Luke 3

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,

In the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar's rule, when Pontius Pilate was in charge of Judaea, Herod governed Galilee, Philip managed Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias controlled Abilene.

Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.

In the desert, John, son of Zacharias, received a message from God while Annas and Caiaphas were the main priests.

And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;

He went to all the land near the Jordan River, teaching people to be baptized as a way to forgive their wrongdoings.

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.

As written in the book of Isaiah, the prophet says, "A voice cries in the desert, 'Get ready for the Lord's path and make it 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;

Every valley will be raised up, and mountains and hills will be lowered. The bent paths will be straightened, and bumpy roads will be smoothed out.

And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

And everyone will witness God's saving action.

Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

Then he told the large crowd that came for baptism, "Snake-like people, who told you to avoid the coming anger?"

Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.

So produce good results that show you are sorry, and don't think that just because you have Abraham as your ancestor, everything will be fine. Because I'm telling you, God can create children for Abraham out of these rocks.

And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Now, the axe is ready to cut down trees from their roots. Any tree that doesn't produce good fruit gets chopped down and thrown into the fire.

And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?

The people questioned him, asking, "What should we do now?"

He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.

He says, "If you have two coats, give one to someone who has none. If you have food, share it too."

Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do?

Then tax collectors came for baptism and asked him, Teacher, what should we do?

And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you.

He told them, "Don't ask for more than what you are given."

And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.

The soldiers also asked him, "What should we do?" He replied, "Don't hurt anyone and don't lie in accusations. Be satisfied with your pay."

And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not;

As the people waited, they wondered in their minds about John, if he was the Messiah or not.

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:

John replied to everyone, "I use water for baptism, but a stronger person is coming. I'm not even good enough to untie his shoelaces. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire."

Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.

Whoever has a fan to clean, will thoroughly remove dirt from their floor, and collect the good grain in their storage; but will burn the worthless husks with unending fire.

And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people.

He said many more things to encourage the people in his speech.

But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip’s wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done,

But Herod, who ruled over a fourth of Israel, was scolded by Jesus for marrying his brother Philip's wife, Herodias, and for all the bad things he did.

Added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison.

This means, even more importantly, he put John in jail.

Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,

After everyone got baptized, it happened that Jesus, too, got baptized and prayed. Then, the sky opened up.

And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.

The Holy Spirit appeared as a dove and went on Jesus, and a voice from heaven said, "You are my dear son, and I'm very happy with you."

And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,

Jesus started around 30 years old, thought to be Joseph's son, who was Heli's son.

Which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi, which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Janna, which was the son of Joseph,

This is a genealogy: Joseph's son was Janna, then Melchi's son, followed by Levi's son, Matthat's son, and finally, this person's son.

Which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Amos, which was the son of Naum, which was the son of Esli, which was the son of Nagge,

This is a genealogy: Mattathias' son was Amos, Amos' son was Naum, Naum's son was Esli, Esli's son was Nagge.

Which was the son of Maath, which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Semei, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Juda,

Which was the child of Maath, who was the child of Mattathias, who was the child of Semei, who was the child of Joseph, who was the child of Juda,

Which was the son of Joanna, which was the son of Rhesa, which was the son of Zorobabel, which was the son of Salathiel, which was the son of Neri,

This verse is about a person who is the son of Joanna, who is the son of Rhesa, who is the son of Zorobabel, who is the son of Salathiel, who is the son of Neri.

Which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Addi, which was the son of Cosam, which was the son of Elmodam, which was the son of Er,

Which person was the child of Melchi, who was the child of Addi, who was the child of Cosam, who was the child of Elmodam, who was the child of Er,

Which was the son of Jose, which was the son of Eliezer, which was the son of Jorim, which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi,

This is a genealogy: Jose's son was Eliezer, Eliezer's son was Jorim, Jorim's son was Matthat, Matthat's son was Levi.

Which was the son of Simeon, which was the son of Juda, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Jonan, which was the son of Eliakim,

This verse is stating a family lineage: It was the son of Simeon, who was the son of Juda, who was the son of Joseph, who was the son of Jonan, who was the son of Eliakim.

Which was the son of Melea, which was the son of Menan, which was the son of Mattatha, which was the son of Nathan, which was the son of David,

This verse is about someone who is a descendant of David. The lineage goes like this: David, Nathan, Mattatha, Menan, Melea.

Which was the son of Jesse, which was the son of Obed, which was the son of Booz, which was the son of Salmon, which was the son of Naasson,

The person we're talking about is a descendant of Jesse, who came from Obed, then Booz, followed by Salmon, and finally Naasson.

Which was the son of Aminadab, which was the son of Aram, which was the son of Esrom, which was the son of Phares, which was the son of Juda,

Which was a descendant of Aminadab, who was a descendant of Aram, who was a descendant of Esrom, who was a descendant of Phares, who was a descendant of Juda,

Which was the son of Jacob, which was the son of Isaac, which was the son of Abraham, which was the son of Thara, which was the son of Nachor,

This is a lineage of people: Thara had Nachor, Nachor had Abraham, Abraham had Isaac, Isaac had Jacob, and Jacob's son is the person being referred to.

Which was the son of Saruch, which was the son of Ragau, which was the son of Phalec, which was the son of Heber, which was the son of Sala,

Which was the child of Saruch, who was the child of Ragau, who was the child of Phalec, who was the child of Heber, who was the child of Sala,

Which was the son of Cainan, which was the son of Arphaxad, which was the son of Sem, which was the son of Noe, which was the son of Lamech,

This verse is describing a genealogy: "Which was the son of Cainan...down to Lamech." It lists the descendants in a direct line from Lamech to Noe.

Which was the son of Mathusala, which was the son of Enoch, which was the son of Jared, which was the son of Maleleel, which was the son of Cainan,

This is a lineage of people: Mathusala's son was Enoch, Enoch's son was Jared, Jared's son was Maleleel, Maleleel's son was Cainan.

Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.

Which child was Enos's son, who came from Seth, who was from Adam, all from God's offspring?