Luke 3:16

John replied to them all, “No, I am not. I used only water when I baptized you. But the Messiah will soon come! He is far greater than I am. He is so great that I am not worthy to be like his slave and untie his sandals [MET] like a slave would do! He will put his Holy Spirit within [MTY] you to truly change your lives, and he will judge others of you and punish you in the fire [MET] in hell.

Translation for Translators

In The King James Version

John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:

In Context

15People were expecting that the Messiah would come soon. Because of that, many of them wondered about John. Some of them asked him if he was the Messiah.

17He is like a man [MET] who wants to clear away the grain on the ground where it has been threshed {they have threshed it}. That man uses a huge fork to throw the grain into the air to separate the wheat from the chaff [MET], and then he cleans up the threshing area. Similarly, God will separate righteous people from the evil people, like a man who gathers the wheat into his storage area, and then he will burn those who are like chaff with a fire ◄that will never be put out/that will burn forever►.”

Read all of Luke 3

Cross References

Isaiah 4:4That will happen when Yahweh washes away the guilt of the women of Jerusalem, and when he stops the violence [MET] on the streets of Jerusalem by punishing the people of Jerusalem. When he does that, it will be like a fire to burn up all the impure things.

Isaiah 44:3I will pour water on your dry land and cause streams to flow. And I will pour out my Spirit on your descendants and greatly bless them.

Joel 2:28“Some time later, I will give my Spirit to many [HYP] people. Your sons and daughters will proclaim messages that come directly from me. Your old men will have dreams that come from me, and your young men will have visions that come from me.

Malachi 3:2But will anyone [RHQ] be able to survive when he comes? Will anyone [RHQ] be able to remain standing in front of him? Certainly not, because he will be like [SIM] a blazing fire that refines/purifies metal/gold. He will be like [SIM] a very strong soap that bleaches clothes.

Mark 1:7He was preaching, “Very shortly a man will come who is very great. I am nothing compared to him. Because he is so superior to me, I am not even worthy to serve him like a slave by stooping down and untying his sandals.

John 1:33I myself did not know previously that he was the Messiah. However, God sent me to baptize people with water, people who said they wanted to turn from their sinful ways. While I was doing that, God told me, ‘The man on whom you will see my Spirit descend and remain is the one who will put the Holy Spirit within you (pl) to truly change your lives.’

Matthew Henry on Luke 3:16-21

Imprisonment of John the Baptist. 15 And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not; 16 John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire: 17 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire… Read the whole commentary →

This Verse In Other Editions

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