about us? What should we do?’

John replied, ‘Do not rob people of their money. Do not say that a person is guilty if he has not done anything wrong. You must not take money for yourself in that way. You should be happy with the money that you receive for your work.’ ^{[ f ]}

¹⁵ At this time people were thinking, ‘Is John the Messiah that God has promised?’ They were all hoping that he might be. ¹⁶ John knew what they were thinking. He said to them, ‘I baptize you with water. But someone else is coming soon. He is much greater than I am. I am not good enough even to undo his shoes for him. This other person will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. ¹⁷ He is like a farmer that brings the wheat home from his field. He uses a special tool to throw the wheat up in the air. He does this to make the wheat seeds separate from what remains. Then he cleans his yard. He carefully stores all the seeds to keep them safe. But he burns everything else in a great fire that nobody can put out.’

¹⁸ John said many more things to the people. He was telling them the good news about how God could change their lives. ¹⁹ One day John told Herod, the ruler, that it was wrong for him to marry Herodias. Before that, she had been the wife of Herod's brother. ^{[ g ]} John also told Herod that he had done many other bad things. ²⁰ So then Herod did an even worse thing; he locked John up in prison.

John baptizes Jesus

²¹ While John was still baptizing all the people, he also baptized Jesus. While Jesus was praying, the sky opened. ²² The Holy Spirit came down onto Jesus. When he came down like that, he looked like a dove. Then a voice spoke from heaven, ‘You are my Son and I love you. You make me very happy.’ ^{[ h ]}

The ancestors of Jesus

²³ Jesus was about 30 years old when he began his work. People thought that he was the son of Joseph.

Joseph was from the family of Heli. ^{[ i ]}

²⁴ Heli was from the family of Matthat.

Matthat was from the family of Levi.

Levi was from the family of Melchi.

Melchi was from the family of Jannai.

Jannai was from the family of Joseph.

²⁵ Joseph was from the family of Mattathias.

Mattathias was from the family of Amos.

Amos was from the family of Nahum.

Nahum was from the family of Esli.

Esli was from the family of Naggai.

²⁶ Naggai was from the family of Maath.

Maath was from the family of Mattathias.

Mattathias was from the family of Semein.

Semein was from the family of Josech.

Josech was from the family of Joda.

²⁷ Joda was from the family of Joanan.

Joanan was from the family of Rhesa.

Rhesa was from the family of Zerubbabel.

Zerubbabel was from the family of Shealtiel.

Shealtiel was from the family of Neri.

²⁸ Neri was from the family of Melchi.

Melchi was from the family of Addi.

Addi was from the family of Cosam.

Cosam was from the family of Elmadam.

Elmadam was from the family of Er.

²⁹ Er was from the family of Joshua.

Joshua was from the family of Eliezer.

Eliezer was from the family of Jorim.

Jorim was from the family of Matthat.

Matthat was from the family of Levi.

³⁰ Levi was from the family of Simeon.

Simeon was from the family of Judah.

Judah was from the family of Joseph.

Joseph was from the family of Jonam.

Jonam was from the family of Eliakim.

³¹ Eliakim was from the family of Melea.

Melea was from the family of Menna.

Menna was from the family of Mattatha.

Mattatha was from the family of Nathan.

Nathan was from the family of David.

³² David was from the family of Jesse.

Jesse was from the family of Obed.

Obed was from the family of Boaz.

Boaz was from the family of Salmon.

Salmon was from the family of Nahshon.

³³ Nahshon was from the family of Amminadab.

Amminadab was from the family of Ram.

Ram was from the family of Hezron.

Hezron was from the family of Perez.

Perez was from the family of Judah.

³⁴ Judah was from the family of Jacob.

Jacob was from the family of Isaac.

Isaac was from the family of Abraham.

Abraham was from the family of Terah.

Terah was from the family of Nahor.

³⁵ Nahor was from the family of Serug.

Serug was from the family of Reu.

Reu was from the family of Peleg.

Peleg was from the family of Eber.

Eber was from the family of Shelah.

³⁶ Shelah was from the family of Cainan.

Cainan was from the family of Arphaxad.

Arphaxad was from the family of Shem.

