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Luke3:1–20

The Mission of John the Baptist

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Luke 3:1–20 — The Mission of John the Baptist. Each verse below carries the full apparatus: the Berean Standard Bible, the vocalized original (tap any word), and a parsed breakdown of every term transcribed from the interlinear. Synthesized commentary, canonical threads, and the reading of Christ gather at the end, over the whole unit.

1

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

de En pentekaidekatō etei tēs hēgemonias Tiberiou Kaisaros Pontiou Pilatou hēgemoneuontos tēs Ioudaias kai Hērōdou tetraarchountos tēs Galilaias de autou tou adelphou Philippou tetraarchountos tēs chōras Itouraias kai Trachōnitidos kai Lysaniou tetraarchountos tēs Abilēnēs

Word by word34 · parsed
δὲdeG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
ἘνEnInG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
πεντεκαιδεκάτῳpentekaidekatō[the] fifteenthG4003
√ πεντεκαιδέκατος — five and tenthAdjectiveDative Neuter Singular
pentekaidekatos: five and tenth The one number in the unit, and the hinge of all New Testament chronology. The commentators divide over the reckoning: Ellicott dates Tiberius from the death of Augustus in A.D. 14 and so gets A.D. 29; Barnes, JFB and Cambridge reckon from the two or three years of joint rule with Augustus and land earlier. The brief records the disagreement rather than resolving it, and so do we.
ἔτειeteiyearG2094
√ ἔτος — a yearNounDative Neuter Singular
τῆςtēsof theG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Feminine Singular
ἡγεμονίαςhēgemoniasreignG2231
√ ἡγεμονία — government, iNounGenitive Feminine Singular
hēgemonia: government, leadership A word for administration, not for dynasty. Luke measures the arrival of the word of God by the accounting year of a foreign bureaucracy, which is exactly what a historian does and exactly what a court flatterer would not do.
ΤιβερίουTiberiouof TiberiusG5086
√ Τιβέριος — probably pertaining to the river Tiberis or TiberNounGenitive Masculine Singular
ΚαίσαροςKaisarosCaesarG2541
√ Καῖσαρ — Cæsar, a title of the Roman emperorNounGenitive Masculine Singular
ΠοντίουPontiou[while] PontiusG4194
√ Πόντιος — apparently bridgedNounGenitive Masculine Singular
ΠιλάτουPilatouPilateG4091
√ Πιλᾶτος — close-pressed, iNounGenitive Masculine Singular
ἡγεμονεύοντοςhēgemoneuontoswas governorG2230
√ ἡγεμονεύω — to act as rulerVerbPresent Participle ActiveGenitive Masculine Singular
hēgemoneuō: to act as ruler Present participle, genitive absolute. Cambridge notes that Pilate's strict title was epitropos, procurator, a word Luke never uses of him; hēgemōn is the broader term, and the broader term is the honest one for a man whose civil office in Judea also carried military command.
τῆςtēsG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Feminine Singular
ἸουδαίαςIoudaiasof JudeaG2449
√ Ἰουδαία — the Judæan land (iNounGenitive Feminine Singular
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἩρῴδουHērōdouHerodG2264
√ Ἡρώδης — heroicNounGenitive Masculine Singular
τετρααρχοῦντοςtetraarchountostetrarchG5075
√ τετραρχέω — to be a tetrarchVerbPresent Participle ActiveGenitive Masculine Singular
tetrarcheō: to be a tetrarch Herod the Great's kingdom was cut into parts at his death, and the participle keeps the wound open: no one in this verse holds what his father held. Maclaren reads the whole roster as a single image of a sunken nation.
τῆςtēsG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Feminine Singular
ΓαλιλαίαςGalilaiasof GalileeG1056
√ Γαλιλαία — Galilæa (iNounGenitive Feminine Singular
δὲdeG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
αὐτοῦautouhisG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
τοῦtouG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Singular
ἀδελφοῦadelphoubrotherG80
√ ἀδελφός — a brother (literally or figuratively) near or remote (much like G1 (Α))NounGenitive Masculine Singular
ΦιλίππουPhilippouPhilipG5376
√ Φίλιππος — fond of horsesNounGenitive Masculine Singular
τετρααρχοῦντοςtetraarchountostetrarchG5075
√ τετραρχέω — to be a tetrarchVerbPresent Participle ActiveGenitive Masculine Singular
τῆςtēsvvvG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Feminine Singular
χώραςchōrasvvvG5561
√ χώρα — room, iNounGenitive Feminine Singular
ἸτουραίαςItouraiasof IturaeaG2484
√ Ἰτουραΐα — Ituræa (iAdjectiveGenitive Feminine Singular
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ΤραχωνίτιδοςTrachōnitidosTrachonitisG5139
√ Τραχωνῖτις — rough districtNounGenitive Feminine Singular
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ΛυσανίουLysaniouLysaniasG3078
√ Λυσανίας — grief-dispellingNounGenitive Masculine Singular
Lysanias: grief-dispelling The most remote and least verifiable name in the list, ruler of a district on the eastern slope of Anti-Lebanon. Ellicott records that an inscription naming a Lysanias as tetrarch was found by Pococke in the seventeenth century, and that the name passed through two or three generations; Gill says plainly that who this Lysanias was is not certain. That Luke names him at all, with nothing in the Gospel happening there, is the mark of a writer using sources rather than inventing atmosphere.
τετρααρχοῦντοςtetraarchountostetrarchG5075
√ τετραρχέω — to be a tetrarchVerbPresent Participle ActiveGenitive Masculine Singular
τῆςtēsG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Feminine Singular
ἈβιληνῆςAbilēnēsof AbileneG9
√ Ἀβιληνή — Abilene, a region of SyriaNounGenitive Feminine Singular
2

during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

epi archiereōs Hanna kai Kaiapha rhēma Theou egeneto epi Iōannēn ton huion Zachariou en tē erēmō

Word by word16 · parsed
ἐπὶepiduringG1909
√ ἐπί — properly, meaning superimposition (of time, place, order, etcPreposition
ἀρχιερέωςarchiereōs[the] high priesthoodG749
√ ἀρχιερεύς — the high-priest (literally, of the Jews, typically, Christ)NounGenitive Masculine Singular
archiereus: the high priest One office, two occupants, and every commentator in the brief admits the difficulty. Gill goes furthest, arguing from Maimonides that there can be only one high priest in all the world and that Annas must therefore have been the Sagan, the priest's deputy. The text does not settle it. What it does establish is that the sacred office had become a thing the occupying power could appoint and depose.
ἍνναHannaof AnnasG452
√ Ἄννας — Annas (iNounGenitive Masculine Singular
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ΚαϊάφαKaiaphaCaiaphasG2533
√ Καϊάφας — the dellNounGenitive Masculine Singular
ῥῆμαrhēma[the] wordG4487
√ ῥῆμα — an utterance (individually, collectively or specially),NounNominative Neuter Singular
rhēma: an utterance The only nominative subject in the two-verse synchronism. Emperor, procurator, three tetrarchs and two high priests are all in oblique cases, circumstances of dating; the utterance of God is the thing that acts. Luke has built the sentence so that the grammar makes the theological point before any commentary can.
ΘεοῦTheouof GodG2316
√ θεός — figuratively, a magistrateNounGenitive Masculine Singular
ἐγένετοegenetocameG1096
√ γίνομαι — to cause to be ("gen"-erate), iVerbAorist Indicative Middle3rd Person Singular
ginomai: to come to be Aorist middle indicative. With epi and a person this is the fixed Septuagint idiom of the prophetic commission, the phrase that opens Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea and Haggai. JFB, following Olshausen, notes the sharp contrast: such formulas are never used of Jesus, because in Him the divine nature was not visiting at intervals.
ἐπὶepitoG1909
√ ἐπί — properly, meaning superimposition (of time, place, order, etcPreposition
epi: upon Not pros (toward) but epi (upon): the preposition of descent and pressure.
ἸωάννηνIōannēnJohnG2491
√ Ἰωάννης — Joannes (iNounAccusative Masculine Singular
τὸνtonG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
υἱὸνhuionsonG5207
√ υἱός — a "son" (sometimes of animals), used very widely of immediate, remote or figuratively, kinshipNounAccusative Masculine Singular
ΖαχαρίουZachariouof ZechariahG2197
√ Ζαχαρίας — Zacharias (iNounGenitive Masculine Singular
ἐνeninG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
τῇtētheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Feminine Singular
ἐρήμῳerēmōwildernessG2048
√ ἔρημος — desert, desolate, solitary, wildernessAdjectiveDative Feminine Singular
erēmos: wilderness, desolate place Not a stage set. The word of God bypasses the temple where Zechariah served, bypasses both men called high priest, and falls in the emptiest place named in the chapter, on a priest's son who is not serving at the altar.
3

He went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Kai ēlthen eis pasan tēn perichōron tou Iordanou kēryssōn baptisma metanoias eis aphesin hamartiōn

Word by word14 · parsed
ΚαὶKaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἦλθενēlthenHe wentG2064
√ ἔρχομαι — to come or go (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
εἰςeisintoG1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
πᾶσανpasanallG3956
√ πᾶς — all, any, every, the wholeAdjectiveAccusative Feminine Singular
τὴνtēntheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Feminine Singular
περίχωρονperichōronregion aroundG4066
√ περίχωρος — around the region, iAdjectiveAccusative Feminine Singular
perichōros: the region around An adjective used as a noun: the circuit. Cambridge notes that Luke alone records John's mission journeys, where Matthew and Mark have the crowds streaming out to him. The difference is characteristic: Luke's Baptist moves toward people.
τοῦtoutheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Singular
ἸορδάνουIordanouJordanG2446
√ Ἰορδάνης — the Jordanes (iNounGenitive Masculine Singular
κηρύσσωνkēryssōnpreachingG2784
√ κηρύσσω — to herald (as a public crier), especially divine truth (the gospel)VerbPresent Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
kēryssō: to herald as a public crier Present participle, continuous action alongside the going. The herald's verb prepares verse 4: a voice is precisely what a herald is.
βάπτισμαbaptismaa baptismG908
√ βάπτισμα — baptism (technically or figuratively)NounAccusative Neuter Singular
μετανοίαςmetanoiasof repentanceG3341
√ μετάνοια — (subjectively) compunction (for guilt, including reformation)NounGenitive Feminine Singular
metanoia: change of mind, compunction with reform The governing genitive: not baptism plus repentance but a baptism of repentance, a rite that is nothing but the confession its subject makes. Benson reads it as an outward and visible sign of full remission; Poole reads it as an external sign and symbol of repentance itself. Both readings are in the brief, and the Greek genitive supports either.
εἰςeisforG1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
ἄφεσινaphesin[the] forgivenessG859
√ ἄφεσις — freedomNounAccusative Feminine Singular
aphesis: release, freedom The word Luke will put in Jesus' mouth at Nazareth for release to the captives. Here it is what the baptism points toward, not what the water accomplishes.
ἁμαρτιῶνhamartiōnof sinsG266
√ ἁμαρτία — a sin (properly abstract)NounGenitive Feminine Plural
hamartia: a sin Plural genitive: release of sins, not of sin in the abstract. The plural sets up the itemized answers of verses 11 to 14.
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.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

hōs gegraptai en biblō logōn tou Ēsaiou prophētou Phōnē boōntos en tē erēmō Hetoimasate tēn hodon Kyriou poieite eutheias tas tribous autou

