^3:1In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar,¹ when Pontius Pilate² was governor of Judea, and Herod³ was tetrarch⁴ of Galilee, and his brother Philip⁵ was tetrarch of the region of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias⁶ was tetrarch of Abilene, ^3:2during the high priesthood⁷ of Annas and Caiaphas, the word⁸ of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.⁹^3:3He¹⁰ went into all the region around the Jordan River,¹¹ preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.¹²

^3:4As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,

“The voice¹³ of one shouting in the wilderness:¹⁴

‘Prepare the way for the Lord,

make¹⁵ his paths straight.

^3:5Every valley will be filled,¹⁶

and every mountain and hill will be brought low,

and the crooked will be made straight,

and the rough ways will be made smooth,

^3:6and all humanity¹⁷ will see the salvation of God.’ ”¹⁸

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Footnotes

1 Or “Emperor Tiberius” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor). Tiberius Caesar was the Roman emperor Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus, who ruled from a.d. 14–37.
2 The rule of Pontius Pilate is also described by Josephus, 2.9.2–4 (2.169–177) and 18.3.1 (18.55–59).
3 Herod refers here to Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great. He ruled from 4 b.c.–a.d. 39, sharing the rule of his father’s realm with his two brothers. One brother, Archelaus (Matt 2:22) was banished in a.d. 6 and died in a.d. 18; the other brother, Herod Philip (mentioned next) died in a.d. 34.
4 A tetrarch was a ruler with rank and authority lower than a king, who ruled only with the approval of the Roman authorities. This was roughly equivalent to being governor of a region. Several times in the NT, Herod tetrarch of Galilee is called a king (Matt 14:9, Mark 6:14–29), reflecting popular usage.
5 Philip refers to Herod Philip, son of Herod the Great and brother of Herod Antipas. Philip ruled as tetrarch of Iturea and Trachonitis from 4 b.c.–a.d. 34.
6 Nothing else is known about Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene.
7 Use of the singular high priesthood to mention two figures is unusual but accurate, since Annas was the key priest from a.d. 6–15 and then his relatives were chosen for many of the next several years. After two brief tenures by others, his son-in-law Caiaphas came to power and stayed there until a.d. 36.
8 The term translated “word” here is not λόγος (logos) but ῥῆμα (rhēma), and thus could refer to the call of the Lord to John to begin ministry.
9 Or “desert.”
10 Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. Due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
11 “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity.
12 A baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins was a call for preparation for the arrival of the Lord’s salvation. To participate in this baptism was a recognition of the need for God’s forgiveness with a sense that one needed to live differently as a response to it (Luke 3:10–14).
13 Or “A voice.”
14 Or “desert.” The syntactic position of the phrase “in the wilderness” is unclear in both Luke and the . The favors taking it with “Prepare a way,” while the takes it with “a voice shouting.” If the former, the meaning would be that such preparation should be done “in the wilderness.” If the latter, the meaning would be that the place from where John’s ministry went forth was “in the wilderness.” There are Jewish materials that support both renderings: 8:14 and 9.19–20 support the while certain rabbinic texts favor the (see D. L. Bock, Luke [], 1:). While it is not absolutely necessary that a call in the wilderness led to a response in the wilderness, it is not unlikely that such would be the case. Thus, in the final analysis, the net effect between the two choices may be minimal. In any case, a majority of commentators and translations take “in the wilderness” with “The voice of one shouting” (D. L. Bock; R. H. Stein, Luke [], ; I. H. Marshall, Luke [], ; , , , , , ).
15 This call to “make paths straight” in this context is probably an allusion to preparation through repentance as the verb ποιέω (poieō) reappears in vv. 8, 10, 11, 12, 14.
16 The figurative language of this verse speaks of the whole creation preparing for the arrival of a major figure, so all obstacles to his approach are removed.
17 Grk “all flesh.”
18 A quotation from Isa 40:3–5. Though all the synoptic gospels use this citation from Isaiah, only Luke cites the material of vv. 5–6. His goal may well be to get to the declaration of v. 6, where all humanity (i.e., all nations) see God’s salvation (see also Luke 24:47).

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

‘Prepare the way of the Lord,

make his paths straight.

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 level ways,

and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’ ”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As 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.

Every valley shall be filled in,

every mountain and hill made low.

The crooked roads shall become straight,

the rough ways smooth.

And all people will see God’s salvation.’ ”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, God’s word came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the vicinity of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah:

A voice of one crying out in the wilderness:

Prepare the way for the Lord;

make his paths straight!

Every valley will be filled,

and every mountain and hill will be made low;

the crooked will become straight,

the rough ways smooth,

and everyone will see the salvation of God.

NLTNew Living Translation

It was now the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius, the Roman emperor. Pontius Pilate was governor over Judea; Herod Antipas was ruler over Galilee; his brother Philip was ruler over Iturea and Traconitis; Lysanias was ruler over Abilene. Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests. At this time a message from God came to John son of Zechariah, who was living in the wilderness. Then John went from place to place on both sides of the Jordan River, preaching that people should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven. Isaiah had spoken of John when he said,

“He is a voice shouting in the wilderness,

‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming!

Clear the road for him!

The valleys will be filled,

and the mountains and hills made level.

The curves will be straightened,

and the rough places made smooth.

And then all people will see

the salvation sent from God.’ ”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, in the time of the high priest Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. And he went into all the surrounding region of the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,

“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness,

‘Prepare the way of the Lord,

make his paths straight!

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 smooth,

and all flesh will see the salvation of God.’ ”

KJV 1900King James Version

Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, 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, Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; As 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. 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; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

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