LUKE 3:5 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT Every valley will be filled,
⇔  and every mountain and hill will be made low,
⇔  and the crooked roads will become straight,
⇔  and the rough roads will become smooth,

UST When an important person is going to arrive by a certain road, people fill in all the ravines and level off all the steep places in it.
⇔ They make the road straight wherever it is crooked,
⇔ and they smooth out all the bumps. In the same way, God will make sure that there will be people who are ready for the Messiah.

BLB Every valley will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be made low; and the crooked will become into straight, and the rough ways into smooth.

AICNT “Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become smooth ways;

OEB Every chasm will be filled,
⇔ every mountain and hill will be levelled.
⇔ The winding ways will be straightened,
⇔ the rough roads made smooth,

WEBBE Every valley will be filled.
⇔ Every mountain and hill will be brought low.
⇔ The crooked will become straight,
⇔ and the rough ways smooth.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET Every valley will be filled,
⇔  and every mountain and hill will be brought low,
⇔  and the crooked will be made straight,
⇔  and the rough ways will be made smooth,

LSV Every valley will be filled,
And every mountain and hill will be made low,
And the crooked will become straightness,
And the rough become smooth ways;

FBV Every valley will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be leveled. Crooked ways will be straightened, and rough roads will be smoothed.

TCNT Every valley will be filled,
⇔ and every mountain and hill will be brought low.
⇔ The crooked roads will be made straight,
⇔ and the rough ways will be made smooth.

T4T Just like people level off all the places where the land rises and just like they fill all the ravines,
¶ and just like people make the road straight wherever it is crooked,
¶ and just like people make smooth the bumps in the road,
¶ similarly you need to remove all the obstacles which prevent God from blessing you!

LEB • Every valley will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be leveled,
• and the crooked will become straight,
• and the rough road will become[fn] smooth,

3:4 *Here “will become” is an implied repetition of the verb earlier in the verse

BBE Every valley will be lifted up, and all the mountains and hills made low, and the twisted will be made straight, and the rough ways smooth;

Moff Every valley shall be filled up,
⇔ every hill and mound laid low,
⇔ the crooked made straight,
⇔ the rough roads smooth;

Wymth Every ravine shall be filled up, and every mountain and hill levelled down, the crooked places shall be turned into straight roads, and the rugged ways into smooth;

ASV Every valley shall be filled,
⇔ And every mountain and hill shall be brought low;
⇔ And the crooked shall become straight,
⇔ And the rough ways smooth;

DRA Every valley shall be filled; and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight; and the rough ways plain;

YLT every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straightness, and the rough become smooth ways;

Drby Every gorge shall be filled up, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low, and the crooked [places] shall become a straight [path], and the rough places smooth ways,

RV Every valley shall be filled, And every mountain and hill shall be brought low; And the crooked shall become straight, And the rough ways smooth;

SLT Every ravine shall be filled up, and every mount and hill shall be lowered; and the crooked shall be into straightness, and the rough into smooth ways.

Wbstr Every 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;

KJB-1769 Every 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;

KJB-1611 Euery valley shall be filled, and euery mountaine and hill shalbe brought low, and the crooked shall bee made straight, and the rough wayes shall be made smooth.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps Euery valley shalbe fylled, and euery mountayne & hyll shalbe brought lowe: And thynges that be croked, shalbe made strayght, and the rough wayes shalbe made playne.
(Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low: And things that be crooked, shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made plain.)