Word by word22 · parsed
ὡςhōsasG5613
√ ὡς — which how, iAdverb
γέγραπταιgegraptaiit is writtenG1125
√ γράφω — to "grave", especially to writeVerbPerfect Indicative Middle or Passive3rd Person Singular
graphō: to grave, to write Perfect indicative passive. This is the strongest citation formula available to Luke, and it is why the Isaiah link in this unit is a quotation and not an echo. Our thread for Isaiah 40:3-5 is nonetheless tiered structural, because the refs cross the Testaments and no shared Strong's lexeme can be computed between Greek and Hebrew.
ἐνeninG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
βίβλῳbiblō[the] bookG976
√ βίβλος — bookNounDative Feminine Singular
biblos: book Luke alone says "the book of the words of Isaiah," where Matthew and Mark name the prophet only. A small thing, and of a piece with a writer who has just dated his narrative by six rulers.
λόγωνlogōnof [the] wordsG3056
√ λόγος — something said (including the thought)NounGenitive Masculine Plural
τοῦtouG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Singular
ἨσαΐουĒsaiouof IsaiahG2268
√ Ἡσαΐας — Hesaias (iNounGenitive Masculine Singular
προφήτουprophētou[the] prophetG4396
√ προφήτης — a foreteller ("prophet")NounGenitive Masculine Singular
ΦωνὴPhōnē[A] voiceG5456
√ φωνή — a tone (articulate, bestial or artificial)NounNominative Feminine Singular
βοῶντοςboōntosof one callingG994
√ βοάω — to halloo, iVerbPresent Participle ActiveGenitive Masculine Singular
boaō: to halloo, to cry aloud Present participle, genitive: the voice belongs to one who is shouting, continuously. John's whole identity in the Fourth Gospel is compressed into this participle, and the brief records Cambridge's note that the Latin tag vox clamantis in deserto comes from here.
ἐνeninG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
τῇtētheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Feminine Singular
ἐρήμῳerēmōwildernessG2048
√ ἔρημος — desert, desolate, solitary, wildernessAdjectiveDative Feminine Singular
ἙτοιμάσατεHetoimasatePrepareG2090
√ ἑτοιμάζω — to prepareVerbAorist Imperative Active2nd Person Plural
hetoimazō: to prepare Aorist imperative active, second person plural. The command is issued to a crowd, not to the Lord and not to the herald. Poole's image of the pioneer who fills ditches and throws down hills is the plain sense, and it makes the road work a work done in people.
τὴνtēntheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Feminine Singular
ὁδὸνhodonwayG3598
√ ὁδός — a roadNounAccusative Feminine Singular
ΚυρίουKyrioufor [the] LordG2962
√ κύριος — supreme in authority, iNounGenitive Masculine Singular
kyrios: supreme in authority Anarthrous, standing where Isaiah's Hebrew has the divine name. Everything the unit will later say about the stronger one who baptizes with the Spirit is already latent here, and we leave it latent.
ποιεῖτεpoieitemakeG4160
√ ποιέω — to make or do (in a very wide application, more or less direct)VerbPresent Imperative Active2nd Person Plural
εὐθείαςeutheiasstraightG2117
√ εὐθύς — straight, iAdjectiveAccusative Feminine Plural
τὰςtasG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Feminine Plural
τρίβουςtribouspathsG5147
√ τρίβος — akin to , , and the base of G5131 (τράγος), G5134 (τραῦμα))NounAccusative Feminine Plural
tribos: a beaten path Not hodos (road) but a track worn by traffic. The pairing of the broad way and the worn paths is Isaiah's, kept by Luke.
αὐτοῦautoufor HimG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
5

Every valley shall be filled in, and every mountain and hill made low. The crooked ways shall be made straight, and the rough ways smooth.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

pasa pharanx plērōthēsetai kai pan oros kai bounos tapeinōthēsetai kai ta skolia estai eis eutheian kai hai tracheiai hodous eis leias

Word by word21 · parsed
πᾶσαpasaEveryG3956
√ πᾶς — all, any, every, the wholeAdjectiveNominative Feminine Singular
φάραγξpharanxvalleyG5327
√ φάραγξ — a gap or chasm, iNounNominative Feminine Singular
pharanx: a gap or chasm A rare word in the New Testament, and Luke's choice for Isaiah's depression in the ground. Ellicott, reading the whole verse against the Baptist's ministry, takes the filled ravine as the lowly and penitent receiving pardon; Gill reads it as the depressed in conscience raised and filled with consolation. Both are figural readings offered as such.
πληρωθήσεταιplērōthēsetaishall be filled inG4137
√ πληρόω — to make replete, iVerbFuture Indicative Passive3rd Person Singular
plēroō: to make replete, to fill Future passive. The passives are the point: the imperative of verse 4 tells people to prepare a road, and verse 5 tells them who will actually move the earth.
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
πᾶνpaneveryG3956
√ πᾶς — all, any, every, the wholeAdjectiveNominative Neuter Singular
ὄροςorosmountainG3735
√ ὄρος — perhaps akin to G142 (αἴρω)NounNominative Neuter Singular
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
βουνὸςbounoshillG1015
√ βουνός — a hillockNounNominative Masculine Singular
ταπεινωθήσεταιtapeinōthēsetaimade lowG5013
√ ταπεινόω — to depressVerbFuture Indicative Passive3rd Person Singular
tapeinoō: to depress, to bring low The verb of humbling. It is the same root Mary sang at Luke 1:52 of the mighty put down from their seats, and here it falls on mountains in a chapter that opened by naming six men in power. Cambridge points to Isaiah 2:12-15 for the same pairing of the day of the Lord with everything lofty.
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
τὰtaTheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Neuter Plural
σκολιὰskoliacrooked [ways]G4646
√ σκολιός — warped, iAdjectiveNominative Neuter Plural
skolios: warped, crooked Neuter plural substantive. Pulpit records Godet's cautious application of each clause to a class (Pharisaic pride as the mountain, publican fraud as the crooked), and is careful to say the commentators suggest but do not press it. We record it the same way.
ἔσταιestaishall be madeG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbFuture Indicative Middle3rd Person Singular
εἰςeis. . .G1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
εὐθείανeutheianstraightG2117
√ εὐθύς — straight, iAdjectiveAccusative Feminine Singular
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
αἱhaitheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Feminine Plural
τραχεῖαιtracheiairoughG5138
√ τραχύς — uneven, rocky (reefy)AdjectiveNominative Feminine Plural
trachys: uneven, rocky Luke's only other use is of a shoreline in Acts. The road imagery is not decorative; it is the language of men who have actually been stopped by terrain.
ὁδοὺςhodouswaysG3598
√ ὁδός — a roadNounAccusative Feminine Plural
εἰςeisG1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
λείαςleiassmoothG3006
√ λεῖος — smooth, iAdjectiveAccusative Feminine Plural
6

And all humanity will see God’s salvation.’”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

kai pasa sarx opsetai to tou Theou sōtērion

Word by word8 · parsed
καὶkaiAndG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
πᾶσαpasaallG3956
√ πᾶς — all, any, every, the wholeAdjectiveNominative Feminine Singular
σὰρξsarxhumanityG4561
√ σάρξ — flesh (as stripped of the skin), iNounNominative Feminine Singular
sarx: flesh Universal, and Gentile-inclusive. Cambridge observes that Luke alone carries the quotation this far, and that doing so is characteristic of his object. This single verse is the reason the Isaiah citation in this unit is longer here than in Matthew or Mark, and it is the hinge of Luke's Gentile-facing Gospel.
ὄψεταιopsetaiwill seeG3708
√ ὁράω — by extension, to attend toVerbFuture Indicative Middle3rd Person Singular
horaō: to see, to attend to Future middle indicative: shall see for itself, with Strong's noting that the root extends to attending to rather than merely registering. Luke has already paired this verb with this object once, on Simeon's lips at Luke 2:30, where an old man's eyes had seen the same neuter sōtērion; here the same seeing is promised to every creature of flesh. The promise is therefore not that salvation will be visible but that it will be witnessed, which is what a Gospel written for a Gentile reader has to establish before it can begin.
τὸtoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Neuter Singular
τοῦtouG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Singular
ΘεοῦTheouGod’sG2316
√ θεός — figuratively, a magistrateNounGenitive Masculine Singular
σωτήριονsōtērionsalvationG4992
√ σωτήριον — defender or (by implication) defenceAdjectiveAccusative Neuter Singular
sōtērion: defender, means of defence Neuter substantive, deliberately concrete. JFB notes that the wording follows the Septuagint of Isaiah 40:5, where the Hebrew reads that the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together. Luke's line is therefore a quotation of the Greek Bible, and the difference from the Hebrew is real; we flag it in the threads rather than paper over it.
7

Then John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

oun Elegen tois ochlois ekporeuomenois baptisthēnai hyp’ autou Gennēmata echidnōn tis hypedeixen hymin phygein apo tēs mellousēs orgēs

Word by word18 · parsed
οὖνounThenG3767
√ οὖν — (adverbially) certainly, or (conjunctionally) accordinglyConjunction
ἜλεγενElegen[John] saidG2036
√ ἔπω — to speak or say (by word or writing)VerbImperfect Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
epō: to speak, to say Imperfect indicative. Repeated, customary speech to successive crowds. The same imperfect governs the questions in verses 10 and 14, so the whole scene is a standing practice, not one day by the river.
τοῖςtoisto theG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Masculine Plural
ὄχλοιςochloiscrowdsG3793
√ ὄχλος — a throng (as borne along)NounDative Masculine Plural
ἐκπορευομένοιςekporeuomenoiscoming outG1607
√ ἐκπορεύομαι — to depart, be discharged, proceed, projectVerbPresent Participle Middle or PassiveDative Masculine Plural
ekporeuomai: to depart, to proceed out Present participle: they were in the act of coming out when he said it. They had not yet been baptized, which is why the rebuke is not hypocrisy on his part but triage.
βαπτισθῆναιbaptisthēnaito be baptizedG907
√ βαπτίζω — to immerse, submergeVerbAorist Infinitive Passive
ὑπ’hyp’byG5259
√ ὑπό — under, iPreposition
αὐτοῦautouhimG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
ΓεννήματαGennēmataYou broodG1081
√ γέννημα — offspringNounVocative Neuter Plural
gennēma: offspring An attack on pedigree, placed one verse before the pedigree defence "we have Abraham as father." Cambridge records that Matthew reports these words as aimed at Pharisees and Sadducees, and warns that only teachers of transcendent holiness may dare such language.
ἐχιδνῶνechidnōnof vipersG2191
√ ἔχιδνα — an adder or other poisonous snake (literally or figuratively)NounGenitive Feminine Plural
τίςtiswhoG5101
√ τίς — an interrogative pronoun, who, which or what (in direct or indirect questions)Interrogative / Indefinite PronounNominative Masculine Singular
ὑπέδειξενhypedeixenwarnedG5263
√ ὑποδείκνυμι — to exhibit under the eyes, iVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
hypodeiknymi: to exhibit under the eyes Aorist. The verb of a private tip-off. The Verifier's candidate list marks it as rare, six verses in all, and it is shared with Matthew 3:7.
ὑμῖνhyminyouG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounDative 2nd Person Plural
φυγεῖνphygeinto fleeG5343
√ φεύγω — to run away (literally or figuratively)VerbAorist Infinitive Active
ἀπὸapofromG575
√ ἀπό — "off," iPreposition
τῆςtēstheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Feminine Singular
μελλούσηςmellousēscomingG3195
√ μέλλω — to intend, iVerbPresent Participle ActiveGenitive Feminine Singular
mellō: to be about to Present participle, attributive. Cambridge connects the phrase to the rabbinic expectation of the Woes of the Messiah, citing Malachi 3:2 and Malachi 4:1. That is the sourced background of our thread on the coming wrath.
ὀργῆςorgēswrathG3709
√ ὀργή — properly, desire (as a reaching forth or excitement of the mind), iNounGenitive Feminine Singular
orgē: settled anger Strong's traces the root to a reaching forth, an excitement of mind, then to settled indignation. It is not a flare of temper but a disposition already fixed toward what is coming.
8

