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Luke 3

1In the fifteenth year of the rule of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, 2during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3He went throughout the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, 4as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:

“A voice crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight. 5Every valley will be filled, and every mountain and hill brought low. The crooked will become straight, and the rough ways smooth. 6And all flesh will see the salvation of God.’”

7So he said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8Then bear fruits worthy of repentance. And do not begin to say among yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones. 9Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. So every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

10The crowds asked him, “What, then, should we do?” 11He answered them, “Whoever has two tunics should share with someone who has none, and whoever has food should do the same.” 12Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?” 13He said to them, “Collect nothing beyond what you have been instructed to collect.” 14Soldiers also asked him, “And what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by force or false accusation, and be content with your pay.”

15As the people waited expectantly and all wondered in their hearts whether John might be the Messiah, 16John said to them all, “I baptize you with water, but one stronger than I am is coming. I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire. 17His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and gather the wheat into his storehouse; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” 18With many other appeals, he proclaimed the good news to the people. 19But Herod the tetrarch, whom John rebuked concerning Herodias, his brother's wife, and all the evil things Herod had done, 20added this to them all: he locked John in prison.

21When all the people were baptized, and Jesus too had been baptized and was praying, heaven opened, 22and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. A voice came from heaven: “You are my beloved Son; in you I take delight.”

23Jesus was about thirty years old when he began his work. He was the son, as people supposed, of Joseph, son of Heli, 24son of Matthat, son of Levi, son of Melchi, son of Jannai, son of Joseph, 25son of Mattathias, son of Amos, son of Nahum, son of Esli, son of Naggai, 26son of Maath, son of Mattathias, son of Semein, son of Josech, son of Joda, 27son of Joanan, son of Rhesa, son of Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, son of Neri, 28son of Melchi, son of Addi, son of Cosam, son of Elmadam, son of Er, 29son of Jesus, son of Eliezer, son of Jorim, son of Matthat, son of Levi, 30son of Simeon, son of Judah, son of Joseph, son of Jonam, son of Eliakim, 31son of Melea, son of Menna, son of Mattatha, son of Nathan, son of David, 32son of Jesse, son of Jobel, son of Boaz, son of Sala, son of Nahshon, 33son of Amminadab, son of Admin, son of Arni, son of Hezron, son of Perez, son of Judah, 34son of Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham, son of Terah, son of Nahor, 35son of Serug, son of Reu, son of Peleg, son of Eber, son of Shelah, 36son of Cainan, son of Arphaxad, son of Shem, son of Noah, son of Lamech, 37son of Methuselah, son of Enoch, son of Jared, son of Mahalalel, son of Cainan, 38son of Enosh, son of Seth, son of Adam, son of God.

Translation notes 8

3:1–2 — Rulers and priests. “Tetrarch” is a title for a subordinate territorial ruler. The Greek names Annas and Caiaphas under a singular expression for the high priesthood; it does not call them two simultaneous holders of the same office.

3:3 — Baptism and repentance. Repentance concerns turning from sin toward God, with the changed conduct illustrated in verses 8–14. “For the forgiveness of sins” retains the connection without supplying a theory of how baptism, repentance, and forgiveness relate.

3:4–6 — Isaiah and “all flesh.” The quotation follows Isaiah 40:3–5 as presented in Luke. “All flesh” means all humanity, preserving the bodily expression rather than limiting the promise to one people.

3:11, 14 — Clothing and soldiers. A tunic was a basic garment worn next to the body. The soldiers are warned against taking people's money through coercion or false charges; the text does not identify their nationality.

3:16–17 — Spirit, fire, and winnowing. “In the Holy Spirit and fire” can also be rendered “with the Holy Spirit and fire.” The winnowing fork separates grain from chaff. The following destruction of the chaff gives fire a strong judgment setting; interpreters differ over whether verse 16 also describes purification for those receiving the Spirit. The translation does not assign separate recipients or add “purifying.”

3:22 — The voice. Some witnesses instead read, “You are my Son; today I have fathered you,” echoing Psalm 2:7. This is a difference in the Greek text, not an alternative translation of “beloved.” The reading printed here follows SBLGNT and has much broader Greek manuscript support.

3:23–38 — The genealogy. “His work” is supplied after “began.” After the first “son,” the Greek continues with a chain of names linked by “of”; repeating “son of” expresses that relationship. Luke names Joseph, qualified by “as people supposed,” and does not identify this as Mary's genealogy. His list differs from Matthew's and is not harmonized with it.

3:29, 32–33, 36 — Names and variants. “Jesus” in verse 29 is the same Greek name also rendered “Joshua”; it names an ancestor here. “Jobel” in verse 32 preserves the Greek base's form for the ancestor commonly called Obed; “Sala” is often printed as “Salmon.” The sequence “Amminadab, Admin, Arni” in verse 33 is textually disputed; “Amminadab, Aram” is a significant alternative. The draft retains the base's full sequence, including Cainan in verse 36.