MAT 3:1 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=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect 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 Now in those days, John the Baptist comes, preaching in the wilderness of Judea,

UST While Jesus was living in Galilee, a man whom people called John the Baptizer went to a desolate area in the region of Judea. He proclaimed,

BLB Now in those days John the Baptist comes, preaching in the wilderness of Judea,

AICNT In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea,

OEB About that time John the Baptist first appeared, proclaiming in the wilderness of Judea:

WEBBE In those days, John the Baptiser came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying,

WMBB In those days, Yochanan the Immerser came, proclaiming in the wilderness of Judea, saying,

NET In those days John the Baptist came into the wilderness of Judea proclaiming,

LSV And in those days John the Immerser comes, proclaiming in the wilderness of Judea,

FBV Some time later John the Baptist appeared on the scene, proclaiming in the Judean desert,

TCNT In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying,

T4T While Jesus was still in Nazareth town, John, whom the people called the Baptizer, went to a desolate place in Judea district.

LEB Now in those days John the Baptist came preaching in the Judean wilderness

BBE And in those days John the Baptist came preaching in the waste land of Judaea,

Moff In those days John the Baptist came on the scene, preaching in the desert of Judaea,

Wymth About this time John the Baptist made his appearance, preaching in the Desert of Judaea.

ASV And in those days cometh John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judæa, saying,

DRA And in those days cometh John the Baptist preaching in the desert of Judea.

YLT And in those days cometh John the Baptist, proclaiming in the wilderness of Judea,

Drby Now in those days comes John the baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,

RV And in those days cometh John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
(And in those days cometh/comes John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Yudea, )

SLT In these days John the Baptist is present, proclaiming in the desert of Judea;

Wbstr In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea,

KJB-1769 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
(In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Yudea, )

KJB-1611 ¶ In those daies came Iohn the Baptist, preaching in the wildernesse of Iudea,
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps In those dayes, came Iohn the Baptist, preachyng in the wyldernesse of Iurie, and saying.
(In those days, came Yohn the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Yury/Yudea, and saying.)

Gnva And in those dayes, Iohn the Baptist came and preached in the wildernes of Iudea,
(And in those days, Yohn the Baptist came and preached in the wilderness of Yudea, )

Cvdl In those dayes Ihon the Baptyst came and preached in the wildernes of Iury,
(In those days Yohn the Baptyst came and preached in the wilderness of Yury/Yudea,)

TNT In those dayes Ihon the Baptyst came and preached in the wildernes of Iury
(In those days Yohn the Baptyst came and preached in the wilderness of Yury/Yudea )

Wycl In tho daies Joon Baptist cam, and prechide in the desert of Judee,
(In those days Yohn Baptist came, and preached in the desert of Yudea,)

Luth Zu der Zeit kam Johannes der Täufer und predigte in der Wüste des jüdischen Landes
(To/For the/of_the time/period came Yohannes the/of_the Baptiser and preached in the/of_the desert the Yewishen lands)

ClVg In diebus autem illis venit Joannes Baptista prædicans in deserto Judææ,[fn]
(In days however to_them he_came Yoannes Baptist preaching in/into/on in_the_desert Yudahæ, )

3.1 In diebus autem. Præterit multa, et transit ad prædicationem Joannis. In diebus. Non solum pueritiæ annos, sed omnes usque ad prædicationem Joannis comprehendit, id est, cum fere esset triginta annorum. Lucas significantius tempora exprimit: Anno quintodecimo imperii Tiberii Cæsaris. Prædicans. Manifestavit se qui prius siluerat, baptizando, viam præparans Domino. In deserto Judææ. Quia Judæi a Deo deserti erant, quibus necessaria est pœnitentia, ut redeant.

3.1 In days however. Præterit fine, and transit to preaching Yoannis. In days. Not/No only childrentiæ years, but everyone until to preaching Yoannis comprehendit, that it_is, when/with almost was thirty of_years. Lucas significantius times expresses: In_the_year fifthdecimo imperii Tiberii Cæsaris. Prædicans. Manifestavit himself who/which first/before siluerat, baptizando, way/road beforeparans Master. In in_the_desert Yudahæ. Because Jews from to_God deserts they_were, to_whom necessary it_is repentance, as let_them_return.

UGNT ἐν δὲ ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις παραγίνεται Ἰωάννης ὁ Βαπτιστὴς, κηρύσσων ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ τῆς Ἰουδαίας
(en de tais haʸmerais ekeinais paraginetai Yōannaʸs ho Baptistaʸs, kaʸrussōn en taʸ eraʸmōi taʸs Youdaias)

SBL-GNT Ἐν δὲ ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις παραγίνεται Ἰωάννης ὁ βαπτιστὴς κηρύσσων ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ τῆς Ἰουδαίας
(En de tais haʸmerais ekeinais paraginetai Yōannaʸs ho baptistaʸs kaʸrussōn en taʸ eraʸmōi taʸs Youdaias)

RP-GNT Ἐν δὲ ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις παραγίνεται Ἰωάννης ὁ βαπτιστής, κηρύσσων ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ τῆς Ἰουδαίας,
(En de tais haʸmerais ekeinais paraginetai Yōannaʸs ho baptistaʸs, kaʸrussōn en taʸ eraʸmōi taʸs Youdaias,)

TC-GNT Ἐν δὲ ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις παραγίνεται [fn]Ἰωάννης ὁ βαπτιστής, κηρύσσων ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ τῆς Ἰουδαίας,
(En de tais haʸmerais ekeinais paraginetai Yōannaʸs ho baptistaʸs, kaʸrussōn en taʸ eraʸmōi taʸs Youdaias, )

3:1 ιωαννης ¦ ιωανης WH

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

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 3:1–12: John the Baptist taught people to repent and obey God

The story starting at 3:1 occurred about twenty-eight years after 2:23. Matthew did not tell what happened during those twenty-eight years. But he restarted the story at this time in Jesus’ life because Jesus was ready to begin the work that God gave him to do. He began at the time God chose for him.

