KJV: I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
YLT: 'I indeed do baptize you with water to reformation, but he who after me is coming is mightier than I, of whom I am not worthy to bear the sandals, he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire,
Darby: I indeed baptise you with water to repentance, but he that comes after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not fit to bear; he shall baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire;
ASV: I indeed baptize you in water unto repentance, but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit and in fire:
| μὲν | indeed |
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Parse: Conjunction Root: μέν Sense: truly, certainly, surely, indeed. |
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| βαπτίζω | baptize |
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Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 1st Person Singular Root: βαπτίζω Sense: to dip repeatedly, to immerse, to submerge (of vessels sunk). |
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| ὕδατι | water |
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Parse: Noun, Dative Neuter Singular Root: ὕδωρ Sense: water. |
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| μετάνοιαν | repentance |
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Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular Root: μετάνοια Sense: a change of mind, as it appears to one who repents, of a purpose he has formed or of something he has done. |
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| ὁ | - |
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Parse: Article, Nominative Masculine Singular Root: ὁ Sense: this, that, these, etc. |
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| ὀπίσω | after |
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Parse: Preposition Root: ὀπίσω Sense: back, behind, after, afterwards. |
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| μου | me |
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Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive 1st Person Singular Root: ἐγώ Sense: I, me, my. |
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| ἐρχόμενος | is coming |
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Parse: Verb, Present Participle Middle or Passive, Nominative Masculine Singular Root: ἔρχομαι Sense: to come. |
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| ἰσχυρότερός | mightier |
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Parse: Adjective, Nominative Masculine Singular, Comparative Root: ἰσχυρός Sense: strong, mighty. |
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| μού | than I |
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Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive 1st Person Singular Root: ἐγώ Sense: I, me, my. |
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| οὗ | of whom |
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Parse: Personal / Relative Pronoun, Genitive Masculine Singular Root: ὅς Sense: who, which, what, that. |
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| εἰμὶ | I am |
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Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 1st Person Singular Root: εἰμί Sense: to be, to exist, to happen, to be present. |
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| ἱκανὸς | fit |
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Parse: Adjective, Nominative Masculine Singular Root: ἱκανός Sense: sufficient. |
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| ὑποδήματα | sandals |
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Parse: Noun, Accusative Neuter Plural Root: ὑπόδημα Sense: what is bound under, a sandal, a sole fastened to the foot with thongs. |
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| βαστάσαι | to carry |
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Parse: Verb, Aorist Infinitive Active Root: βαστάζω Sense: to take up with the hands. |
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| βαπτίσει | will baptize |
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Parse: Verb, Future Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular Root: βαπτίζω Sense: to dip repeatedly, to immerse, to submerge (of vessels sunk). |
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| Πνεύματι | [the] Spirit |
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Parse: Noun, Dative Neuter Singular Root: πνεῦμα Sense: a movement of air (a gentle blast. |
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| Ἁγίῳ | Holy |
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Parse: Adjective, Dative Neuter Singular Root: ἅγιος Sense: most holy thing, a saint. |
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| πυρί | with fire |
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Parse: Noun, Dative Neuter Singular Root: πῦρ Sense: fire. |
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Greek Commentary for Matthew 3:11
Ablative after the comparative adjective. His baptism is water baptism, but the Coming One “will baptize in the Holy Spirit and fire.” “Life in the coming age is in the sphere of the Spirit. Spirit and fire are coupled with one preposition as a double baptism” (McNeile). Broadus takes “fire” in the sense of separation like the use of the fan. As the humblest of servants John felt unworthy to take off the sandals of the Coming One. About βασταζω bastazō see Matthew 8:17. [source]
Compare to unloose, Mark 1:7. John puts himself in the position of the meanest of servants. To bear the sandals of their masters, that is, to bring and take them away, as well as to fasten or to take them off, was, among the Jews, Greeks, and Romans, the business of slaves of the lowest rank. [source]
Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Matthew 3:11
Rev., correctly, “into the name.” Baptizing into the name has a twofold meaning. 1. Unto, denoting object or purpose, as εἰς μετάνοιαν , unto repentance (Matthew 3:11); εἰς ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτιῶν , for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38). 