Matthew 3:15-16

3:15 So Jesus replied ¹  to him, “Let it happen now, ²  for it is right for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John ³  yielded ⁴  to him. 3:16 After ⁵  Jesus was baptized, just as he was coming up out of the water, the ⁶  heavens ⁷  opened ⁸  and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove ⁹  and coming on him.

[3:15]  ¹ tn Grk “but Jesus, answering, said.” This construction with passive participle and finite verb is pleonastic (redundant) and has been simplified in the translation to “replied to him.”

[3:15]  ² tn Grk “Permit now.”

[3:15]  ³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (John the Baptist) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:15]  ⁴ tn Or “permitted him.”

[3:16]  ⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[3:16]  ⁶ tn Grk “behold the heavens.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[3:16]  ⁷ tn Or “sky.” The Greek word οὐρανός (ourano") may be translated “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. The same word is used in v. 17.

[3:16]  ⁸ tc ‡ αὐτῷ (autw, “to/before him”) is found in the majority of witnesses (א¹ C D^s L W 0233 Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat), perhaps added as a point of clarification or emphasis. NA²⁷ includes the word in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[3:16]  ⁹ sn The phrase like a dove is a descriptive comparison. The Spirit is not a dove, but descended like one in some sort of bodily representation.