Shem was from the family of Noah.

Noah was from the family of Lamech.

³⁷ Lamech was from the family of Methuselah.

Methuselah was from the family of Enoch.

Enoch was from the family of Jared.

Jared was from the family of Mahalalel.

Mahalalel was from the family of Cainan.

³⁸ Cainan was from the family of Enosh.

Enosh was from the family of Seth.

Seth was from the family of Adam.

Adam was from God. ^{[ j ]}

Footnotes

3:1 Tiberius Caesar ruled over all the countries where Rome had authority. He began to rule in AD 11 after Caesar Augustus died. See Luke 2:1 . This report about John the Baptist begins in AD 25-26.
3:1 Galilee, Iturea, Trachonitis and Abilene were the names of some of the different regions of Judea, where the Romans had authority. They chose men to rule those places for them. Judea was the country where the Jewish people lived.
3:6 See Isaiah 40:3-5 . Isaiah was using a picture to show people what would happen when the Lord was ready to come into the world. At that time, people mended the roads before a ruler arrived. Isaiah showed that someone would prepare the way for the Lord to come. John the Baptist was that person.
3:8 The Jews knew that they were God's special people. But how they lived was important to God. God wanted them to live good lives. At that time, many of them did not seem to understand that. When they did not obey him, he was angry with them. He was ready to punish those people, if they would not obey him.
3:8 The Jews called themselves ‘children of Abraham’. God had used Abraham many centuries before to start their family.
3:14 Many people who took taxes were not honest. They often took too much money. They took it for themselves. John told them that they should be honest. God would then know that these people really wanted to obey him.
3:19 Herod had married Herodias. She was already the wife of Philip. Philip was Herod's brother.
3:22 God called Jesus, ‘my Son’. Jesus often said that God was his father.
3:23 To the Jews, a person's family was very important. God had promised to send the Messiah, who would be from David's family. It was necessary to show that the Messiah was from the family of David. So both Matthew and Luke record the family of Jesus. But the two lists are completely different. Matthew gives the list of names from Abraham to Joseph that the law would recognize. In Jewish law, Joseph was the father of Jesus but in fact, he was not. Matthew starts his list with Abraham and finishes with Jesus (see Matthew 1:2-16 ). This shows that Jesus as a man is Jewish. Jesus was the Messiah that God promised to Israel. Luke shows that Jesus is not in fact a son of Joseph. So he gives the list of the people in Mary's family. Joseph was the son of Jacob (see Matthew 1:16 ). Heli was the father of Joseph's wife Mary. Mary was the daughter of Heli. But the Jews would not usually end or start the family list with a woman. So Luke does not mention Mary by name.
3:38 The names of all the people in a family were very important to the Jews. In that way, they knew that they were Jews. The list shows that Jesus was in the same family as Judah, David and Abraham.

John Prepares the Way for Jesus ^{( A )}

3 It was the 15th year of the rule of Tiberius Caesar. These men were under Caesar:

Pontius Pilate, the governor of Judea;

Herod, the ruler of Galilee;

Philip, Herod’s brother, the ruler of Iturea and Trachonitis;

Lysanias, the ruler of Abilene.

² Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests. During this time, John, the son of Zechariah, was living in the desert, and he received a message from God. ³ So he went through the whole area around the Jordan River and told the people God’s message. He told them to be baptized to show that they wanted to change their lives, and then their sins would be forgiven. ⁴ This is like the words written in the book of Isaiah the prophet:

“There is someone shouting in the desert:
‘Prepare the way for the Lord.
Make the road straight for him.
⁵ Every valley will be filled,
and every mountain and hill will be made flat.
Crooked roads will be made straight,
and rough roads will be made smooth.
⁶ Then everyone will see
how God will save his people!’” ^{( B )}

⁷ Crowds of people came to be baptized by John. But he said to them, “You are all snakes! Who warned you to run from God’s judgment that is coming? ⁸ Change your hearts! And show by your lives that you have changed. I know what you are about to say—‘but Abraham is our father!’ That means nothing. I tell you that God can make children for Abraham from these rocks! ⁹ The ax is now ready to cut down the trees. ^{[ a ]} Every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

¹⁰ The people asked John, “What should we do?”