Produce fruit, then, in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

poiēsate karpous oun axious tēs metanoias kai mē arxēsthe legein en heautois echomen ton Abraam Patera gar legō hymin hoti ek toutōn tōn lithōn ho Theos dynatai egeirai tekna tō Abraam

Word by word31 · parsed
ποιήσατεpoiēsateProduceG4160
√ ποιέω — to make or do (in a very wide application, more or less direct)VerbAorist Imperative Active2nd Person Plural
poieō: to make or do Aorist imperative plural. The same verb returns in the crowd's question (verse 10), the tax collectors' question (verse 12), the soldiers' question (verse 14) and the command to the man with food (verse 11). The unit is held together by one ordinary verb: what shall we do, and do this.
καρποὺςkarpousfruitG2590
√ καρπός — fruit (as plucked), literally or figurativelyNounAccusative Masculine Plural
οὖνounthenG3767
√ οὖν — (adverbially) certainly, or (conjunctionally) accordinglyConjunction
ἀξίουςaxiousin keeping withG514
√ ἄξιος — deserving, comparable or suitable (as if drawing praise)AdjectiveAccusative Masculine Plural
axios: of like weight, deserving The weighing metaphor is the whole ethic of verses 10 to 14: a repentance that does not balance is not repentance.
τῆςtēsG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Feminine Singular
μετανοίαςmetanoiasrepentanceG3341
√ μετάνοια — (subjectively) compunction (for guilt, including reformation)NounGenitive Feminine Singular
καὶkaiAndG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
μὴmē{do} notG3361
√ μή — (adverb) not, (conjunction) lestAdverb
ἄρξησθεarxēsthebeginG756
√ ἄρχομαι — to commence (in order of time)VerbAorist Subjunctive Middle2nd Person Plural
archomai: to commence Aorist subjunctive middle with the prohibitive negative. Maclaren records the rabbinic doctrine of the merits of the fathers, and notes that every prophet before John found the edge of his warnings turned by the settled belief that judgment was for the Gentile only.
λέγεινlegeinto sayG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Infinitive Active
ἐνentoG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
ἑαυτοῖςheautoisyourselvesG1438
√ ἑαυτοῦ — him- (her-, it-, them-, also (in conjunction with the personal pronoun of the other persons) my-, thy-, our-, your-) self (selves), etcReflexive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
ἔχομενechomenWe haveG2192
√ ἔχω — to hold (used in very various applications, literally or figuratively, direct or remoteVerbPresent Indicative Active1st Person Plural
τὸνtonG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
ἈβραάμAbraamAbrahamG11
√ Ἀβραάμ — Abraham, the Hebrew patriarchNounAccusative Masculine Singular
ΠατέραPatera[as our] fatherG3962
√ πατήρ — a "father" (literally or figuratively, near or more remote)NounAccusative Masculine Singular
γὰρgarForG1063
√ γάρ — properly, assigning a reason (used in argument, explanation or intensificationConjunction
λέγωlegōI tellG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Indicative Active1st Person Singular
ὑμῖνhyminyouG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounDative 2nd Person Plural
ὅτιhotithatG3754
√ ὅτι — demonstrative, that (sometimes redundant)Conjunction
ἐκekout ofG1537
√ ἐκ — literal or figurativePreposition
τούτωνtoutōntheseG3778
√ οὗτος — the he (she or it), iDemonstrative PronounGenitive Masculine Plural
τῶνtōnG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Plural
λίθωνlithōnstonesG3037
√ λίθος — a stone (literally or figuratively)NounGenitive Masculine Plural
lithos: a stone Cambridge takes John to be pointing at the boulders or flints on the strand of Jordan. Gill hears behind it Isaiah 51:1-2, the rock from which you were hewn, which in Isaiah is Abraham himself. If Gill is right, the taunt is exact: the stones of the riverbed can do for God what the rock Abraham did.
ὁhoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ΘεὸςTheosGodG2316
√ θεός — figuratively, a magistrateNounNominative Masculine Singular
δύναταιdynataicanG1410
√ δύναμαι — to be able or possibleVerbPresent Indicative Middle or Passive3rd Person Singular
ἐγεῖραιegeirairaise upG1453
√ ἐγείρω — to waken (transitively or intransitively), iVerbAorist Infinitive Active
egeirō: to waken, to raise Aorist infinitive active. The claim is creation out of nothing, and Cambridge cites Bengel's form of it: He who had made Adam from the clay could make sons of Abraham from those stones.
τέκναteknachildrenG5043
√ τέκνον — a child (as produced)NounAccusative Neuter Plural
τῷtōG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Masculine Singular
ἈβραάμAbraamfor AbrahamG11
√ Ἀβραάμ — Abraham, the Hebrew patriarchNounDative Masculine Singular
Abraam: Abraham Named twice in one verse, first as the defence and then as the man whose children God will supply without the defendants. The repetition is the argument.
9

The axe lies ready at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

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Greek — tap a word ↓

hē axinē de kai ēdē keitai pros tēn rhizan tōn dendrōn oun pan dendron mē poioun kalon karpon ekkoptetai kai balletai eis pyr

Word by word23 · parsed
ἡhēTheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Feminine Singular
ἀξίνηaxinēaxeG513
√ ἀξίνη — compare G4486 (ῥήγνυμι))NounNominative Feminine Singular
axinē: axe Two verses in the New Testament, this and Matthew 3:10. The Verifier scores the pair on the strength of exactly this word, and that rarity is why the Matthew thread can honestly carry a verbal tier while every Old Testament thread in this unit cannot.
δὲdevvvG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
καὶkaivvvG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἤδηēdēvvvG2235
√ ἤδη — even nowAdverb
ēdē: even now, already A small adverb doing the heaviest work in the verse. Not that the axe will come, but that it is already where it needs to be.
κεῖταιkeitailies readyG2749
√ κεῖμαι — to lie outstretched (literally or figuratively)VerbPresent Indicative Middle or Passive3rd Person Singular
keimai: to lie outstretched Present indicative. Cambridge's image of the woodman sighting his blow along the trunk is the right one: nothing is moving yet, and everything is in place.
πρὸςprosatG4314
√ πρός — a preposition of directionPreposition
τὴνtēntheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Feminine Singular
ῥίζανrhizanrootG4491
√ ῥίζα — a "root" (literally or figuratively)NounAccusative Feminine Singular
rhiza: a root The target has shifted from the fruit (verse 8) to the root, that is, from what a man produces to what he descends from. Gill reads the root as Jesse's family, Jerusalem, and the whole ground of Jewish boasting; the Pulpit Commentary reads it as the tree of Israel with the fatal blow forty years off.
τῶνtōnof theG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Neuter Plural
δένδρωνdendrōntreesG1186
√ δένδρον — a treeNounGenitive Neuter Plural
οὖνounandG3767
√ οὖν — (adverbially) certainly, or (conjunctionally) accordinglyConjunction
πᾶνpaneveryG3956
√ πᾶς — all, any, every, the wholeAdjectiveNominative Neuter Singular
δένδρονdendrontreeG1186
√ δένδρον — a treeNounNominative Neuter Singular
μὴmēvvvG3361
√ μή — (adverb) not, (conjunction) lestAdverb
ποιοῦνpoiounthat does not produceG4160
√ ποιέω — to make or do (in a very wide application, more or less direct)VerbPresent Participle ActiveNominative Neuter Singular
καλὸνkalongoodG2570
√ καλός — X better, fair, good(-ly), honest, meet, well, worthyAdjectiveAccusative Masculine Singular
καρπὸνkarponfruitG2590
√ καρπός — fruit (as plucked), literally or figurativelyNounAccusative Masculine Singular
karpos: fruit The link back to verse 8: fruit worthy of repentance, and now the tree that has none. The same noun binds the demand and the threat.
ἐκκόπτεταιekkoptetaiwill be cut downG1581
√ ἐκκόπτω — to exscindVerbPresent Indicative Middle or Passive3rd Person Singular
ekkoptō: to cut out, to excise Present indicative middle or passive. The tense is the point; see the divergence note. Cambridge, honestly, enters the counterweight against his own reading, that prophetic imagery leaves a stump in the tender grass and that Paul denies the olive tree of Jewish life was to be burned for ever.
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
βάλλεταιballetaithrownG906
√ βάλλω — to throw (in various applications, more or less violent or intense)VerbPresent Indicative Middle or Passive3rd Person Singular
εἰςeisintoG1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
πῦρpyr[the] fireG4442
√ πῦρ — "fire" (literally or figuratively, specially, lightning)NounAccusative Neuter Singular
10

The crowds asked him, “What then should we do?”

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Greek — tap a word ↓

hoi ochloi Kai epērōtōn auton legontes Ti oun poiēsōmen

Word by word9 · parsed
οἱhoiTheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Plural
ὄχλοιochloicrowdsG3793
√ ὄχλος — a throng (as borne along)NounNominative Masculine Plural
ΚαὶKaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἐπηρώτωνepērōtōnaskedG1905
√ ἐπερωτάω — to ask for, iVerbImperfect Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
eperōtaō: to ask for, to question Imperfect indicative active, third plural. The same imperfect returns at verse 14 for the soldiers. Luke is describing a practice, a queue of people with the same question, which is why Ellicott calls it guidance for the conscience and the Pulpit Commentary, following Godet, calls it the confessional after preaching.
αὐτὸνautonhimG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
λέγοντεςlegontesG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Plural
ΤίTiWhatG5101
√ τίς — an interrogative pronoun, who, which or what (in direct or indirect questions)Interrogative / Indefinite PronounAccusative Neuter Singular
οὖνounthenG3767
√ οὖν — (adverbially) certainly, or (conjunctionally) accordinglyConjunction
oun: therefore, accordingly The logical hinge of the unit. Everything ethical in verses 11 to 14 hangs off this inference from the axe.
ποιήσωμενpoiēsōmenshould we doG4160
√ ποιέω — to make or do (in a very wide application, more or less direct)VerbAorist Subjunctive Active1st Person Plural
poieō: to make or do Aorist subjunctive, deliberative. This verb has already been the imperative of verse 8 (make fruits) and will be the answer in verse 11 (let him do likewise). John's demand and the crowd's question use the same word, which is why the answers can be so plain.
11

John replied, “Whoever has two tunics should share with him who has none, and whoever has food should do the same.”