Gnva Euery valley shalbe filled, and euery mountaine and hill shall be brought lowe, and crooked things shalbe made straight, and the rough wayes shalbe made smoothe.
(Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low, and crooked things shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smoothe. )

Cvdl Euery valley shalbe fylled, and euery mountayne & hyll shalbe brought lowe. And what so is croked, shalbe made straight: and what rough is, shalbe made smooth,
(Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low. And what so is crooked, shall be made straight: and what rough is, shall be made smooth,)

TNT Every valley shalbe fylled and every moutayne and hyll shalbe brought lowe. And crocked thinges shalbe made streight: and the rough wayes shalbe made smoth:
(Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill shall be brought low. And crocked things shall be made straight: and the rough ways shall be made smoth: )

Wycl Ech valey schal be fulfillid, and euery hil and litil hil schal be maad lowe; and schrewid thingis schulen ben in to dressid thingis, and scharp thingis in to pleyn weies;
(Each valley shall be fulfilled, and every hill and little hill shall be made lowe; and shrewd things should been in to dressed things, and sharp things in to plain ways;)

Luth Alle Täler sollen voll werden, und alle Berge und Hügel sollen erniedriget werden; und was krumm ist, soll richtig werden und was uneben ist, soll schlechter Weg werden.
(All Täler should full/whole become, and all mountains/hills and hill should erniedriget become; and what/which krumm is, should correct become and what/which uneben is, should badr way/path/road become.)

ClVg omnis vallis implebitur, et omnis mons, et collis humiliabitur: et erunt prava in directa, et aspera in vias planas:[fn]
(everyone valley will_be_fulfilled, and everyone mountain, and necks will_be_humiliated: and they_will_be wicked in/into/on directa, and rough in/into/on ways/roads planas: )

3.5 Et erunt prava. BEDA. Prava, id est, malorum corda per injustitiam distorta ad regulam justitiæ dirigentur.

3.5 And they_will_be wicked. BEDA. Prava, that it_is, of_evil hearts through injustice distorta to rule justice directntur.

UGNT πᾶσα φάραγξ πληρωθήσεται, καὶ πᾶν ὄρος καὶ βουνὸς ταπεινωθήσεται; καὶ ἔσται τὰ σκολιὰ εἰς εὐθείαν, καὶ αἱ τραχεῖαι εἰς ὁδοὺς λείας;
(pasa faragx plaʸrōthaʸsetai, kai pan oros kai bounos tapeinōthaʸsetai; kai estai ta skolia eis eutheian, kai hai traⱪeiai eis hodous leias;)

SBL-GNT πᾶσα φάραγξ πληρωθήσεται καὶ πᾶν ὄρος καὶ βουνὸς ταπεινωθήσεται, καὶ ἔσται τὰ σκολιὰ εἰς ⸀εὐθείαν καὶ αἱ τραχεῖαι εἰς ὁδοὺς λείας·
(pasa faragx plaʸrōthaʸsetai kai pan oros kai bounos tapeinōthaʸsetai, kai estai ta skolia eis ⸀eutheian kai hai traⱪeiai eis hodous leias;)

RP-GNT Πᾶσα φάραγξ πληρωθήσεται, καὶ πᾶν ὄρος καὶ βουνὸς ταπεινωθήσεται· καὶ ἔσται τὰ σκολιὰ εἰς εὐθεῖαν, καὶ αἱ τραχεῖαι εἰς ὁδοὺς λείας·
(Pasa faragx plaʸrōthaʸsetai, kai pan oros kai bounos tapeinōthaʸsetai; kai estai ta skolia eis eutheian, kai hai traⱪeiai eis hodous leias;)

TC-GNT Πᾶσα φάραγξ πληρωθήσεται,
⇔ καὶ πᾶν ὄρος καὶ βουνὸς ταπεινωθήσεται·
⇔ καὶ ἔσται τὰ σκολιὰ εἰς [fn]εὐθεῖαν,
⇔ καὶ αἱ τραχεῖαι εἰς ὁδοὺς λείας·
(Pasa faragx plaʸrōthaʸsetai,
⇔ kai pan oros kai bounos tapeinōthaʸsetai;
⇔ kai estai ta skolia eis eutheian,
⇔ kai hai traⱪeiai eis hodous leias; )

3:5 ευθειαν ¦ ευθειας WH

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, orange:accents differ (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 3:1–20: John the Baptizer prepared the way for Jesus

The last event in Luke 2 describes Jesus’ trip to Jerusalem when he was twelve years old. This section begins about eighteen years later. At the beginning of chapter 3, both Jesus and John the Baptizer were about thirty years old. Both men were ready to begin public ministry.

