Matthew 3:15-17

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. 3:17 And ¹⁰  a voice from heaven said, ¹¹  “This is my one dear Son; ¹²  in him ¹³  I take great delight.” ¹⁴ 

[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.

[3:17]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “and behold.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated here.

[3:17]  ¹¹ tn Grk “behold, a voice from the cloud, saying.” This is an incomplete sentence in Greek which portrays intensity and emotion. The participle λέγουσα (legousa) was translated as a finite verb in keeping with English style.

[3:17]  ¹² tn Grk “my beloved Son,” or “my Son, the beloved [one].” The force of ἀγαπητός (agaphtos) is often “pertaining to one who is the only one of his or her class, but at the same time is particularly loved and cherished” (L&N 58.53; cf. also BDAG 7 s.v. 1).

[3:17]  ¹³ tn Grk “in whom.”

[3:17]  ¹⁴ tn Or “with whom I am well pleased.”