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Greek — tap a word ↓

de Apokritheis elegen autois Ho echōn dyo chitōnas metadotō tō echonti mē kai ho echōn brōmata poieitō homoiōs

Word by word18 · parsed
δὲdeG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
ἈποκριθεὶςApokritheis[John] repliedG611
√ ἀποκρίνομαι — to conclude for oneself, iVerbAorist Participle PassiveNominative Masculine Singular
apokrinomai: to conclude for oneself, to answer Aorist passive participle in form, with an active sense, the ordinary Septuagint idiom for opening a reply.
ἔλεγενelegen. . .G2036
√ ἔπω — to speak or say (by word or writing)VerbImperfect Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
αὐτοῖςautois. . .G846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
ὉHoWhoeverG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ἔχωνechōnhasG2192
√ ἔχω — to hold (used in very various applications, literally or figuratively, direct or remoteVerbPresent Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
δύοdyotwoG1417
√ δύο — "two"AdjectiveAccusative Masculine Plural
χιτῶναςchitōnastunicsG5509
√ χιτών — a tunic or shirtNounAccusative Masculine Plural
chitōn: a tunic worn next to the skin The undergarment, not the cloak. What John asks for is the thing one would least readily part with and least be seen giving, which is why the example works: charity here costs privacy as well as property.
μεταδότωmetadotōshould share withG3330
√ μεταδίδωμι — to give over, iVerbAorist Imperative Active3rd Person Singular
metadidōmi: to give over, to share out Third person aorist imperative. Cambridge lists Paul at 2 Corinthians 8:13-15, James 2:15-17 and 1 John 3:17 as the apostolic continuation of the same command, and observes that all three learnt the spirit from Christ. Ellicott states the diagnosis behind the remedy: selfishness was the root of evil, and it was to be conquered not by religious emotions only but by acts.
τῷtōhimG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Masculine Singular
ἔχοντιechontiwho hasG2192
√ ἔχω — to hold (used in very various applications, literally or figuratively, direct or remoteVerbPresent Participle ActiveDative Masculine Singular
μὴmēnoneG3361
√ μή — (adverb) not, (conjunction) lestAdverb
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ὁhowhoeverG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ἔχωνechōnhasG2192
√ ἔχω — to hold (used in very various applications, literally or figuratively, direct or remoteVerbPresent Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
βρώματαbrōmatafoodG1033
√ βρῶμα — food (literally or figuratively), especially (ceremonially) articles allowed or forbidden by the Jewish lawNounAccusative Neuter Plural
brōma: food Plural. Ordinary, itemizable, perishable. This is what "fruit worthy of repentance" turns out to mean when a real person asks what to do.
ποιείτωpoieitōshould doG4160
√ ποιέω — to make or do (in a very wide application, more or less direct)VerbPresent Imperative Active3rd Person Singular
ὁμοίωςhomoiōsthe sameG3668
√ ὁμοίως — similarlyAdverb
homoiōs: similarly The single adverb that generalises the rule beyond clothing and food without stating a principle. John refuses to give a maxim; he gives two examples and a "likewise."
12

Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”

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Greek — tap a word ↓

de kai telōnai Ēlthon baptisthēnai Didaskale kai eipan pros auton ti poiēsōmen

Word by word12 · parsed
δὲdeG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
καὶkaiEvenG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
τελῶναιtelōnaitax collectorsG5057
√ τελώνης — a tax-farmer, iNounNominative Masculine Plural
telōnēs: a tax-farmer Cambridge explains the mechanism: Rome did not collect its own taxes but leased them to speculators of the equestrian order, who hired subordinates from the lowest of the people. The hatred was therefore double, for the system and for the men. Barnes adds that they had every opportunity of exacting more than was due and often did.
ἮλθονĒlthoncameG2064
√ ἔρχομαι — to come or go (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
βαπτισθῆναιbaptisthēnaito be baptizedG907
√ βαπτίζω — to immerse, submergeVerbAorist Infinitive Passive
baptizō: to immerse Aorist passive infinitive of purpose: they came in order to be immersed. They come asking for the rite and leave with an instruction about their books.
ΔιδάσκαλεDidaskaleTeacherG1320
√ διδάσκαλος — an instructor (genitive case or specially)NounVocative Masculine Singular
didaskalos: an instructor Vocative. The address is respectful and unembarrassed, and John does not correct it.
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
εἶπανeipanthey askedG2036
√ ἔπω — to speak or say (by word or writing)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
πρὸςprosG4314
√ πρός — a preposition of directionPreposition
αὐτόνautonG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
τίtiwhatG5101
√ τίς — an interrogative pronoun, who, which or what (in direct or indirect questions)Interrogative / Indefinite PronounAccusative Neuter Singular
ποιήσωμενpoiēsōmenshould we doG4160
√ ποιέω — to make or do (in a very wide application, more or less direct)VerbAorist Subjunctive Active1st Person Plural
poieō: to make or do The same deliberative subjunctive as the crowd's in verse 10 and the soldiers' in verse 14. Three classes, one question, three concrete answers: Luke has built the section so that the reader cannot mistake repentance for an emotion.
13

“Collect no more than you are authorized,” he answered.

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Greek — tap a word ↓

prassete Mēden pleon para to hymin diatetagmenon de Ho eipen pros autous

Word by word12 · parsed
πράσσετεprasseteCollectG4238
√ πράσσω — to "practise", iVerbPresent Imperative Active2nd Person Plural
prassō: to practise, to exact Present imperative. The verb of doing business, and with money as its object it is the standing Greek word for levying. John leaves them in the trade and regulates the trade.
ΜηδὲνMēdennoG3367
√ μηδείς — not even one (man, woman, thing)AdjectiveAccusative Neuter Singular
πλέονpleonmore thanG4119
√ πλείων — more in quantity, number, or qualityAdjectiveAccusative Neuter SingularComparative
pleiōn: more in quantity Comparative. The whole moral content of the answer is in a comparative adjective: not a new standard, just the existing one honestly applied.
παρὰpara. . .G3844
√ παρά — properly, nearPreposition
τὸtoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Neuter Singular
ὑμῖνhyminyouG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounDative 2nd Person Plural
διατεταγμένονdiatetagmenonare authorizedG1299
√ διατάσσω — to arrange thoroughly, iVerbPerfect Participle Middle or PassiveAccusative Neuter Singular
diatassō: to arrange thoroughly Perfect passive participle. The rate stands settled by an authority outside the collector, which is why the sin is theft rather than mere greed. Gill documents from the Talmud and Maimonides that the Jewish courts drew the same line: a collector with a fixed assessment was not a robber, one who took what he pleased was.
δὲdeG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
ὉHoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
εἶπενeipenhe answeredG2036
√ ἔπω — to speak or say (by word or writing)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
epō: to speak or say Aorist. Against the imperfects of the questions, the answer is a single settled reply.
πρὸςprosG4314
√ πρός — a preposition of directionPreposition
αὐτούςautousG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
14

Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” “Do not take money by force or false accusation,” he said. “Be content with your wages.”

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Greek — tap a word ↓

de kai strateuomenoi Epērōtōn auton legontes kai Ti hēmeis poiēsōmen diaseisēte Mēdena mēde sykophantēsēte Kai eipen autois kai arkeisthe hymōn tois opsōniois

Word by word22 · parsed
δὲdeThenG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
καὶkai. . .G2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
στρατευόμενοιstrateuomenoi[some] soldiersG4754
√ στρατεύομαι — to serve in a military campaignVerbPresent Participle MiddleNominative Masculine Plural
strateuomai: to serve in a military campaign Present middle participle. Cambridge and the Pulpit Commentary disagree with Ellicott about who these men were and where they were going, and the Pulpit Commentary says the question is of little moment. The text names no army, and neither do we.
ἘπηρώτωνEpērōtōnaskedG1905
√ ἐπερωτάω — to ask for, iVerbImperfect Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
eperōtaō: to question Imperfect again, as at verse 10: successive detachments, not one squad.
αὐτὸνautonhimG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
λέγοντεςlegontesG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Plural
καὶkaiAndG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ΤίTiwhatG5101
√ τίς — an interrogative pronoun, who, which or what (in direct or indirect questions)Interrogative / Indefinite PronounAccusative Neuter Singular
ἡμεῖςhēmeisvvvG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounNominative 1st Person Plural
ποιήσωμενpoiēsōmenshould we doG4160
√ ποιέω — to make or do (in a very wide application, more or less direct)VerbAorist Subjunctive Active1st Person Plural
διασείσητεdiaseisēteDo not take money by forceG1286
√ διασείω — to shake thoroughly, iVerbAorist Subjunctive Active2nd Person Plural
diaseiō: to shake thoroughly Aorist subjunctive with the prohibitive negative. The technical word for shaking down civilians. Cambridge points to the sixteenth satire of Juvenal, aimed at exactly this brutality, as the best commentary on the command.
ΜηδέναMēdena. . .G3367
√ μηδείς — not even one (man, woman, thing)AdjectiveAccusative Masculine Singular
μηδὲmēdeorG3366
√ μηδέ — but not, not evenConjunction
συκοφαντήσητεsykophantēsētefalse accusationG4811
√ συκοφαντέω — to be a fig-informer (reporter of the law forbidding the exportation of figs from Greece), "sycophant", iVerbAorist Subjunctive Active2nd Person Plural
sykophanteō: to play the fig-informer Two verses in the New Testament: this and Luke 19:8, where Zacchaeus offers fourfold restitution for anything taken this way. Luke has used a very rare verb once as prohibition and once as confession.
ΚαὶKaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
εἶπενeipenhe saidG2036
√ ἔπω — to speak or say (by word or writing)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
αὐτοῖςautois. . .G846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἀρκεῖσθεarkeistheBe content withG714
√ ἀρκέω — properly, to ward off, iVerbPresent Imperative Middle or Passive2nd Person Plural
arkeō: to ward off, to suffice Present imperative middle or passive: be sufficed. The root means to be enough, so the command is not to feel grateful but to treat what is given as adequate. JFB reads it as a warning against mutiny.
ὑμῶνhymōnyourG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 2nd Person Plural
τοῖςtoisG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Neuter Plural
ὀψωνίοιςopsōnioiswagesG3800
√ ὀψώνιον — rations for a soldier, iNounDative Neuter Plural
opsōnion: a soldier's rations The concrete noun behind the abstraction. Geneva notes that it was paid partly in money and partly in food, which is why translating it "wages" loses half of it.
15

The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John could be the Christ.

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Greek — tap a word ↓

de tou laou Prosdokōntos kai pantōn dialogizomenōn en autōn tais kardiais peri tou mē pote Iōannou autos eiē ho Christos

Word by word20 · parsed
δὲdeG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
τοῦtouTheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Singular
λαοῦlaoupeopleG2992
√ λαός — a people (in generalNounGenitive Masculine Singular
ΠροσδοκῶντοςProsdokōntoswere waiting expectantlyG4328
√ προσδοκάω — to anticipate (in thought, hope or fear)VerbPresent Participle ActiveGenitive Masculine Singular
prosdokaō: to anticipate in hope or fear Genitive absolute, present participle. The Pulpit Commentary records that this expectation was not confined to Palestine but reached the dispersed Jews and, through them, Gentiles; Cambridge says the same. Luke alone reports the crowd's suspicion about John, which is further evidence that his source for this chapter is not Matthew's or Mark's.
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
πάντωνpantōn{were} allG3956
√ πᾶς — all, any, every, the wholeAdjectiveGenitive Masculine Plural
διαλογιζομένωνdialogizomenōnwonderingG1260
√ διαλογίζομαι — to reckon thoroughly, iVerbPresent Participle Middle or PassiveGenitive Masculine Plural
dialogizomai: to reckon thoroughly, to debate The verb of internal argument. Luke places it "in their hearts," so the debate is unspoken and John answers it anyway, which Gill explains either by revelation or by report from his disciples. The text does not say.
ἐνeninG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
αὐτῶνautōntheirG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Plural
ταῖςtaisG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Feminine Plural
καρδίαιςkardiaisheartsG2588
√ καρδία — the heart, iNounDative Feminine Plural
kardia: the heart The seat of the reasoning, not of the feeling. In Luke, hearts are where arguments happen.
περὶperiG4012
√ περί — properly, through (all over), iPreposition
τοῦtouG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Singular
μή‿mēifG3361
√ μή — (adverb) not, (conjunction) lestAdverb
ποτεpote. . .G4219
√ πότε — interrogative adverb, at what timeConjunction
ἸωάννουIōannouJohnG2491
√ Ἰωάννης — Joannes (iNounGenitive Masculine Singular
αὐτὸςautosG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounNominative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
εἴηeiēcould beG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbPresent Optative Active3rd Person Singular
eimi: to be Present optative active, third singular. A mood of remoteness and hesitation, and one of very few optatives in the Gospels. The grammar marks the thought as tentative even before John refuses it.
ὁhotheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ΧριστόςChristosChristG5547
√ Χριστός — anointed, iNounNominative Masculine Singular
Christos: anointed With the article. Gill supplies the objection the crowd failed to raise: John was of the tribe of Levi, not of Judah, from which the Messiah was to spring. Poole adds the reasons they had for raising it anyway, the angel's word to Zechariah thirty years earlier and the events at the child's circumcision.
16

