Luke 3

1Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Cæsar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judæa, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene,

2Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.

3And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;

4As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

5Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth;

6And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

7Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

8Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.

9And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

10And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?

11He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.

12Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do?

13And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you.

14And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.

15And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not;

16John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:

17Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.

18And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people.

19But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip’s wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done,

20Added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison.

21Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,

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.

23And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,

24Which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi, which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Janna, which was the son of Joseph,

25Which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Amos, which was the son of Naum, which was the son of Esli, which was the son of Nagge,

26Which was the son of Maath, which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Semei, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Juda,

27Which was the son of Joanna, which was the son of Rhesa, which was the son of Zorobabel, which was the son of Salathiel, which was the son of Neri,

28Which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Addi, which was the son of Cosam, which was the son of Elmodam, which was the son of Er,

29Which was the son of Jose, which was the son of Eliezer, which was the son of Jorim, which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi,

30Which was the son of Simeon, which was the son of Juda, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Jonan, which was the son of Eliakim,

31Which was the son of Melea, which was the son of Menan, which was the son of Mattatha, which was the son of Nathan, which was the son of David,

32Which was the son of Jesse, which was the son of Obed, which was the son of Booz, which was the son of Salmon, which was the son of Naasson,

33Which was the son of Aminadab, which was the son of Aram, which was the son of Esrom, which was the son of Phares, which was the son of Juda,

34Which was the son of Jacob, which was the son of Isaac, which was the son of Abraham, which was the son of Thara, which was the son of Nachor,

35Which was the son of Saruch, which was the son of Ragau, which was the son of Phalec, which was the son of Heber, which was the son of Sala,

36Which was the son of Cainan, which was the son of Arphaxad, which was the son of Sem, which was the son of Noe, which was the son of Lamech,

37Which was the son of Mathusala, which was the son of Enoch, which was the son of Jared, which was the son of Maleleel, which was the son of Cainan,

38Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.

The Mission of John the Baptist

1In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 2during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.

3He went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, 4as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,‘Prepare the way for the Lord,make straight paths for Him. 5Every valley shall be filled in,and every mountain and hill made low.The crooked ways shall be made straight,and the rough ways smooth. 6And all humanity will see God’s salvation.’”footnote a

7Then John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8Produce fruit, then, in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 9The axe lies ready at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

10The crowds asked him, “What then should we do?”

11John replied, “Whoever has two tunics should share with him who has none, and whoever has food should do the same.”

12Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”

13“Collect no more than you are authorized,” he answered.

14Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”
“Do not take money by force or false accusation,” he said. “Be content with your wages.”

15The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John could be the Christ. 16John answered all of them: “I baptize you with water,footnote b but One more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.footnote c He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.footnote d 17His winnowing fork is in His hand to clear His threshing floor and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

18With these and many other exhortations, John proclaimed the good news to the people. 19But when he rebuked Herod the tetrarch regarding his brother’s wife Herodias and all the evils he had done, 20Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison.

The Baptism of Jesus

21When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as He was praying, heaven was opened, 22and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in a bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”

The Genealogy of Jesus

23Jesus Himself was about thirty years old when He began His ministry.He was regarded as the son of Joseph,the son of Heli, 24the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi,the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, 25the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum,the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, 26the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein,the son of Josech, the son of Joda, 27the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel,the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, 28the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam,the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, 29the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim,the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, 30the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph,the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, 31the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha,the son of Nathan, the son of David, 32the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz,the son of Sala,footnote ethe son of Nahshon, 33the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin,footnote fthe son of Arni,footnote gthe son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, 34the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham,the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, 35the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg,the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, 36the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem,the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, 37the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared,the son of Mahalalel, the son of Cainan, 38the son of Enosh,footnote hthe son of Seth, the son of Adam,the son of God.