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 John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, 2“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 3For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, “The voice of one calling out in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, Make His paths straight!’”

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
• in thoseἐκεῖνοςekeinos · thatG1565
• daysἡμέραhēmera · dayG2250
• JohnἸωάννηςIōannēs · JohnG2491
• the BaptistΒαπτιστήςBaptistēs · one who baptizesG910
• cameπαραγίνομαιparaginomai · to comeG3854
• preachingκηρύσσωkērussō · to preachG2784
• wildernessἔρημοςerēmos · desertedG2048
• of JudeaἸουδαίαIoudaia · JudeaG2449
• sayingλέγωlegō · to sayG3004

Cross-references for Matthew 3:1

• Luke 3:1Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene,
• Matthew 11:11Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
• Matthew 14:2and said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist; he himself has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”
• Matthew 16:14And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah, or one of the other prophets.”
• Matthew 17:12but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wanted. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.”
• Matthew 21:25The baptism of John was from what source: from heaven or from men?” And they began considering the implications among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’
• Mark 1:4John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
• Mark 6:16But when Herod heard about it, he kept saying, “John, whom I beheaded, has risen!”
• Luke 1:13But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John.
• Luke 3:2in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness.
• John 1:6A man came, one sent from God, and his name was John.
• John 3:27John replied, “A person can receive not even one thing unless it has been given to him from heaven.
• Acts 1:22beginning with the baptism of John until the day that He was taken up from us--one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.”
• Acts 13:24after John had proclaimed, before His coming, a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.
• Acts 19:3And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “Into John’s baptism.”
• Isaiah 40:3The voice of one calling out, “Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness; 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
• Judaea, or Judea
• Judea, Judah
• Judah, Tribe of
• Kingdom
• Meet
• Please
• Region
• Repentance

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