Revised Literal Translation
Matthew 3:16
16And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
Matthew 3:16 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
- New International Version (NIV)As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him;
- New King James Version (NKJV)When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.
Context of Matthew 3:16
14But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? 15And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: 17And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
Read all of Matthew 3Matthew 3:16 word by word
Βαπτισθεὶς δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς εὐθὺς ἀνέβη ἀπὸ τοῦ ὕδατος. καὶ ἰδοὺ ἠνεῴχθησαν αὐτῷ οἱ οὐρανοί, καὶ εἶδεν τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ θεοῦ καταβαῖνον ὡσεὶ περιστερὰν καὶ ἐρχόμενον ἐπ᾽ αὐτόν.Read the interlinear
- Andκαίkai · andG2532
- Jesusὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- JesusἸησοῦςIēsous · JesusG2424
- when he was baptizedβαπτίζωbaptizō · to baptizeG907
- went upἀναβαίνωanabainō · to ascendG305
- straightwayεὐθέωςeutheōs · immediatelyG2112
- outἀπόapo · away fromG575
- of the waterὕδωρhudōr hudatos · waterG5204
- loὁράωhoraō · to see: seeG3708
- the heavensοὐρανόςouranos · heavenG3772
- were openedἀνοίγωanoigō · to openG455
- unto himαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- the Spiritπνεῦμαpneuma · spirit/breath: spiritG4151
- of Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
- descendingκαταβαίνωkatabainō · to come/go downG2597
- likeὡσείhōsei · like/as/aboutG5616
- a doveπεριστεράperistera · doveG4058
- lightingἔρχομαιerchomai · to come/goG2064
- uponἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
Cross-references for Matthew 3:16
- Mark 1:10And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him:
- Ezekiel 1:1Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.
- Luke 3:21Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,
- Acts 7:56And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.
- Isaiah 11:2And the spirit of Yhwh shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Yhwh;
- Isaiah 42:1Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
- Isaiah 59:21As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith Yhwh; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith Yhwh, from henceforth and for ever.
- Isaiah 61:1The Spirit of the Lord Yhwh is upon me; because Yhwh hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
- Luke 3:22And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.
- John 1:31And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.
- John 3:34For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.
- Colossians 1:18And he is the head of the body, the Assembly: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
Commentaries on Matthew 3:16
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16The heavens were opened unto him - That is, to John the Baptist - and he, John, saw the Spirit of God - lighting upon him, i.e. Jesus. There has been some controversy about the manner and form in which the Spirit of God rendered itself visible on this occasion. St. Luke, Luke 3:22, says it was in a bodily shape like to a dove: and this likeness to a dove some refer to a hovering motion, like to that of a dove, and not to the form of the dove itself: but…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16Out of the water - This shows that he had descended to the river. It literally means, “he went up directly from the water.” The original does not imply that they had descended into the river, and it cannot be proved, therefore, from this passage, that his baptism was by immersion; nor can it be proved that even, if his baptism was by immersion, that therefore the same mode is binding on people now. In order to demonstrate from this passage that immersion…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 13-17Verses 13-17 Christ's gracious condescensions are so surprising, that even the strongest believers at first can hardly believe them; so deep and mysterious, that even those who know his mind well, are apt to start objections against the will of Christ. And those who have much of the Spirit of God while here, see that they need to apply to Christ for more. Christ does not deny that John had need to be baptized of him, yet declares he will now be baptized…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16The Spirit of God came down like a dove to anoint Jesus, who would bring salvation. This was similar to a king being anointed with oil at his crowning. The Holy Spirit gave Jesus the strength to achieve God's salvation and defeat Satan (see Matthew 12:18, 28). This same Spirit gives strength to the disciples of Jesus (10:20; Acts 1:8).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1616. And Jesus when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water--rather, "from the water." Mark has "out of the water" (Mr 1:10). "and"--adds Luke (Lu 3:21), "while He was praying"; a grand piece of information. Can there be a doubt about the burden of that prayer; a prayer sent up, probably, while yet in the water--His blessed head suffused with the baptismal element; a prayer continued likely as He stepped out of the stream, and again stood…Read the comment
Topics related to Matthew 3:16
In the dictionaries
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
Revised Literal Translation — © 2018 Michael W. Jones, Sr. — GPL
Commentaries