¹¹ He answered, “If you have two shirts, share with someone who does not have one. If you have food, share that too.”

¹² Even the tax collectors came to John. They wanted to be baptized. They said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?”

¹³ He told them, “Don’t take more taxes from people than you have been ordered to collect.”

¹⁴ The soldiers asked him, “What about us? What should we do?”

He said to them, “Don’t use force or lies to make people give you money. Be happy with the pay you get.”

¹⁵ Everyone was hoping for the Messiah to come, and they wondered about John. They thought, “Maybe he is the Messiah.”

¹⁶ John’s answer to this was, “I baptize you in water, but there is someone coming later who is able to do more than I can. I am not good enough to be the slave who unties his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. ¹⁷ He will come ready to clean the grain. ^{[ b ]} He will separate the good grain from the straw, and he will put the good part into his barn. Then he will burn the useless part with a fire that cannot be stopped.” ¹⁸ John said many other things like this to encourage the people to change, and he told them the Good News.

How John’s Work Later Ended

¹⁹ John criticized Herod the ruler for what he had done with Herodias, the wife of Herod’s brother, as well as for all the other bad things he had done. ²⁰ So Herod added another bad thing to all his other wrongs: He put John in jail.

Jesus Is Baptized by John ^{( C )}

²¹ When all the people were being baptized, Jesus came and was baptized too. And while he was praying, the sky opened, ²² and the Holy Spirit came down on him. The Spirit looked like a real dove. Then a voice came from heaven and said, “You are my Son, the one I love. I am very pleased with you.”

The Family History of Joseph ^{( D )}

²³ When Jesus began to teach, he was about 30 years old. People thought that Jesus was Joseph’s son.

Joseph was the son of Eli.

²⁴ Eli 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 Joda.

²⁷ Joda was the son of Joanan.

Joanan was the son of Rhesa.

Rhesa was the son of Zerubbabel.

Zerubbabel was the son of Shealtiel.

Shealtiel 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 Jonam.

Jonam 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 Arni.

Arni 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 Reu.

Reu 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.

Mahalaleel 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.

Footnotes

Luke 3:9 trees Meaning the people who don’t obey God. They are like “trees” that will be cut down.
Luke 3:17 clean the grain Meaning that Jesus will separate the good people from those who are bad.

3 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene,

² Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.

³ And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;

⁴ As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye 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 Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

⁸ Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.

⁹ And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

¹⁰ And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?

¹¹ He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.

¹² Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do?

¹³ And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you.

¹⁴ And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.

¹⁵ And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not;

¹⁶ John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:

¹⁷ Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.

¹⁸ And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people.

¹⁹ But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done,

²⁰ Added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison.

²¹ Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,

²² And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.

²³ And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,

²⁴ Which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi, which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Janna, which was the son of Joseph,

²⁵ Which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Amos, which was the son of Naum, which was the son of Esli, which was the son of Nagge,

²⁶ Which was the son of Maath, which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Semei, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Juda,

²⁷ Which was the son of Joanna, which was the son of Rhesa, which was the son of Zorobabel, which was the son of Salathiel, which was the son of Neri,

²⁸ Which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Addi, which was the son of Cosam, which was the son of Elmodam, which was the son of Er,

²⁹ Which was the son of Jose, which was the son of Eliezer, which was the son of Jorim, which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi,

³⁰ Which was the son of Simeon, which was the son of Juda, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Jonan, which was the son of Eliakim,

³¹ Which was the son of Melea, which was the son of Menan, which was the son of Mattatha, which was the son of Nathan, which was the son of David,

³² Which was the son of Jesse, which was the son of Obed, which was the son of Booz, which was the son of Salmon, which was the son of Naasson,

³³ Which was the son of Aminadab, which was the son of Aram, which was the son of Esrom, which was the son of Phares, which was the son of Juda,

³⁴ Which was the son of Jacob, which was the son of Isaac, which was the son of Abraham, which was the son of Thara, which was the son of Nachor,

³⁵ Which was the son of Saruch, which was the son of Ragau, which was the son of Phalec, which was the son of Heber, which was the son of Sala,

³⁶ Which was the son of Cainan, which was the son of Arphaxad, which was the son of Sem, which was the son of Noe, which was the son of Lamech,

³⁷ Which was the son of Mathusala, which was the son of Enoch, which was the son of Jared, which was the son of Maleleel, which was the son of Cainan,

³⁸ Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.

