Matthew 3:1

Matthew 3:1 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea,
• New International Version (NIV)In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea
• English Standard Version (ESV)In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea,
• New King James Version (NKJV)In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea,

Context of Matthew 3:1

Now in those days comes John the baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, 2and saying, Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn nigh. 3For this is he who has been spoken of through Esaias the prophet, saying, Voice of him that crieth in the wilderness: prepare ye the way of [the] Lord, make straight his paths.

Matthew 3:1 word by word

Ἐν δὲ ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις παραγίνεται Ἰωάννης ὁ βαπτιστὴς κηρύσσων ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ τῆς ἸουδαίαςRead the interlinear

• Nowδέde · thenG1161
• daysἡμέραhēmera · dayG2250
• JohnἸωάννηςIōannēs · JohnG2491
• baptistΒαπτιστήςBaptistēs · one who baptizesG910
• preachingκηρύσσωkērussō · to preachG2784
• wildernessἔρημοςerēmos · desertedG2048

Cross-references for Matthew 3:1

• Luke 3:1Now in the fifteenth year of the government of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod tetrarch of Galilee, and Philip his brother tetrarch of Ituraea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,
• Matthew 11:11Verily I say to you, that there is not arisen among [the] born of women a greater than John the baptist. But he who is a little one in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he.
• Matthew 14:2and said to his servants, This is John the baptist: he is risen from the dead, and because of this these works of power display their force in him.
• Matthew 16:14And they said, Some, John the baptist; and others, Elias; and others again, Jeremias or one of the prophets.
• Matthew 17:12But I say unto you that Elias has already come, and they have not known him, but have done unto him whatever they would. Thus also the Son of man is about to suffer from them.
• Matthew 21:25The baptism of John, whence was it? of heaven or of men? And they reasoned among themselves, saying, If we should say, Of heaven, he will say to us, Why then have ye not believed him?
• Mark 1:4There came John baptising in the wilderness, and preaching [the] baptism of repentance for remission of sins.
• Mark 6:16But Herod when he heard [it] said, John whom I beheaded, he it is; he is risen [from among the dead].
• Luke 1:13But the angel said to him, Fear not, Zacharias, because thy supplication has been heard, and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
• Luke 3:2in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, [the] word of God came upon John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness.
• John 1:6There was a man sent from God, his name John.
• John 3:27John answered and said, A man can receive nothing unless it be given him out of heaven.
• Acts 1:22beginning from the baptism of John until the day in which he was taken up from us, one of these should be a witness with us of his resurrection.
• Acts 13:24John having proclaimed before the face of his entry [among the people] [the] baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.
• Acts 19:3And he said, To what then were ye baptised? And they said, To the baptism of John.
• Isaiah 40:3The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of Jehovah, make straight in the desert a highway for our God!

Commentaries on Matthew 3:1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1John the Baptist - John, surnamed The Baptist, because he required those to be baptized who professed to be contrite because of their sins, was the son of a priest named Zacharias, and his wife Elisabeth, and was born about A. M. 3999, and about six months before our blessed Lord. Of his almost miraculous conception and birth, we have a circumstantial account in the Gospel of Luke, chap. 1: to which, and the notes there, the reader is requested to refer…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1In those days - The days here referred to cannot be those mentioned in the preceding chapter, for John was but six months older than Christ. Perhaps Matthew intended to embrace in his narrative the whole time that Jesus lived at Nazareth; and the meaning is, “in those days while Jesus still dwelt at Nazareth,” John began to preach. It is not probable that John began to baptize or preach long before the Saviour entered on his ministry; and, consequently…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1John the Baptist, His preaching, manner of life, and baptism. (1-6) John reproves the Pharisees and Sadducees. (7-12) The baptism of Jesus. (13-17) Verses 1-6 After Malachi there was no prophet until John the Baptist came. He appeared first in the wilderness of Judea. This was not an uninhabited desert, but a part of the country not thickly peopled, nor much enclosed. No place is so remote as to shut us out from the visits of Divine grace. The doctrine he…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1John the Baptist announced the arrival of Jesus (see Mark 1:1–11; Luke 3:1–22; John 1:6–8, 19–34). John helped people get ready to welcome him (Matt 3:3). John drew large crowds (3:5) and gathered a group of followers (9:14). This group continued for a short time as a movement, even after the Christian church began (see Acts 18:24–28). John lived in the Judean wilderness. This was symbolic because the wilderness linked to God giving the law (see Exodus…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-12For the proper introduction to this section, we must go to Lu 3:1, 2. Here, as Bengel well observes, the curtain of the New Testament is, as it were, drawn up, and the greatest of all epochs of the Church commences. Even our Lord's own age is determined by it (Lu 3:23). No such elaborate chronological precision is to be found elsewhere in the New Testament, and it comes fitly from him who claims it as the peculiar recommendation of his Gospel, that "he…Read the comment

Topics related to Matthew 3:1

• John
• Judea

In the dictionaries

• John the Baptist
• Judea
• Judah, Tribe of
• Kingdom
• Meet
• Please
• Region
• Repentance
• Unquenchable
• Wilderness

Commentaries on Matthew 3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Catena Aurea
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• John Lightfoot Commentary
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings