NOTES

BIBLE

Matthew 3

1	Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying,	Ἐν δὲ ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις παραγίνεται Ἰωάννης ὁ βαπτιστὴς κηρύσσων ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ τῆς Ἰουδαίας
2	“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”	καὶ λέγων· Μετανοεῖτε, ἤγγικεν γὰρ ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν.
3	For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet, saying, “THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT!’”	οὗτος γάρ ἐστιν ὁ ῥηθεὶς διὰ Ἠσαΐου τοῦ προφήτου λέγοντος· Φωνὴ βοῶντος ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ· Ἑτοιμάσατε τὴν ὁδὸν κυρίου, εὐθείας ποιεῖτε τὰς τρίβους αὐτοῦ.	saying The word “saying” is included because it appears in the Greek text (λέγοντος; legontos). It is regularly used in Matthew as an introductory formula for Old Testament citations (cf. 1:22, 2:15, 17; 4:14; 8:17; 12:17; 21:4; 27:9).
4	Now John himself had a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.	αὐτὸς δὲ ὁ Ἰωάννης εἶχεν τὸ ἔνδυμα αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τριχῶν καμήλου καὶ ζώνην δερματίνην περὶ τὴν ὀσφὺν αὐτοῦ, ἡ δὲ τροφὴ ἦν αὐτοῦ ἀκρίδες καὶ μέλι ἄγριον.
5	Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea, and all the district around the Jordan;	τότε ἐξεπορεύετο πρὸς αὐτὸν Ἱεροσόλυμα καὶ πᾶσα ἡ Ἰουδαία καὶ πᾶσα ἡ περίχωρος τοῦ Ἰορδάνου,	was going out The verbal phrase “was going out” translates the imperfect tense of the Greek verb ἐκπορεύομαι (ekporeuomai). The use of the imperfect portrays the action that was taking place at the time. Rather than viewing the action from a distance, the imperfect tense, which usually indicates ongoing or continuous action, brings the reader up close to create a more vivid narrative.
6	and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.	καὶ ἐβαπτίζοντο ἐν τῷ Ἰορδάνῃ ποταμῷ ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ ἐξομολογούμενοι τὰς ἁμαρτίας αὐτῶν.	were being baptized Refer to the discussion on verse 5 above.
7	But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?	Ἰδὼν δὲ πολλοὺς τῶν Φαρισαίων καὶ Σαδδουκαίων ἐρχομένους ἐπὶ τὸ βάπτισμα αὐτοῦ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Γεννήματα ἐχιδνῶν, τίς ὑπέδειξεν ὑμῖν φυγεῖν ἀπὸ τῆς μελλούσης ὀργῆς;	his baptism Matthew explicitly calls the baptism taking place here “his baptism” (τὸ βάπτισμα αὐτοῦ; to baptisma autou), that is, John’s baptism. While many English translations do not include the personal pronoun “his” in this phrase, the specificity communicated by the Greek is important in setting up for “the baptism of John” which will be mentioned subsequently throughout the New Testament (cf. Matt 21:25; Mark 11:30; Luke 7:29; 20:4; Acts 1:22; 18:25; 19:3). This is especially pertinent considering the presence of the Pharisees and Sadducees here, as Jesus will question other Jewish religious leaders regarding “the baptism of John” in Matthew 21:25 (cf. Mark 11:30; Luke 20:4).
8	Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance;	ποιήσατε οὖν καρπὸν ἄξιον τῆς μετανοίας
9	and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham.	καὶ μὴ δόξητε λέγειν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς· Πατέρα ἔχομεν τὸν Ἀβραάμ, λέγω γὰρ ὑμῖν ὅτι δύναται ὁ θεὸς ἐκ τῶν λίθων τούτων ἐγεῖραι τέκνα τῷ Ἀβραάμ.
10	And the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.	ἤδη δὲ ἡ ἀξίνη πρὸς τὴν ῥίζαν τῶν δένδρων κεῖται· πᾶν οὖν δένδρον μὴ ποιοῦν καρπὸν καλὸν ἐκκόπτεται καὶ εἰς πῦρ βάλλεται.
11	“As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.	Ἐγὼ μὲν ὑμᾶς βαπτίζω ἐν ὕδατι εἰς μετάνοιαν· ὁ δὲ ὀπίσω μου ἐρχόμενος ἰσχυρότερός μού ἐστιν, οὗ οὐκ εἰμὶ ἱκανὸς τὰ ὑποδήματα βαστάσαι· αὐτὸς ὑμᾶς βαπτίσει ἐν πνεύματι ἁγίῳ καὶ πυρί·	As for me, I baptize This account is included in all four Gospels. For the specific phrase, “As for me, I baptize…,” John the Baptist is recorded using the same grammatical construction here in Matthew and in Luke 3:16 (ἐγώ μὲν…βαπτίζω; ego men…baptizō) and only slightly different ones in Mark 1:8 (ἐγὼ ἐβάπτισα; egō ebaptisa; “I baptized”) and John 1:26 (Ἐγὼ βαπτίζω; Egō baptizō; “I baptize”). Following the excellent tradition of the NASB in this instance, this translation renders the wording in Matthew and John with the phrase “As for me, I baptize” (accounting for the addition of μὲν [men]), in Mark as “I baptized,” and in John simply as “I baptize.” Careful attention to small details like this gives the reader the clearest window to the original Greek text. John the Baptist’s emphasis of himself here (“As for me”) serves to heighten the contrast between him and his Lord in the following phrase, who will baptize not merely with water, but with the Holy Spirit and fire.
12	His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”	οὗ τὸ πτύον ἐν τῇ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ, καὶ διακαθαριεῖ τὴν ἅλωνα αὐτοῦ καὶ συνάξει τὸν σῖτον αὐτοῦ εἰς τὴν ἀποθήκην, τὸ δὲ ἄχυρον κατακαύσει πυρὶ ἀσβέστῳ.
13	Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John to be baptized by him.	Τότε παραγίνεται ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἀπὸ τῆς Γαλιλαίας ἐπὶ τὸν Ἰορδάνην πρὸς τὸν Ἰωάννην τοῦ βαπτισθῆναι ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ.
14	But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?”	ὁ δὲ Ἰωάννης διεκώλυεν αὐτὸν λέγων· Ἐγὼ χρείαν ἔχω ὑπὸ σοῦ βαπτισθῆναι, καὶ σὺ ἔρχῃ πρός με;
15	But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he permitted Him.	ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτόν· Ἄφες ἄρτι, οὕτως γὰρ πρέπον ἐστὶν ἡμῖν πληρῶσαι πᾶσαν δικαιοσύνην. τότε ἀφίησιν αὐτόν.
16	And after being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon Him,	βαπτισθεὶς δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς εὐθὺς ἀνέβη ἀπὸ τοῦ ὕδατος· καὶ ἰδοὺ ἠνεῴχθησαν οἱ οὐρανοί, καὶ εἶδεν πνεῦμα θεοῦ καταβαῖνον ὡσεὶ περιστερὰν ἐρχόμενον ἐπʼ αὐτόν·	coming upon Him The phrase “coming upon Him” reflects the literal translation of the Greek phrase ἐρχόμενον ἐπʼ αὐτόν (erchomenon ep’ auton). Of the four Gospels, this phrase is unique to Matthew’s account of the event. Thus, in light of the fact that the context makes much of the verb “coming” (cf. 3:7, 11, 14, 16), the literal rendering is preferred to the term “settling.” John the Baptist mentioned that One “coming” after him is mightier than he, for that One would baptize with the Holy Spirit (3:11). Verse 16 clarifies this by noting how the coming of Jesus is paired with the coming of the Spirit, whose manifest presence demonstrates that Jesus is God’s “beloved Son” (3:17).
17	and behold, there was a voice out of the heavens saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”	καὶ ἰδοὺ φωνὴ ἐκ τῶν οὐρανῶν λέγουσα· Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπητός, ἐν ᾧ εὐδόκησα.	saying Refer to the discussion on verse 3 above.

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The Hebrew Old Testament is taken from the Unicode/XML Westminster Leningrad Codex
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