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

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.

¹⁹ But when John rebuked Herod ^{( Y )} the tetrarch because of his marriage to Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the other evil things he had done, ²⁰ Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison. ^{( Z )}

The Baptism and Genealogy of Jesus ^{( AA )} ^{( AB )}

²¹ When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, ^{( AC )} heaven was opened ²² and the Holy Spirit descended on him ^{( AD )} in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, ^{( AE )} whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” ^{( AF )}

²³ Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. ^{( AG )} He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph, ^{( AH )}

the son of Heli, ²⁴ the son of Matthat,

the son of Levi, the son of Melki,

the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph,

²⁵ the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos,

the son of Nahum, the son of Esli,

the son of Naggai, ²⁶ the son of Maath,

the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein,

the son of Josek, the son of Joda,

²⁷ the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa,

the son of Zerubbabel, ^{( AI )} the son of Shealtiel,

the son of Neri, ²⁸ the son of Melki,

the son of Addi, the son of Cosam,

the son of Elmadam, the son of Er,

²⁹ the son of 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 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, ^{( AJ )}

the son of David, ³² the son of Jesse,

the son of Obed, the son of Boaz,

the son of Salmon, ^{[ d ]} the son of Nahshon,

³³ the son of Amminadab, the son of Ram, ^{[ e ]}

the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, ^{( AK )}

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, ^{( AL )}

³⁵ the son of Serug, the son of Reu,

the son of Peleg, the son of Eber,

the son of Shelah, ³⁶ the son of Cainan,

the son of Arphaxad, ^{( AM )} the son of Shem,

the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, ^{( AN )}

³⁷ the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch,

the son of Jared, the son of Mahalalel,

the son of Kenan, ^{( AO )} ³⁸ the son of Enosh,

the son of Seth, the son of Adam,

the son of God. ^{( AP )}

Footnotes

Luke 3:6 Isaiah 40:3-5
Luke 3:16 Or in
Luke 3:16 Or in
Luke 3:32 Some early manuscripts Sala
Luke 3:33 Some manuscripts Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni ; other manuscripts vary widely.

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Table of Contents

John the Baptist prepares people to meet Jesus

John baptizes Jesus

The ancestors of Jesus

Footnotes

John Prepares the Way for Jesus ^{( A )}

How John’s Work Later Ended

Jesus Is Baptized by John ^{( C )}

The Family History of Joseph ^{( D )}

Footnotes

Cross references

John the Baptist Preaches

Jesus Is Baptized

Genealogy of Jesus

Footnotes

Cross references

John the Baptist Prepares the Way ^{( A )} ^{( B )}

The Baptism and Genealogy of Jesus ^{( AA )} ^{( AB )}

Footnotes

Cross references

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BibleStudyIt Luke 3

Luke 3's Chapter Tabs Scroll past these tabs to continue or click on one of them to navigate out of this webpage.

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Read Chapter

Your Private Notes

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John the Baptist prepares people to meet Jesus

John baptizes Jesus

The ancestors of Jesus

Footnotes

John Prepares the Way for Jesus ( A )

How John’s Work Later Ended

Jesus Is Baptized by John ( C )

The Family History of Joseph ( D )

Footnotes

Cross references

John the Baptist Preaches

Jesus Is Baptized

Genealogy of Jesus

Footnotes

Cross references

John the Baptist Prepares the Way ( A ) ( B )

The Baptism and Genealogy of Jesus ( AA ) ( AB )

Footnotes

Cross references

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Luke 3's Chapter Tabs
Scroll past these tabs to continue or click on one of them to navigate out of this webpage.

John Prepares the Way for Jesus ^{( A )}

Jesus Is Baptized by John ^{( C )}

The Family History of Joseph ^{( D )}

John the Baptist Prepares the Way ^{( A )} ^{( B )}

The Baptism and Genealogy of Jesus ^{( AA )} ^{( AB )}