Luke 3 Contemporary English Version

The Preaching of John the Baptist

(Matthew 3.1-12; Mark 1.1-8; John 1.19-28)

3 For 15 years^[a] Emperor Tiberius had ruled that part of the world. Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod^[b] was the ruler of Galilee. Herod's brother, Philip, was the ruler in the countries of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was the ruler of Abilene. ²Annas and Caiaphas were the Jewish high priests.^[c]

At that time God spoke to Zechariah's son John, who was living in the desert. ³So John went along the Jordan Valley, telling the people, “Turn back to God and be baptized! Then your sins will be forgiven.” ⁴^(A) Isaiah the prophet wrote about John when he said,

“In the desert
    someone is shouting,
‘Get the road ready
    for the Lord!
Make a straight path
    for him.
⁵Fill up every valley
and level every mountain
    and hill.
Straighten the crooked paths
and smooth out
    the rough roads.
⁶Then everyone will see
    the saving power of God.’ ”

⁷^(B) Crowds of people came out to be baptized, but John said to them, “You bunch of snakes! Who warned you to run from the coming judgment? ⁸^(C) Do something to show that you really have given up your sins. Don't start saying you belong to Abraham's family. God can turn these stones into children for Abraham.^[d] ⁹^(D) An ax is ready to cut the trees down at their roots. Any tree that doesn't produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into a fire.”

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

¹¹John told them, “If you have two coats, give one to someone who doesn't have any. If you have food, share it with someone else.”

¹²^(E) When tax collectors^[e] came to be baptized, they asked John, “Teacher, what should we do?”

¹³John told them, “Don't make people pay more than they owe.”

¹⁴Some soldiers asked him, “And what about us? What do we have to do?”

John told them, “Don't force people to pay money to make you leave them alone. Be satisfied with your pay.”

¹⁵Everyone became excited and wondered, “Could John be the Messiah?”

¹⁶John said, “I am just baptizing with water. But someone more powerful is going to come, and I am not good enough even to untie his sandals.^[f] He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. ¹⁷His threshing fork^[g] is in his hand, and he is ready to separate the wheat from the husks. He will store the wheat in his barn and burn the husks with a fire that never goes out.”

¹⁸In many different ways John preached the good news to the people. ¹⁹^(F) But to Herod the ruler, he said, “It was wrong for you to take Herodias, your brother's wife.” John also said Herod had done many other bad things. ²⁰Finally, Herod put John in jail, and this was the worst thing he had done.

The Baptism of Jesus

(Matthew 3.13-17; Mark 1.9-11)

²¹While everyone else was being baptized, Jesus himself was baptized. Then as he prayed, the sky opened up, ²²^(G) and the Holy Spirit came down upon him in the form of a dove. A voice from heaven said, “You are my own dear Son, and I am pleased with you.”

The Ancestors of Jesus

(Matthew 1.1-17)

²³When Jesus began to preach, he was about 30 years old. Everyone thought he was the son of Joseph. But his family went back through Heli, ²⁴Matthat, Levi, Melchi, Jannai, Joseph, ²⁵Mattathias, Amos, Nahum, Esli, Naggai, ²⁶Maath, Mattathias, Semein, Josech, Joda;

²⁷Joanan, Rhesa, Zerubbabel, Shealtiel, Neri, ²⁸Melchi, Addi, Cosam, Elmadam, Er, ²⁹Joshua, Eliezer, Jorim, Matthat, Levi;

³⁰Simeon, Judah, Joseph, Jonam, Eliakim, ³¹Melea, Menna, Mattatha, Nathan, David, ³²Jesse, Obed, Boaz, Salmon, Nahshon;

³³Amminadab, Admin, Arni, Hezron, Perez, Judah, ³⁴Jacob, Isaac, Abraham, Terah, Nahor, ³⁵Serug, Reu, Peleg, Eber, Shelah;

³⁶Cainan, Arphaxad, Shem, Noah, Lamech, ³⁷Methuselah, Enoch, Jared, Mahalaleel, Kenan, ³⁸Enosh, and Seth.

The family of Jesus went all the way back to Adam and then to God.

Footnotes

3.1 For 15 years: This was either a.d. 28 or 29, and Jesus was about 30 years old (see 3.23).
3.1 Herod: Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great.
3.2 Annas and Caiaphas … high priests: Annas was high priest from a.d. 6 until 15. His son-in-law Caiaphas was high priest from a.d. 18 until 37.
3.8 children for Abraham: The Jewish people thought they were God's chosen people because of God's promises to their ancestor Abraham.
3.12 tax collectors: These were usually Jewish people who paid the Romans for the right to collect taxes. They were hated by other Jews who thought of them as traitors to their country and to their religion.
3.16 untie his sandals: This was the duty of a slave.
3.17 threshing fork: After Jewish farmers had trampled out the grain, they used a large fork to pitch the grain and the husks into the air. Wind would blow away the light husks, and the grain would fall back to the ground, where it could be gathered up.