John answered all of them: “I baptize you with water, but One more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

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Greek — tap a word ↓

ho Iōannēs apekrinato pasin legōn Egō men baptizō hymas hydati de ho ischyroteros mou erchetai ton himanta tōn hou autou hypodēmatōn eimi ouk hikanos lysai autos baptisei hymas en Hagiō Pneumati kai pyri

Word by word33 · parsed
ὁhoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ἸωάννηςIōannēsJohnG2491
√ Ἰωάννης — Joannes (iNounNominative Masculine Singular
ἀπεκρίνατοapekrinatoansweredG611
√ ἀποκρίνομαι — to conclude for oneself, iVerbAorist Indicative Middle3rd Person Singular
πᾶσινpasinall of themG3956
√ πᾶς — all, any, every, the wholeAdjectiveDative Masculine Plural
pas: all Dative plural: he answered them all. Gill observes that the word is emphatic and present in all copies. The denial is public, not whispered to the curious.
λέγωνlegōnG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
ἘγὼEgōIG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounNominative 1st Person Singular
μὲνmenG3303
√ μέν — properly, indicative of affirmation or concession (in fact)Conjunction
βαπτίζωbaptizōbaptizeG907
√ βαπτίζω — to immerse, submergeVerbPresent Indicative Active1st Person Singular
ὑμᾶςhymasyouG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative 2nd Person Plural
ὕδατιhydatiwith waterG5204
√ ὕδωρ — water (as if rainy) literally or figurativelyNounDative Neuter Singular
hydōr: water A bare dative of means, with no preposition, against the en of the second half: John handles an instrument, the Coming One provides an element. Water is the only thing in the verse John commands, and it reaches only the outside, which is precisely the limitation he is conceding in public. Henry states the consequence plainly, that water washes off the dirt on the outside while fire clears out the dross within and melts the metal down to be cast in a new mould.
δὲdebutG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
ὁho[One]G3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ἰσχυρότερόςischyroterosmore powerfulG2478
√ ἰσχυρός — forcible (literally or figuratively)AdjectiveNominative Masculine SingularComparative
ischyros: forcible, strong Comparative with the article. JFB catches the tone: so far from laying claim to Messiahship, the meanest service he could render is too high an honour for him. Maclaren, on the same passage, notes how the man who stood erect before priests and tetrarchs lay prostrate before his King.
μουmouthan IG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 1st Person Singular
ἔρχεταιerchetaiwill comeG2064
√ ἔρχομαι — to come or go (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively)VerbPresent Indicative Middle or Passive3rd Person Singular
τὸνtontheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
ἱμάνταhimantastrapsG2438
√ ἱμάς — a strap, iNounAccusative Masculine Singular
τῶνtōnofG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Neuter Plural
οὗhouwhoseG3739
√ ὅς — the relatively (sometimes demonstrative) pronoun, who, which, what, thatPersonal / Relative PronounGenitive Masculine Singular
αὐτοῦautou. . .G846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
ὑποδημάτωνhypodēmatōnsandalsG5266
√ ὑπόδημα — something bound under the feet, iNounGenitive Neuter Plural
εἰμὶeimiI amG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbPresent Indicative Active1st Person Singular
οὐκouknotG3756
√ οὐ — the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverbAdverb
ἱκανὸςhikanosworthyG2425
√ ἱκανός — competent (as if coming in season), iAdjectiveNominative Masculine Singular
hikanos: competent, sufficient Not "worthy." See the divergence note; this is the single most commonly mistranslated word in the verse, and correcting it changes John's humility from self-abasement into accurate measurement.
λῦσαιlysaito untieG3089
√ λύω — to "loosen" (literally or figuratively)VerbAorist Infinitive Active
lyō: to loosen Aorist infinitive. The slave's task, and the one Mark adds a stooping to.
αὐτὸςautosHeG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounNominative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
βαπτίσειbaptiseiwill baptizeG907
√ βαπτίζω — to immerse, submergeVerbFuture Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
ὑμᾶςhymasyouG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative 2nd Person Plural
ἐνenwithG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
ἉγίῳHagiō[the] HolyG40
√ ἅγιος — sacred (physically, pure, morally blameless or religious, ceremonially, consecrated)AdjectiveDative Neuter Singular
ΠνεύματιPneumatiSpiritG4151
√ πνεῦμα — a current of air, iNounDative Neuter Singular
pneuma: a current of air, breath, Spirit With Hagios and governed by en. Cambridge lists Isaiah 44:3 and Joel 2:28 as the promises of this baptism and Acts 2:3 as its first visible fulfilment, adding that it is fulfilled without visible signs to all Christians.
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
πυρίpyriwith fireG4442
√ πῦρ — "fire" (literally or figuratively, specially, lightning)NounDative Neuter Singular
pyr: fire Governed by the same preposition as the Spirit, and therefore fused with it in the phrase. The brief's commentators divide: the Pulpit Commentary insists the fire is purifying, not punitive, and alien to the context otherwise; Cambridge reports Jerome's extension to fiery trial and the fire of judgment while declining to call it certain. The same noun appears over the chaff two verses later, and the text does not say whether it is the same fire.
17

His winnowing fork 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.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

hou to ptyon en autou tē cheiri diakatharai autou tēn halōna kai synagagein ton siton eis autou tēn apothēkēn de katakausei to achyron asbestō pyri

Word by word25 · parsed
οὗhou[His]G3739
√ ὅς — the relatively (sometimes demonstrative) pronoun, who, which, what, thatPersonal / Relative PronounGenitive Masculine Singular
τὸtoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Neuter Singular
πτύονptyonwinnowing fork [is]G4425
√ πτύον — a winnowing-fork (as scattering like spittle)NounNominative Neuter Singular
ptyon: a winnowing fork Nominative, with no verb: the fork simply is in His hand. The implement is already held, exactly as the axe of verse 9 is already lying at the root. Both images say that the delay is not unreadiness.
ἐνeninG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
αὐτοῦautouHisG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
τῇtēG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Feminine Singular
χειρὶcheirihandG5495
√ χείρ — the hand (literally or figuratively (power)NounDative Feminine Singular
διακαθᾶραιdiakatharaito clearG1245
√ διακαθαρίζω — to cleanse perfectly, iVerbAorist Infinitive Active
diakatharizō: to cleanse perfectly Aorist infinitive of purpose. The winnowing is not destruction but sorting; the burning is what happens to what the sorting rejects.
αὐτοῦautouHisG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
τὴνtēnG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Feminine Singular
ἅλωναhalōnathreshing floorG257
√ ἅλων — a threshing-floor (as rolled hard), iNounAccusative Feminine Singular
halōn: a threshing floor His floor, His wheat, His barn. Three possessives in one sentence, and the crop being sorted is the crowd John is speaking to.
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
συναγαγεῖνsynagageinto gatherG4863
√ συνάγω — to lead together, iVerbAorist Infinitive Active
τὸνtontheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
σῖτονsitonwheatG4621
√ σῖτος — grain, especially wheatNounAccusative Masculine Singular
sitos: grain, especially wheat The kept thing. Cambridge compares Matthew 13:30, gather the wheat into my barn, and notes the same figure applied there to the mixed field.
εἰςeisintoG1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
αὐτοῦautouHisG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
τὴνtēnG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Feminine Singular
ἀποθήκηνapothēkēnbarnG596
√ ἀποθήκη — a repository, iNounAccusative Feminine Singular
apothēkē: a repository, a barn The only place of safety in the image, and it belongs to the same person who holds the fork.
δὲdebutG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
κατακαύσειkatakauseiHe will burn upG2618
√ κατακαίω — to burn down (to the ground), iVerbFuture Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
τὸtotheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Neuter Singular
ἄχυρονachyronchaffG892
√ ἄχυρον — chaff (as diffusive)NounAccusative Neuter Singular
achyron: chaff Cambridge gathers the Old Testament uses, Psalm 1:4 where the ungodly are like the chaff, Malachi 4:1 where the wicked are stubble, Jeremiah 15:7 where the LORD fans them with a fan in the gates of the land, and adds the harder possibility from Luke 22:31, that the sifting may separate evil elements within a mixed character rather than evil people from good.
ἀσβέστῳasbestōwith unquenchableG762
√ ἄσβεστος — not extinguished, iAdjectiveDative Neuter Singular
asbestos: not extinguished See the divergence note. The adjective describes the behaviour of the fire, not the duration of the chaff.
πυρὶpyrifireG4442
√ πῦρ — "fire" (literally or figuratively, specially, lightning)NounDative Neuter Singular
18

With these and many other exhortations, John proclaimed the good news to the people.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

oun men Polla kai hetera parakalōn euēngelizeto ton laon

Word by word9 · parsed
οὖνounvvvG3767
√ οὖν — (adverbially) certainly, or (conjunctionally) accordinglyConjunction
μὲνmen[With these and]G3303
√ μέν — properly, indicative of affirmation or concession (in fact)Conjunction
ΠολλὰPollamanyG4183
√ πολύς — (singular) much (in any respect) or (plural) manyAdjectiveAccusative Neuter Plural
polys: much, many Accusative neuter plural: many things, with hetera, and of a different sort. The two adjectives together are Luke's honest admission of what he has left out.
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἕτεραheteraotherG2087
√ ἕτερος — (an-, the) other or differentAdjectiveAccusative Neuter Plural
παρακαλῶνparakalōnexhortationsG3870
√ παρακαλέω — to call near, iVerbPresent Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
parakaleō: to call near, to exhort or comfort Present participle, running alongside the main verb. The same root stands behind paraklētos, and Gill hears the comforting sense here.
εὐηγγελίζετοeuēngelizeto[John] proclaimed the good news toG2097
√ εὐαγγελίζω — to announce good news ("evangelize") especially the gospelVerbImperfect Indicative Middle3rd Person Singular
euangelizō: to announce good news Imperfect middle indicative. This is the verse that decides how the whole unit is to be read. Everything from verse 7 to verse 17, the brood of vipers, the axe, the chaff and the fire, is gathered under one word, and the word is gospel. Cambridge and Gill both translate it so, and Gill expands it as publishing the good news of the Messiah's being come.
τὸνtontheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
λαόνlaonpeopleG2992
√ λαός — a people (in generalNounAccusative Masculine Singular
laos: a people Not ochlos, the crowd of verses 7 and 10, but laos, the people as a covenant body. The word returns from verse 15, and Herod will end the whole thing in verse 20.
19

But when he rebuked Herod the tetrarch regarding his brother’s wife Herodias and all the evils he had done,

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Greek — tap a word ↓

de elenchomenos hyp’ autou ho Hērōdēs ho tetraarchēs peri tou autou adelphou tēs gynaikos Hērōdiados kai peri pantōn ponērōn hōn ho Hērōdēs epoiēsen