It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it. Some other possible headings for this section are:

The Preaching of John (NCV)

John the Baptist and Jesus (REB)

John the Baptizer tells people to prepare themselves for the Messiah

Parts of Luke 3:1–20 are basically the same as verses in Matthew 3:1–12. But Luke 3:1–2, 10–14, and 19–20 are not in Matthew.

Paragraph 3:4–6

About seven hundred years before John the Baptizer was born, the prophet Isaiah wrote about him. He wrote that someone would announce to people that the Lord was coming and that they should get ready for him (Isaiah 40:3–5). John the Baptizer fulfilled this prophecy.

Isaiah wrote that people should prepare the way/road for the Lord. This is a metaphor. When the Jewish people expected a king to come through their village, they prepared the road for him. John was telling the people to prepare themselves to receive the Lord by repenting. The Lord was coming to them as the Messiah (Jesus). (See Christ in the Glossary.)

3:5

There are two ways to interpret the clausesThe forms are future passive. in this verse:

They describe things that should or must be done. For example:
Every valley must be filled up (GNT) (GNT, CEV, NCV, NJB, NLT96)
They describe things that will be done. For example:
Every valley will be filled (GW) (NASB, NET, GW, NLT)

English versions that use “shall” are ambiguous (BSB, NIV, GNT, REB, KJV, JBP, ESV).In this context the verb “shall” indicates either (1) that the action must be done or (2) that it will certainly be done. It is possible that both views are true in some sense, that is, that the actions must be done and they will certainly be done.

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). It fits the context of John’s preaching that the people should repent and that their lives must show their repentance.

3:5a

Every valley shall be filled in,

Every valley must be filled,
Fill^(plur) up all the low places between the hills,

In this verse, Isaiah continued to use the metaphor about preparing the Lord’s way. In the metaphor, the valleys must be filled in so that the road would be level. There are several possible interpretations of this metaphor, so it is good to not be too specific about the meaning here.

Every valley shall be filled in: The Greek verb that the BSB translates here as shall be filled in is passive. In some languages it may be more natural to translate this clause without using a passive verb. For example:

Every valley must become full

All the valleys must no longer be deep

In some languages it may be necessary to say who must or will fill up the valleys. Scholars have two main views about this:

People must fill up the valleys. For example:
People/You must fill every valley
Fill up every valley (CEV)
God will fill up the valleys. For example:
God will fill every valley

In a sense, both interpretations are true. However, if you must choose, it is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). The context focuses on the people’s actions that prepare for the Lord and show their repentance.

valley: A valley refers to a low area of land between hills or mountains. In this context it is a low place that contrasts with the hills and mountains.

filled in: The Greek verb that the BSB translates here as filled in indicates that the valleys should be made level by filling them with dirt and stones.

3:5b

and every mountain and hill made low.

and every mountain and hill must be leveled.
and make^(plur) every big hill and small hill flat.

In this part of the verse Isaiah continued to use metaphors about preparing the road. He indicated that the mountains and hills on the path/road should be made low. The mountains should be lowered and the valleys be filled so that the road would be level. Translate this part of the verse in a way that fits well with 3:5a.

and every mountain and hill made low: In this clause some words are implied before the phrase made low. For example:

and every mountain and hill should be made flat. (NCV)

This clause refers to taking soil from a hill or mountain and putting it in a lower place so that the road will be level. Another way to say this are:

and every mountain and hill must be leveled.

As in 3:5a, it may be more natural in some languages to translate this without using a passive verb. For example:

Every mountain and hill must become level/flat.

and level the mountains and hills! (NLT96)

made low: In this context the Greek verb that the BSB translates as made low refers to making something level or flat. In other contexts this word can also refer to proud people being made humble or humbling themselves. If your language has a verb that can be used in both of these contexts, you may be able to use it here. In some languages it may be possible to express this idea figuratively. For example:

Every proud hill and mountain must be flattened/humbled.