John the Baptist was the last prophet before Jesus. The story of how John was born is in Luke chapter 1. He was the prophet whom God said would come (3:3). John wore the kind of clothes prophets often wore (3:4). He baptized people who repented. John preached that Jesus would be greater than he was (3:11).

Here are some other possible headings for this section:

The work of John the Baptist/Baptizer

The work of John who baptized people

John the Baptizer preached repentance and submission to God’s rule

John the Baptizer prepared people to receive the Lord

There are parallel passages for this section in Mark 1:1, Luke 3:1–18 and John 1:19–28.

3:1a

In those days John the Baptist came,

¶ Many years later, John the Baptizer came and began
¶ Years passed, then John, the man who baptized people, started

In those days: The phrase In those days may indicate “during the time when Jesus was living at Nazareth.” However, about twenty-eight years had passed since the end of chapter 2. If people in your area will think that the phrase In those days means that 3:1 happened soon after 2:23, you may want to include some implied information. For example:

Years later (CEV)

Years passed

Later, during the days that

John the Baptist: John had baptized many people. As a result, he became known as John the Baptist or “John the Baptizer.” For more information on the meaning of “baptize,” see “were baptized” in the note at 3:6b.

Here are some other ways to translate this title:

John the Baptizer (GW)

John the one who baptized people

John who cleansed people for God

John the Ritual Purifier

John who initiated people with God’s washing

the Baptist: The word Baptist has the same meaning here as the word “baptizer.” It refers to a person who baptizes people. The verb “baptize” means to purify people with a special ritual that uses water. In this context, the ritual involved purification from sin. It did not mean that the person was cleaned to remove dirt. Baptism was an initiation that marked the beginning of a person’s life as one of God’s pure people.

came: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as came can also mean “appear,” or “make a public appearance.” It indicates that at this time John began his work.

Here are some other ways to translate this verb:

appeared (NRSV)

began (NCV)

3:1b

preaching in the wilderness of Judea

to preach in the wilderness of Judea.
to publicly announce God’s message to the people. He was in a part of the province of Judea where no one lived.

preaching: The Greek word that the BSB translates as preaching means to publicly “announce,” or “proclaim.” John was announcing the message that God had given to him. The words of 3:2 indicate what he was preaching.

Here are some other ways to translate this verb:

publicly announcing

proclaiming this message (REB)

telling people God’s message

in the wilderness: The Greek word that the BSB translates as wilderness refers to a wild, desolate area where few people lived. Some English versions translate this word as “desert” (NIV). It was often a dry area, but it was not just sand and barren. Some wild grasses and bushes grew there. Many people went out to this wilderness to hear John preach. The focus here is that few people lived there, not that it was dry.

Some languages have a special word to refer to such an area, such as “the bush” (Africa) or “steppes” (Asia). It may be appropriate to use such a word here.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

Desert (NIV)

empty land

region where no one lives

of Judea: The noun Judea refers to a district or province. It was one of the areas where Jews lived.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

in the province of Judea

that was in the district of Judea

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: writing-newevent

δὲ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐν Δέ ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις παραγίνεται Ἰωάννης ὁ Βαπτιστής κηρύσσων ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ τῆς Ἰουδαίας)

Here, the word Now introduces the next major event in the story. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word or phrase that introduces the next event, or you could leave Now untranslated. Alternate translation: [Next,]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

ἐν & ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις

in & ¬the days those

Here, Matthew uses the term days to refer to a particular period of time. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a different word or phrase that identifies a particular period of time. Alternate translation: [during that time]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις

¬the days those

Here, the phrase those days refers to the period of time before Jesus began his public ministry. During this time, Jesus lived in Nazareth with his family. Matthew is not referring to the period of time in which Joseph, Mary, and Jesus traveled back from Egypt to Galilee. If it would be helpful in your language, you could refer more explicitly to the time period in which Jesus lived in Nazareth. Alternate translation: [the days when Jesus lived in Nazareth] or [the days before Jesus began his ministry]

Note 4 topic: writing-participants

παραγίνεται Ἰωάννης ὁ Βαπτιστὴς

˓is˒_arriving John the (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐν Δέ ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις παραγίνεται Ἰωάννης ὁ Βαπτιστής κηρύσσων ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ τῆς Ἰουδαίας)

This phrase introduces a new character into the story. If your language has an expression of its own that serves this purpose, you could use it here. Alternate translation: [there is a man named John the Baptist] or [a man called John the Baptist appears]

Note 5 topic: translate-tense

παραγίνεται

˓is˒_arriving

To call attention to a development in the story, Matthew uses the present tense in past narration. If it would not be natural to do that in your language, you could use the past tense in your translation. Alternate translation: [came]

Parallel MAT 3:1

Section 3:1–12: John the Baptist taught people to repent and obey God

3:1a

3:1b