Word by word23 · parsed
δὲdeButG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
ἐλεγχόμενοςelenchomenoswhen he rebukedG1651
√ ἐλέγχω — to confute, admonishVerbPresent Participle Middle or PassiveNominative Masculine Singular
elenchō: to confute, to expose Present passive participle. The tense makes the rebuke a continuing condition, which fits what the other Gospels report: Cambridge records from Mark that Antipas listened to John habitually and with pleasure, was greatly at a loss about him, and resisted the urging of Herodias to kill him.
ὑπ’hyp’. . .G5259
√ ὑπό — under, iPreposition
αὐτοῦautou. . .G846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
ὁhoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ἩρῴδηςHērōdēsHerodG2264
√ Ἡρώδης — heroicNounNominative Masculine Singular
Hērōdēs: Herod The same name that stood at verse 1 among the dates. The man who was a way of numbering the year is now an actor in the story, and the only act he manages is silencing.
ὁhotheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
τετραάρχηςtetraarchēstetrarchG5076
√ τετράρχης — the ruler of a fourth part of a country ("tetrarch")NounNominative Masculine Singular
περὶperiregardingG4012
√ περί — properly, through (all over), iPreposition
τοῦtouG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Singular
αὐτοῦautouhisG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
ἀδελφοῦadelphoubrother’sG80
√ ἀδελφός — a brother (literally or figuratively) near or remote (much like G1 (Α))NounGenitive Masculine Singular
adelphos: a brother The word that makes the marriage a violation of Leviticus 18:16 rather than a scandal about rank. Poole notes that Philip was alive at the time, and adds that even after his death the existing daughter would have barred it.
τῆςtēsG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Feminine Singular
γυναικὸςgynaikoswifeG1135
√ γυνή — a womanNounGenitive Feminine Singular
gynē: a woman, a wife Genitive, in the legal phrase.
ἩρῳδιάδοςHērōdiadosHerodiasG2266
√ Ἡρωδιάς — Herodias, a woman of the Heodian familyNounGenitive Feminine Singular
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
περὶperiG4012
√ περί — properly, through (all over), iPreposition
πάντωνpantōnallG3956
√ πᾶς — all, any, every, the wholeAdjectiveGenitive Neuter Plural
πονηρῶνponērōn[the] evilsG4190
√ πονηρός — hurtful, iAdjectiveGenitive Neuter Plural
ponēros: hurtful, malignant Genitive neuter plural with pantōn. Ellicott is right that the marriage is the conspicuous crime but that a preaching of righteousness and judgment to come would have been a personal rebuke to the whole character of the man.
ὧνhōnG3739
√ ὅς — the relatively (sometimes demonstrative) pronoun, who, which, what, thatPersonal / Relative PronounGenitive Neuter Plural
ὁhoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ἩρῴδηςHērōdēs[he]G2264
√ Ἡρώδης — heroicNounNominative Masculine Singular
ἐποίησενepoiēsenhad doneG4160
√ ποιέω — to make or do (in a very wide application, more or less direct)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
poieō: to make or do Aorist, of Herod. The same verb that ran through the crowd's question and John's answers now describes what a tetrarch has done, and the answer this time is not restitution.
20

Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

prosethēken touto kai epi pasin kai katekleisen ton Iōannēn en phylakē

Word by word11 · parsed
προσέθηκενprosethēken[Herod] addedG4369
√ προστίθημι — to place additionally, iVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
prostithēmi: to place additionally Aorist indicative active. The verb of accumulation. Luke's sentence structure makes the imprisonment an item in a list rather than a climax, which is a colder way of writing it than anything in Matthew's account.
τοῦτοtoutothisG3778
√ οὗτος — the he (she or it), iDemonstrative PronounAccusative Neuter Singular
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἐπὶepitoG1909
√ ἐπί — properly, meaning superimposition (of time, place, order, etcPreposition
epi: upon With the dative pasin: upon them all. The preposition of stacking, and the same preposition that in verse 2 carried the word of God down upon John.
πᾶσινpasinthem allG3956
√ πᾶς — all, any, every, the wholeAdjectiveDative Neuter Plural
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
κατέκλεισενkatekleisenHe lockedG2623
√ κατακλείω — to shut down (in a dungeon), iVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
katakleiō: to shut down, as in a dungeon Aorist. The chapter began with an utterance coming out into the open, in the wilderness, in a named year; it ends with the man who carried it shut in the dark. Luke does not comment. Matthew Henry does: those who injure the faithful servants of God add still greater guilt to their other sins.
τὸνtonG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
ἸωάννηνIōannēnJohn {up}G2491
√ Ἰωάννης — Joannes (iNounAccusative Masculine Singular
Iōannēs: John Accusative now, the object of a verb, where in verse 2 he was the one upon whom the word of God came. The grammatical demotion is the whole tragedy of the verse.
ἐνeninG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
φυλακῇphylakēprisonG5438
√ φυλακή — a guarding or (concretely, guard), the act, the personNounDative Feminine Singular
phylakē: a guarding, a prison Barnes and the Pulpit Commentary both note that the event belongs later in the chronology and is placed here to finish the account of John before the baptism of Jesus is told. Poole draws the general rule, that the passages about John are not set down in the order in which they happened.

The verse-by-verse work is done. What follows gathers the whole unit. All three layers below are machine-generated (⚙). Weigh them; they have no authority.

⚙

Grand Commentary — the unit, read whole

synthesis · verify

AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.

i. Six rulers in the genitive, one utterance in the nominative — 3:1-3:2

Ellicott reads the opening as the mark of a writer who wants to follow regular historians and to name the rulers of every region his story touches, and the Pulpit Commentary says the same in its own words, that this Gospel is framed after the model of approved histories. Cambridge adds the technical detail that Luke dates Tiberius from the joint rule with Augustus rather than from Augustus' death, which is why the commentators in this brief cannot agree on whether the year is A.D. 29 or earlier. Maclaren goes further than the rest and reads the list theologically: not only to fix the date, he says, but to focus into one beam the facts which witnessed to the sunken civil and darkened religious condition of the Jews. ⚙ The grammar supports him without needing him. Tiberius, Pilate, three men described by the participle τετρααρχοῦντος and two men squeezed under one singular ἀρχιερέως are all in oblique cases, circumstances of dating. The single nominative subject in the whole synchronism is ῥῆμα Θεοῦ, and it does not come to any of them. It comes upon a priest's son standing in the emptiest place Luke can name. Gill, arguing from Maimonides that there can be only one high priest in all the world, and Ellicott, Barnes and the Pulpit Commentary arguing variously for a deposed predecessor, a Nasi, or a Sagan, all agree on the fact that matters: the sacred office had become something a procurator could hand out.

ii. The quotation Luke alone finishes — 3:3-3:6

All four Gospels, says Poole, apply Isaiah 40:3-5 to John, but Luke alone runs the citation on through the filled ravine, the levelled mountain, the straightened crooked and, decisively, through the line Cambridge singles out: all flesh shall see the salvation of God. Cambridge is explicit that Luke alone adds these words and that doing so is characteristic of his object, the universality of the Gospel. JFB adds the textual fact that the line is quoted literally from the Septuagint of Isaiah 40:5, where the Hebrew reads instead that the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together; Gill records openly that it is matter of question which passage stands behind Luke's wording. ⚙ We keep both facts in view: the citation formula γέγραπται makes this a formal quotation, and the wording quoted is the Greek Bible's rather than the Hebrew's. Poole's image governs the middle of the passage: John is a harbinger, a pioneer sent ahead to fill ditches and throw down hills. Ellicott presses each clause onto a class of hearer, the filled ravine as pardoned penitents and the levelled mountain as rebuked pride; Gill reads the same way; the Pulpit Commentary, citing Godet, offers the scheme but declines to press it. That restraint is right, and we copy it. What the Greek itself insists on is smaller and harder: the imperatives of verse 4 are addressed to people, and the verbs of verse 5 are future passives with no named agent. Men are told to build the road. God moves the earth.

iii. Brood, stones, axe: the three blows against descent — 3:7-3:9

Maclaren asks the honest question: why meet crowds who want baptism with an insult? His answer, drawn from Luke's own wording, is that they wished to be baptized but there is no word of their repentance, and that they were trusting to their descent as exempting them from the approaching storm. ⚙ The three images of these verses strike that one target in sequence. Γεννήματα ἐχιδνῶν attacks pedigree by naming a worse one. The stones attack it by making Abraham's fatherhood a thing God can supply from the riverbed, and Gill points to Isaiah 51:1-2, where Abraham himself is the rock from which the nation was hewn. The axe attacks it by moving the judgment from the branches to the root, which is the part of a tree that pedigree lives in. Cambridge catches the grammar exactly: κεῖται is the woodman laying the edge against the trunk to measure his blow, and ἐκκόπτεται is a present of a doom already in motion. Gill names the axe as the Romans in God's hand and the ruin as the fall of nation, city and temple; the Pulpit Commentary agrees and dates it within forty years. Cambridge alone enters the counterweight, that prophetic imagery leaves a stump in the tender grass, and that Paul denies the olive was cut down for ever. We record the disagreement without settling it.

iv. What shall we do: tunics, taxes, rations — 3:10-3:14

These five verses are found in no other Gospel, and Ellicott sees why they are in this one: the Baptist was not a mere preacher of repentance, and Luke, a physician of the soul, delighted to record an example of spiritual therapeutics. The Pulpit Commentary, citing Godet, calls it the confessional after preaching. ⚙ Three groups ask one verb, ποιήσωμεν, and get three answers that are all restitution rather than ritual. To the crowd: a second tunic belongs to the man with none, which Cambridge grounds in the fact that beyond one tunic, one cloak and a girdle no article of dress was necessary. To the tax collectors: exact nothing beyond what stands appointed, and Barnes is careful that John does not condemn the office. To the soldiers on the march: do not shake men down, do not play the fig-informer, be content with your rations. Ellicott identifies διασείσητε with the Latin concutere, the standing word for troops extorting money or provisions, and Cambridge notes the remarkable restraint of it, that the Baptist does not bid even soldiers to abandon their profession but to serve God in it. Poole draws the conclusion the unit is built for: repentance is best discovered by declining the sins our own calling makes easy. Matthew Henry puts it in one line, that these answers declared the present duty of the inquirers and at once formed a test of their sincerity.

v. Not competent to untie the strap — 3:15-3:18

Maclaren describes the moment with precision: the people were ready to rally round him if he would say he was the deliverer, it was a real temptation, and his unmoved humility poured an effectual stream of cold water on the excitement. Gill adds the detail the crowds overlooked, that John was of the tribe of Levi and not of Judah, from which the Messiah was to spring. JFB catches the tone of the refusal: the meanest service he could render the Mightier one is too high an honour for him. ⚙ The Greek is sharper than the English here. John does not say he is not worthy in the moral sense; he says he is not ἱκανὸς, not competent, not big enough for the job, which is the word of a man measuring himself against a task rather than confessing a sin. Cambridge notes the grammatical fracture in the next clause: John baptizes with water, a bare dative of means, but the coming One baptizes ἐν Πνεύματι Ἁγίῳ καὶ πυρί, in a Spirit and a fire that are the element, not the instrument. On the fire the brief divides honestly. The Pulpit Commentary insists it is purifying, not punitive, alien from the context here; Cambridge points first to the tongues of Pentecost, then to the burning zeal of the Spirit, and reports that Jerome extended it to fiery trial and the fire of judgment while declining to call those allusions certain. Henry holds both, water that washes the outside and fire that clears the dross within. ⚙ We note only that the same word πῦρ stands twice within two verses, once in a promise and once over the chaff, and that the text does not tell us whether that is one fire or two.

vi. Herod added this to them all — 3:19-3:20

Cambridge states the legal ground of the rebuke without hedging: it was based on Leviticus 18:16 and Leviticus 20:21, and it was perfectly uncompromising. Poole and Ellicott both record that the marriage was one crime among many, and Gill cites a Jewish chronicler whose account of Herod Antipas taking his brother's wife and killing the man who reproved him matches Luke's line for line. Barnes explains the placement: the imprisonment happened later, and is set here to fill out the account of John. ⚙ The chapter closes where it opened, in the genitive list of rulers. Herod, named at verse 1 as one of the men by whom the year was counted, now acts, and the only thing he can do to the voice is shut it in a room. Cambridge names the room from Josephus, the fortress of Machaerus among black basaltic rocks. Luke's verb is προσέθηκεν, he added: the Hebrew idiom of piling one deed on a stack. What is added to the stack is the silencing of the man in whom the word of God had come into the world's calendar.