3:5c

The crooked ways shall be made straight,

The roads/paths that are crooked must be straightened,
Straighten^(plur) the curves in the paths,

This part of the verse continues to use the metaphor of preparing a road to symbolize how people repent to prepare for the Lord. Isaiah mentioned other things that must be done to the road. You should connect 3:5c and 3:5b in a way that is natural in your language.

The crooked ways shall be made straight: The Greek clause that the BSB translates as The crooked ways shall be made straight is literally “and the crooked will be into straight.” The BSB has supplied the word ways. Other words such as “paths” or “roads” would also fit here. For example:

Winding paths must be made straight

The crooked roads should become straight

Straighten the curves (NLT96)

crooked…straight: The Greek word that the BSB translates as crooked means “twisted, bent, curved.” The word that it translates as straight means “being in a direct line, not bent or curved.”

Both of these words can be used in a figurative way. The word crooked can refer to being morally bent or twisted, that is, dishonest, unrighteous, or unjust. The word straight can refer to being righteous and honest. If your language has words or idioms that could be used in either sense, you may be able to use them here.

3:5d

and the rough ways smooth.

and the paths that are rough must be made smooth/flat.
and make^(plur) the uneven places level.

This part of the verse continues to use the metaphor of preparing a road to symbolize how people repent to prepare for the Lord. Translate it in a way that fits this metaphor and connects in a natural way with 3:5c.

and the rough ways smooth: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as the rough ways smooth is more literally “and the rough into smooth roads.” This is an ellipsis. The full meaning is “and the rough roads should be made into smooth roads.” It indicates that the rough, uneven paths must be made flat and smooth.

Some other ways to say this are:

and rough roads should be made smooth (NCV)

and smooth out the rough roads (CEV)

remove the uneven places from the roads to make them easy to travel on

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

πᾶσα φάραγξ πληρωθήσεται, καὶ πᾶν ὄρος καὶ βουνὸς ταπεινωθήσεται

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Πάσα φάραγξ πληρωθήσεται καί παν ὄρος καί βουνός ταπεινωθήσεται καί ἔσται τά σκολιά εἰς εὐθεῖαν καί αἱ τραχεῖαι εἰς ὁδούς λείας)

This is a continuation of the figurative description of making a good road that began in the previous verse. When people prepare the road for an important person who is coming, they make sure that the road is level by taking material from high places and using it to fill in low places. However, this is also a description of the effects that the coming of the Lord will have on people. It is a statement similar to the one Mary makes in [1:52](../01/52.md), “He has thrown down rulers from their thrones and he has raised up the lowly.” Metaphors in Scripture can have more than one reference like this. So we recommend that you translate the words directly and not provide a plain explanation, even if your language does not customarily use such figures of speech. If you want to explain the meanings of the metaphor, we recommend that you do that in a footnote rather than in the Bible text.

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

πᾶσα φάραγξ πληρωθήσεται

If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this with an active form. Since people would be doing this action in one sense of the metaphor, but God would be doing the action in another sense of the metaphor, it might be best not to be specific about who will do the action. Alternate translation: [Someone will fill in every valley]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

καὶ πᾶν ὄρος καὶ βουνὸς ταπεινωθήσεται

If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this with an active form, following the same principle as for the previous phrase. Alternate translation: [and someone will make every mountain and hill low]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ἔσται τὰ σκολιὰ εἰς εὐθείαν, καὶ αἱ τραχεῖαι εἰς ὁδοὺς λείας

will_be (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Πάσα φάραγξ πληρωθήσεται καί παν ὄρος καί βουνός ταπεινωθήσεται καί ἔσται τά σκολιά εἰς εὐθεῖαν καί αἱ τραχεῖαι εἰς ὁδούς λείας)

This too is both a continuation of the figurative description of making a good road and a description of the effects that the coming of the Lord will have on people. Something that is crooked becoming straight and something that is rough becoming smooth can be seen as metaphors for repentance and a change in a person’s way of life. And so we recommend once again that you translate the words directly and not provide a plain explanation in the text of your translation.