Matthew 3

¹In those days John the Baptist came, proclaiming in the wilderness of Judea ²and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has drawn near.” ³For he is the one spoken of through Isaiah the prophet, who said:

“A voice crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.”

⁴John himself wore clothing made of camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵Then Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region around the Jordan were going out to him, ⁶and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.

⁷But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸So produce fruit worthy of repentance, ⁹and do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones. ¹⁰The ax is already lying at the root of the trees. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

¹¹“I baptize you with water for repentance, but the one coming after me is stronger than I am. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹²His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will thoroughly clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the storehouse, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

¹³Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan, to John, to be baptized by him. ¹⁴But John tried to prevent him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and you come to me?” ¹⁵Jesus answered him, “Allow it now, for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John allowed him.

¹⁶After Jesus was baptized, he immediately came up from the water. And look, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God coming down like a dove and coming upon him. ¹⁷And look, a voice from the heavens said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Translation notes 7

3:1–2 — Baptist; repent. “Baptist” identifies John as the baptizer. “Repent” calls for a change in outlook and conduct, not simply regret. The fruit demanded in verse 8 gives that call concrete force.

3:2 — Kingdom of heaven. Literally “kingdom of the heavens,” retaining Matthew's expression. It concerns God's rule, not merely a place after death. “Has drawn near” preserves the announcement's nearness without replacing it with “has fully arrived.” Jesus repeats the same words in 4:17.

3:3–4 — Isaiah; locusts. The quotation is Isaiah 40:3 as worded in Matthew. “Locusts” refers to the insects; the text does not substitute a plant food.

3:7–10 — Vipers and fruit. The offspring image is a sharp insult; “children” in verse 9 is a different word. “Coming to his baptism” does not itself state whether these leaders actually received baptism. Fruit represents conduct fitting repentance. The tree-and-fire warning recurs in 7:19.

3:11–12 — Baptism and fire. “With” can also be “in.” “For repentance” leaves the relationship compact; interpretations include expressing repentance and bringing people to repentance. Fire's judgment force is prominent beside the burning trees and chaff; purification is another proposed association. The text does not merge “Holy Spirit and fire” into a single explanatory phrase. A winnowing fork was used to separate grain from chaff; the threatening image is retained.

3:15 — Fulfill all righteousness. Doing what is right before God is central here; the wording does not supply a complete explanation of why Jesus receives John's baptism. “Us” includes John as well as Jesus. “Righteousness” connects with the repeated word in chapters 5–6.

3:16–17 — Heavens and Son. “He saw” most naturally refers to Jesus. Unlike Mark's wording, Matthew has “upon him” and “This is my beloved Son.” Some Greek editions add “to him” after the heavens were opened; the base text does not.