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

In those days, John the Immerser came proclaiming in the wilderness of Judea, 2“Turn away from your sins, for the kingdom of heaven is near!” 3For he is the one Isaiah the prophet spoke about, saying, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way of Adonai, and 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

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• ·δέde · thenG1161
• Inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• thoseἐκεῖνοςekeinos · thatG1565
• daysἡμέραhēmera · dayG2250
• cameπαραγίνομαιparaginomai · to comeG3854
• JohnἸωάννηςIōannēs · JohnG2491
• the BaptistΒαπτιστήςBaptistēs · one who baptizesG910
• preachingκηρύσσωkērussō · to preachG2784
• the wildernessἔρημοςerēmos · desertedG2048
• of JudeaἸουδαίαIoudaia · JudeaG2449

Cross-references for Matthew 3:1

• Luke 3:1It was now the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of the Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene.
• Matthew 11:11“Amen, I tell you, among those born of women, none has arisen greater than John the Immerser. Yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
• Matthew 14:2He said to his servants, “This is John the Immerser—he has risen from the dead! Because of this, these powers are at work in Him.”
• Matthew 16:14They answered, “Some say John the Immerser, others say Elijah, and still others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”
• Matthew 17:12I tell you that Elijah already came; and they didn’t recognize him, but did to him whatever they wanted. In the same way, the Son of Man is about to suffer at their hands.”
• Matthew 21:25John’s immersion, where was it from? From heaven or from men?” They began to dialogue among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’
• Mark 1:4John appeared, immersing in the wilderness, proclaiming an immersion involving repentance for the removal of sins.
• Mark 6:16But when Herod heard, he said, “John, the one I beheaded, has been raised!”
• Luke 1:13But the angel said, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give birth to your son, and you will name him John.
• Luke 3:2During the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came upon John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness.
• John 1:6There came a man sent from God, whose name was John.
• John 3:27John answered, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.
• Acts 1:22beginning with His immersion by John until the day He was taken up from us—must become a witness with us of His resurrection.”
• Acts 13:24Before His coming, John had proclaimed an immersion of repentance to all the people of Israel.
• Acts 19:3He said, “Into what were you immersed?” They said, “Into John’s immersion.”
• Isaiah 40:3A voice cries out in the wilderness, “Prepare the way of Adonai, 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