Read under Sola Scriptura — this tool’s own fallible reading (⚙)

⚙ This is the tool's own fallible reading, offered to be tested against Scripture and rejected where it fails. Luke builds one long sentence over two verses in which every human authority is a date and only the utterance of God is a subject, and then he spends eighteen verses showing what that utterance does when it lands. It does not go to the temple, or to either man called high priest, or to any of the five rulers. It goes to a wilderness, and the first thing it produces is a road crew. Notice what the road work turns out to be. Isaiah's engineering language is answered, in the same chapter, by a second tunic, an honest tax receipt and a soldier who stops shaking people down. The ravine filled and the mountain brought low are not, in Luke's hands, geography or even mainly metaphor for national fortune: they are the specific, boring, expensive acts by which people stop trading on descent and start balancing the scale that ἀξίους puts in front of them. That is why this unit refuses two shortcuts at once. It refuses the shortcut of pedigree, because God can wake children for Abraham out of riverbed stones. And it refuses the shortcut of the rite, because the crowds who came for the water were called a brood of vipers while they were still walking toward it. What is left is neither a bloodline nor a ceremony but a changed life that can be itemized, and a Person who is coming and whose sandal strap John is not big enough to untie. The line that follows is our own synthesis, not Scripture, and not a verse.

Luke dates the word of God by the regnal year of a man who never heard it.

⚙

Canonical Threads — out to the whole of Scripture

cross-refs · verify

AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.

Isaiah 40:3-5, and the two verses Luke alone keeps reading structural / thematic: confirmed

Luke marks the citation with γέγραπται and names the book: this is a formal, flagged quotation, not an echo. Matthew and Mark stop at "make straight His paths." Luke runs on through the filled ravine, the levelled mountain, the crooked made straight and the line that is the thesis of his whole Gospel, that all flesh shall see the salvation of God. Cambridge states plainly that Luke alone adds these words and that doing so is characteristic of his object; JFB notes the last line is taken literally from the Septuagint.

Isaiah 40:3-5

basis: Luke quotes Isaiah verbatim, with an explicit citation formula, so as a quotation this is as strong as a link gets. The tier is structural only because the refs cross the Testaments: the Verifier computes verbal bases from shared Strong's lexemes, and a Greek text and a Hebrew text share no Strong's numbers, so no verbal basis can be recorded. Within the Greek the Verifier does confirm the parallel citations at Matthew 3:3 and Mark 1:3 by shared lexemes G2048 ἔρημος (in 48 vv), G2117 εὐθύς (in 8 vv) and G3598 ὁδός (in 99 vv).

Whose Isaiah 40:5 is this? The Septuagint reads one thing, the Hebrew another flagged: verify source

The Hebrew of Isaiah 40:5 reads that the glory of the LORD shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together. Luke's Greek reads that all flesh shall see the σωτήριον of God. JFB records that the line is quoted literally from the Septuagint. Gill goes further and says openly that it is matter of question whether Isaiah 40:5 or Isaiah 3:10 lies behind the wording, and that New Testament writers commonly join passages from different places in the same prophet. ⚙ We do not resolve it. The reader should know that the most Gentile-facing sentence in Luke's Isaiah citation follows the Greek Bible, not the Hebrew.

Isaiah 40:5 · Isaiah 3:10

basis: Provenance of the exact wording is disputed in the sources themselves: JFB records literal dependence on the Septuagint of Isaiah 40:5, whose text differs from the Masoretic Hebrew at precisely this clause, and Gill records an open question whether Isaiah 3:10 contributes. Cross-Testament, so no shared-lexeme basis is computable in any case.

The messenger who prepares the way, and the Elijah who turns the hearts typological

Behind John stands not only Isaiah's voice but Malachi's messenger, sent to prepare the way before the Lord, and Malachi's Elijah, sent to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children. Gill cites the rabbinic saying that Israel will not repent till Elijah comes, attached directly to Malachi 4:5. The prophet's dress in Matthew and Mark, the hair garment and the leather belt, is the dress of the man in 2 Kings 1:8. ⚙ Luke omits the clothing, which makes his restraint worth noting: he lets the wilderness and the call formula carry what the other Gospels carry with a costume.

Malachi 3:1 · Malachi 4:5-6 · 2 Kings 1:8

basis: Figural and widely held from the first century onward: the forerunner of Malachi 3:1 and the returning Elijah of Malachi 4:5-6 are read as fulfilled in John, with 2 Kings 1:8 supplying the prophet's dress. Cross-Testament, Greek to Hebrew, so no shared Strong's lexeme exists and a verbal tier is impossible. Ancient and widely held rather than novel; Gill records the rabbinic form of the Elijah expectation.

Dating a prophet: Luke's synchronism and the call formulas of the prophets structural / thematic: confirmed

"In the fifteenth year ... the word of God came upon John" is built on a pattern: the reign of Uzziah at Isaiah 6:1, the days of Josiah at Jeremiah 1:1-3, the thirtieth year in the fourth month at Ezekiel 1:1-3, the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah at Hosea 1:1. In each the ruler dates the page and the word of God is the subject of the sentence. ⚙ Luke has done two things at once: satisfied the Greek historian's demand for a date and reproduced the Hebrew prophet's call formula, which is why ἐγένετο ἐπὶ feels so unlike the rest of his careful Hellenistic prose.

Jeremiah 1:1-3 · Ezekiel 1:1-3 · Isaiah 6:1 · Hosea 1:1

basis: A shared literary pattern, the dated prophetic call formula, not a quotation and claimed as none. Maclaren records that the phrase came to him at once declares his affinity with the old prophets, and the Pulpit Commentary compares the summons to those of Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Cross-Testament, so no shared-lexeme verbal basis can be computed.

The wrath that is about to be structural / thematic: confirmed

John does not explain the coming wrath, which means his hearers already knew it. Cambridge supplies the sourced background: the Jews had been taught that the Advent would be preceded by a time of anguish they called the Woes of the Messiah, and cites Malachi 3:2, who may abide the day of His coming, and Malachi 4:1, the day that burns as an oven. Isaiah 13:9 supplies the older form, the day of the LORD coming cruel with wrath and fierce anger. ⚙ The article in τῆς μελλούσης ὀργῆς is the giveaway: not wrath but the wrath, a known appointment.

Malachi 3:2 · Malachi 4:1 · Isaiah 13:9

basis: Shared motif of an appointed day of burning anger preceding the Lord's coming, with the definite article in Luke presupposing a known expectation. Cambridge cites Malachi 3:2 and Malachi 4:1 directly on this verse. No quotation is claimed, and the refs cross the Testaments, so no verbal tier is available.

Children for Abraham out of stones, and the rock from which you were hewn typological

Isaiah 51:1-2 tells the seekers of righteousness to look to the rock from which they were hewn and to the pit from which they were dug, and then names the rock: Abraham your father, and Sarah who bore you. Gill points at this verse directly, saying the stones taunt is not strange when the creation of Adam from earth and the offspring of Abraham and Sarah past hope are considered, both signified by the rock and the pit in Isaiah 51:1. Genesis 17:5-8 is the promise being pleaded, father of a multitude of nations. ⚙ If Gill has heard it right, John's taunt is not a general remark about divine power but a precise counter to the plea: your rock was a stone too.

Genesis 17:5-8 · Isaiah 51:1-2

basis: A figural reading, that the stones of the Jordan strand answer the rock and pit of Isaiah 51:1-2, which names Abraham and Sarah. Sourced to Gill, who cites Isaiah 51:1 at this verse; Cambridge independently reports Bengel's form of the same point. Cross-Testament, Greek to Hebrew, so no shared Strong's lexeme and no verbal tier. Attested in the older commentators rather than novel, though the specific Isaiah 51 link is Gill's.

The axe at the root, and the forest the LORD lops structural / thematic: confirmed

Isaiah 10:33-34 has the Lord of hosts lopping the bough with terror, the high ones of stature hewn down, and the thickets of the forest cut with iron. Jeremiah 46:22-23 has them coming against Egypt with axes as hewers of wood, cutting down her forest though it cannot be searched. ⚙ John's innovation is the target: the prophets' axe falls on the crown of the tree, and his lies already at the ῥίζαν, the root, which is the part of a tree that ancestry lives in. That is not decoration; it is the argument of verse 8 continued in wood.

Isaiah 10:33-34 · Jeremiah 46:22-23

basis: Shared image of divine judgment as forestry, with a deliberate intensification (root rather than bough) rather than a quotation. Cross-Testament, so no shared Strong's lexeme is computable and the verbal tier is ruled out. Gill and the Pulpit Commentary both read the axe as an imminent national judgment; Cambridge enters the caution that prophetic imagery leaves a stump.

The same axe in Matthew's Baptist verbal / quotation: confirmed

Matthew 3:10 carries the saying in nearly the same Greek, and the Verifier confirms a genuine verbal link in the rare noun. ἀξίνη (G513, axe) occurs in only two verses in the whole New Testament, this one and Matthew's, which is about as rare as a shared lexeme gets. ἤδη (already) and καρπός (fruit) accompany it in both. ⚙ Both are Greek, both are New Testament, so the verbal tier is legitimate here in a way it is not for any of the Old Testament threads above.

Matthew 3:10

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexemes G513 ἀξίνη (in 2 vv, rare enough to carry the tier on its own), with G2590 καρπός (in 56 vv) and G2235 ἤδη (in 56 vv). Both refs are New Testament Greek, so a shared-Strong's verbal basis is computable and recorded.

Winnowing fork, threshing floor, unquenchable fire structural / thematic: confirmed

Every element of verse 17 is already Hebrew furniture. Malachi 3:2-3 has the refiner's fire and the fuller's soap, sitting to purify the sons of Levi. Isaiah 41:15-16 has Israel made a sharp threshing instrument that fans the mountains until the wind carries them away. Jeremiah 15:7 has the LORD fanning them with a fan in the gates of the land. Psalm 1:4 has the ungodly as the chaff the wind drives away. Isaiah 66:24 supplies the fire that is not quenched. Cambridge cites Psalm 1:4, Malachi 4:1 and Jeremiah 15:7 at this verse by name.

Malachi 3:2-3 · Isaiah 41:15-16 · Jeremiah 15:7 · Psalm 1:4 · Isaiah 66:24

basis: A dense shared motif of threshing, fanning and fire as the image of divine sifting; sourced in the brief to Cambridge, who cites Psalm 1:4, Malachi 4:1 and Jeremiah 15:7 on this verse. No quotation formula is present and the refs cross the Testaments, so no verbal tier. Within the Greek the Verifier separately confirms Matthew 3:12 by shared lexemes G4442 πῦρ (in 69 vv) and G5495 χείρ (in 168 vv), both common, which is why even that link is worth no more than a thematic claim.

Share your tunic, share your food: the old law of the neighbour structural / thematic: confirmed

John's answers to the crowd are not new ethics. Isaiah 58:7 is the fast God chose: deal thy bread to the hungry, and when thou seest the naked, cover him. Ezekiel 18:7 is the mark of the just man: he gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment. To the tax collectors, Leviticus 19:11 and 19:13 forbid dealing falsely and defrauding a neighbour or keeping back his wages. ⚙ Cambridge is right that this preaching is intensely practical and might be summed up in Micah 6:8, and the Pulpit Commentary makes the same comparison. The novelty is not the content but the addressee: it is said to the men whose trade made it hardest.

Isaiah 58:7 · Ezekiel 18:7 · Leviticus 19:11 · Leviticus 19:13

basis: Shared ethical pattern (clothe the naked, feed the hungry, do not extort or defraud) rather than citation; John never quotes and never claims to. Cambridge and the Pulpit Commentary independently compare Micah 6:8 at this point in the brief. Cross-Testament, so no shared-lexeme verbal basis is computable.

His brother's wife: the statute Herod broke structural / thematic: confirmed

Cambridge states the ground of the rebuke without hedging: it was based on Leviticus 18:16, thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother's wife, and Leviticus 20:21, if a man shall take his brother's wife it is an unclean thing. Luke's own wording puts the offence in exactly those terms, τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ ... γυναικός, his brother's wife, which is the language of the statute rather than of gossip. Poole adds that Philip was still living when the marriage took place.

Leviticus 18:16 · Leviticus 20:21

basis: The Gospel phrase reproduces the legal category of the Levitical prohibition, and Cambridge names both verses as the explicit ground of John's reproof. It is a legal allusion, not a quotation, and the refs cross the Testaments, so no verbal tier is available.

Not competent to untie the strap: the rare word for the sandal thong verbal / quotation: confirmed

The Verifier lists Mark 1:7 and John 1:27 as close parallels, and the weight is carried by ἱμάς (G2438), the strap, which occurs in only four verses in the New Testament. Matthew has John unworthy to carry the sandals; Mark and Luke have him stooping or unable to untie them. ⚙ Cambridge, comparing the two, glosses the sense as I am not adequate to be his humblest slave. The rare noun makes this a real verbal link, not a family resemblance.

Mark 1:7 · John 1:27

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexemes G2438 ἱμάς (in 4 vv, rare) and G5266 ὑπόδημα (in 10 vv) against John 1:27, with G514 ἄξιος (in 39 vv); and G5266 ὑπόδημα (in 10 vv) with G2784 κηρύσσω (in 60 vv) and G2478 ἰσχυρός (in 27 vv) against Mark 1:7. All refs are New Testament Greek, so the shared-Strong's basis is valid.

Zacchaeus answers the Baptist verbal / quotation: confirmed

The verb John forbids the soldiers, συκοφαντήσητε (G4811, to play the fig-informer, to extort by false accusation), occurs in exactly two verses in the New Testament. The other is Luke 19:8, where a chief tax collector stands and says that if he has taken anything from any man by false accusation he restores it fourfold. ⚙ Luke has used a very rare word twice, once as a prohibition from the forerunner and once as a confession by a man Jesus had just called down from a tree. That is Luke's own cross-reference, not ours.

Luke 19:8

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexeme G4811 συκοφαντέω (in 2 vv), one of the rarest possible shared lexemes, and both refs are within Luke's own Greek. Cambridge independently cites Luke 19:8 at Luke 3:13 for the publicans' cheating and fourfold restoration.

Every hill made low, and the hills men will beg to fall on them verbal / quotation: confirmed

βουνός (G1015, hillock) appears in only two verses in the New Testament, both in Luke. Here every hill is brought low so a road can run. At Luke 23:30, on the way to the cross, Jesus tells the daughters of Jerusalem that they will begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us, and to the hills, Cover us. ⚙ The same small hills that are flattened to let the salvation of God be seen are the hills men later ask to hide them. We claim nothing more than the shared rare word and the reversal it permits.

Luke 23:30

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexeme G1015 βουνός (in 2 vv, rare), with G3735 ὄρος (in 63 vv) and G756 ἄρχομαι (in 84 vv). Both refs are Luke's own Greek, so the verbal basis is computable. The interpretive reversal drawn from it is our own synthesis and is marked as such.

⚙Christ in the Unittypology · verify

AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.

The utterance of God came upon John, and never upon Jesus ancient/widely-held

✦ JFB, quoting Olshausen, makes the observation and states its ground: such formulas are never used when speaking of Jesus, because the divine nature did not manifest itself in Him at certain isolated moments of His life. ⚙ The grammar of verse 2 is the strongest support for the claim. The word of God is a thing that arrives on John, at a datable moment, in a nameable place, from outside. Luke has already told his reader, in the chapters before this unit, what came upon Mary and who was born; he will tell him at the end of this chapter what the voice from heaven said. Between the two, he places one man on whom an utterance descended, and that man spends the rest of the unit saying he is not the thing the crowds are hoping for.

Luke 3:2 · Luke 3:15-16

The way of the LORD, prepared for the One who is coming ancient/widely-held

✦ Poole, Benson, Henry, Gill, Cambridge and the Pulpit Commentary all read John as the harbinger who goes before a king, and Henry states the connection between the two halves of the unit: when way is made for the gospel into the heart by taking down high thoughts and levelling the soul, then preparation is made to welcome the salvation of God. ⚙ The text itself does the work more quietly than any of them. In verse 4 the road being cleared is τὴν ὁδὸν Κυρίου, the way of the Lord, standing where Isaiah's Hebrew has the covenant name. In verse 16 the One for whom John is clearing it is ὁ ἰσχυρότερός μου, the stronger than I, whose sandal strap John is not competent to untie, and who will baptize in the Holy Spirit. Luke never joins those two sentences with an argument. He simply lets the reader who has been told whose road it is discover, twelve verses later, who is walking on it.

Isaiah 40:3 · Luke 3:4 · Luke 3:16

All flesh: the saving thing Simeon held ancient/widely-held

✦ Cambridge notes that τὸ σωτήριον here is the same word as at Luke 2:30, and that Luke alone extends the Isaiah citation far enough to reach it; Gill reads the neuter noun as a person, the Messiah, the Saviour of God's appointing and sending; JFB gathers Psalm 98:3, Isaiah 49:6, Isaiah 52:10 and Acts 13:47 around it. ⚙ Luke has used this odd neuter word once before, when an old man in the temple held a baby and said his eyes had seen it. Here the same word is promised to πᾶσα σάρξ, every creature of flesh, which in a Gospel that will end with repentance preached to all nations is not a flourish but a thesis statement. The tool's reading is that the neuter noun is doing deliberate work: God's salvation is spoken of as a thing that can be looked at, because in this Gospel it turns out to be someone who can be held.

Luke 2:30 · Luke 3:6 · Isaiah 52:10

The fork in the hand of the One who is coming ancient/widely-held

✦ The Geneva note on verse 17 is a single line: the gospel is the fan of the world. Cambridge lists the Old Testament threshing imagery behind it and observes that the sifting may be of good from evil in the church, or of evil elements in a mixed character, citing Luke 22:31. The Pulpit Commentary describes the actual Eastern threshing floor and then insists that the unquenchable fire in the figure is unquenchable because dry chaff cannot be saved from it, and warns against building a doctrine of eternity on the image. ⚙ Our reading, offered to be tested: the winnowing fork is in the hand of the same person whose sandal John cannot touch, and who baptizes in Spirit and fire. The unit will not let the Coming One be only gentle or only terrible. He is described, within two verses, as the one who immerses in the Holy Spirit and the one who burns the chaff, and the ground of both is that He is ἰσχυρότερος, stronger. The identification of the one who holds the fork with the Christ is ancient and universal among the commentators in this brief; what we mark as novel, and refuse, is any attempt, ours included, to settle from this passage how long that fire lasts.

Luke 3:16-17 · Malachi 3:2-3

Apparatus & Provenance

The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). Hebrew/Greek text, transliteration, morphology and Strong’s are transcribed from the Berean interlinear (CC0) + Strong’s lexicons (PD); the literal renderings, divergence notes, word notes and all synthesis are this tool’s own work (⚙) — fallible; verify them.

Named voices, quoted verbatim from public-domain works:

  • Albert Barnes, Notes on the Bible (1834)
  • Alexander Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (c. 1905)
  • Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, — (1880s)
  • Charles Ellicott, Commentary for English Readers (1878)
  • Geneva Study Bible, Marginal Notes (1599)
  • Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory (1871)
  • John Gill, Exposition of the Entire Bible (1746–63)
  • Joseph Benson, Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1810s)
  • Matthew Henry, Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible (1706)
  • Matthew Poole, Annotations upon the Holy Bible (1685)
  • The Pulpit Commentary, Spence & Exell, eds. (1880s)

Text and sources. The English is the Berean Standard Bible (CC0); the word-by-word data, parsing and Strong's numbers are the Berean interlinear as supplied in the brief; the ✦ quotations are verbatim public-domain commentary resolved by code from anchors, never retyped. The ⚙ layer is this tool's synthesis and is fallible.

What is uncertain in this unit. First, the date. The commentators in the brief do not agree whether the fifteenth year of Tiberius is counted from the death of Augustus (Ellicott, giving A.D. 29) or from the earlier co-regency (Barnes, JFB, Cambridge, Benson), and the difference is two or three years. We record the disagreement and take no side. Second, the high priesthood. Luke's ἀρχιερέως is singular with two names attached, and Ellicott, Barnes, Gill and the Pulpit Commentary offer four different reconciliations (deposed predecessor still honoured, Nasi, Sagan, annual alternation). Gill argues at length from the Talmud and Maimonides that two high priests at once was canonically impossible. None of these is certain. Third, Lysanias of Abilene: Gill says outright that who this Lysanias was is not certain, and Ellicott can offer only an inscription found by Pococke. Fourth, the wording of Isaiah 40:5 in verse 6 follows the Septuagint and not the Masoretic Hebrew, and Gill records an open question about whether Isaiah 3:10 also stands behind it; that is why the thread is tiered flagged rather than confirmed.

On the badges. Every thread pairing this Gospel with an Old Testament passage is tiered structural or typological, never verbal, and the reason is mechanical as well as principled: the Verifier computes a verbal basis from shared Strong's lexemes, and a Greek text and a Hebrew text share none. This is true even of Isaiah 40:3-5, which Luke quotes verbatim under a citation formula; the basis line for that thread says so plainly. The four threads tiered verbal (Matthew 3:10, Mark 1:7 with John 1:27, Luke 19:8, Luke 23:30) are all Greek to Greek and all rest on rare shared lexemes, G513 ἀξίνη and G4811 συκοφαντέω and G1015 βουνός each occurring in only two verses, G2438 ἱμάς in four.

On the interlinear. Several word slots in the supplied data carry placeholder glosses (marked "vvv" or ". . .") where the English rendering belongs to a neighbouring word: verse 1 words 24 and 25, verse 9 words 2 to 4, verse 13 word 3, verse 14 words 1, 8 and 16. Our notes avoid resting any claim on those slots. Verse 20 in the brief is split across two files at word 4; the full word list is continuous and we have treated it as one verse.

On what is absent. Luke does not describe John's clothing or diet, which Matthew and Mark do; our thread to 2 Kings 1:8 therefore rests on the parallel Gospels and on the commentators, not on anything in this unit's text, and is tiered typological accordingly. Luke also places the imprisonment of John (verses 19 and 20) out of chronological order, before the baptism of Jesus; Barnes, Poole, Ellicott and the Pulpit Commentary all note this, and Poole draws the correct general caution, that the passages concerning John are not set down in the order in which they happened.

✦ = human, public-domain source, quoted and named. ⚙ = machine synthesis, to be verified. Flagged cross-references are left visible on purpose — the verifier working in the open. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)