2. Into, denoting union or communion with, as Romans 6:3, “baptized into Christ Jesus; into his death;” i.e., we are brought by baptism into fellowship with his death. Baptizing into the name of the Holy Trinity implies a spiritual and mystical union with him. E ἰς , into, is the preposition commonly used with baptize. See Acts 8:16; Acts 19:3, Acts 19:5; 1 Corinthians 1:13, 1 Corinthians 1:15; 1 Corinthians 10:2; Galatians 3:27. In Acts 2:38, however, Peter says, “Be baptized upon ( ἐπὶ ) the name of Jesus Christ; and in Acts 10:48, he commands Cornelius and his friends to be baptized in ( ἐν ) the name of the Lord. To be baptized upon the name is to be baptized on the confession of that which the name implies: on the ground of the name; so that the name Jesus, as the contents of the faith and confession, is the ground upon which the becoming baptized rests. In the name ( ἐν ) has reference to the sphere within which alone true baptism is accomplished. The name is not the mere designation, a sense which would give to the baptismal formula merely the force of acharm. The name, as in the Lord's Prayer (“Hallowed be thy name”), is the expression of the sum total of the divine Being: not his designation as God or Lord, but the formula in which all his attributes and characteristics are summed up. It is equivalent to his person. The finite mind can deal with him only through his name; but his name is of no avail detached from his nature. When one is baptized into the name of the Trinity, he professes to acknowledge and appropriate God in all that he is and in all that he does for man. He recognizes and depends upon God the Father as his Creator and Preserver; receives Jesus Christ as his only Mediator and Redeemer, and his pattern of life; and confesses the Holy Spirit as his Sanctifier and Comforter. [source]
This is a different word from that in Matthew 3:2; Matthew 4:17; μετανοεῖτε , Repent ye. Though it is fairly claimed that the word here implies all that is implied in the other word, the New Testament writers evidently recognize a distinction, since the noun which corresponds to the verb in this passage ( μεταμέλεια ) is not used at all in the New Testament, and the verb itself only five times; and, in every case except the two in this passage (see Matthew 21:32), with a meaning quite foreign to repentance in the ordinary gospel sense. Thus it is used of Judas, when he brought back the thirty pieces (Matthew 27:3); of Paul's not regretting his letter to the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 7:8); and of God (Hebrews 7:21). On the other hand, μετανοέω , repent, used by John and Jesus in their summons to repentance (Matthew 3:2; Matthew 4:17), occurs thirty-four times, and the noun μετάνοια , repentance (Matthew 3:8, Matthew 3:11), twenty-four times, and in every case with reference to that change of heart and life wrought by the Spirit of God, to which remission of sins and salvation are promised. It is not impossible, therefore, that the word in this passage may have been intended to carry a different shade of meaning, now lost to us. Μεταμέλομαι , as its etymology indicates ( μετά , after, and μέλω , to be an object of care), implies an after-care, as contrasted with the change of mind denoted by μετάνοια . Not sorrow for moral obliquity and sin against God, but annoyance at the consequences of an act or course of acts, and chagrin at not having known better. “It may be simply what our fathers were wont to call hadiwist (had-I-wist, or known better, I should have acted otherwise)” (Trench). Μεταμέλεια refers chiefly to single acts; μετάνοια denotes the repentance which affects the whole life. Hence the latter is often found in the imperative: Repent ye (Matthew 3:2; Matthew 4:17; Acts 2:38; Acts 3:19); the former never. Paul's recognition of the distinction (2 Corinthians 7:10) is noteworthy. “Godly sorrow worketh repentance ( μετάνοιαν ) unto salvation,” a salvation or repentance “which bringeth no regret on thinking of it afterwards” ( ἀμεταμέλητον )There is no occasion for one ever to think better of either his repentance or the salvation in which it issued. [source]
A quotation from Isaiah 53:4. It is not clear in what sense Matthew applies the words in Isaiah whether in the precise sense of the Hebrew or in an independent manner. Moffatt translates it: “He took away our sicknesses, and bore the burden of our diseases.” Goodspeed puts it: “He took our sickness and carried away our diseases.” Deissmann (Bible Studies, pp. 102f.) thinks that Matthew has made a free interpretation of the Hebrew, has discarded the translation of the Septuagint, and has transposed the two Hebrew verbs so that Matthew means: “He took upon himself our pains, and bore our diseases.” Plummer holds that “It is impossible, and also unnecessary, to understand what the Evangelist understood by ‹took‘ It at least must mean that Christ removed their sufferings from the sufferers. He can hardly have meant that the diseases were transferred to Christ.” ασταζω Bastazō occurs freely in the papyri with the sense of lift, carry, endure, carry away (the commonest meaning, Moulton and Milligan, Vocabulary), pilfer. In Matthew 3:11 we have the common vernacular use to take off sandals. The Attic Greek did not use it in the sense of carrying off. “This passage is the cornerstone of the faith-cure theory, which claims that the atonement of Christ includes provision for bodily no less than for spiritual healing, and therefore insists on translating ‹took away‘”(Vincent). We have seen that the word βασταζω bastazō will possibly allow that meaning, but I agree with McNeile: “The passage, as Matthew employs it, has no bearing on the doctrine of the atonement.” But Jesus does show his sympathy with us. “Christ‘s sympathy with the sufferers was so intense that he really felt their weaknesses and pains.” In our burdens Jesus steps under the load with us and helps us to carry on. [source]
Compare to bear; Matthew 3:11. [source]
So Luke (Luke 3:16) the locative case, in water. Matthew (Matthew 3:11) has εν en (in), both with (in) water and the Holy Spirit. The water baptism by John was a symbol of the spiritual baptism by Jesus. [source]
Considerable, more than sufficient. Often in Luke and the papyri in this sense. See note on Matthew 3:11 for the other sense of fit for οχλου ικανου hikanos Aramaic name like Bartholomew, αρτιμαιος bar meaning son like Hebrew ben. So Mark explains the name meaning “the son of Timaeus” Mark alone gives his name while Matthew 20:30 mentions two which see for discussion.Blind beggar (ο υιος Τιμαιου tuphlos prosaitēs), “begging” (τυπλος προσαιτης epaitōn) Luke has it (Luke 18:35). All three Gospels picture him as sitting by the roadside (επαιτων ekathēto para tēn hodon). It was a common sight. Bartimaeus had his regular place. Vincent quotes Thomson concerning Ramleh: “I once walked the streets counting all that were either blind or had defective eyes, and it amounted to about one-half the male population. The women I could not count, for they are rigidly veiled” (The Land and the Book). The dust, the glare of the sun, the unsanitary habits of the people spread contagious eye-diseases. [source]
Lit., sufficient. Compare Matthew 3:11, “worthy to bear and 2 Corinthians 3:5, “not that we are sufficient ( ἱκανοί )but our sufficiency ( ἱκανότης ) is of God.” It is also used in the sense of much, many, long. See Luke 7:12; Luke 8:27, Luke 8:32; Luke 20:9; Acts 9:23. [source]
So also Mark; but Matthew βαστάσαι ,to bear. See on Matthew 3:11. [source]
Like Mark 1:7, “the one mightier than I.” Ablative case Compare Luke 3:16 with Mark 1:7. and Matthew 3:11. for discussion of details. Luke has “fire” here after “baptize with the Holy Ghost” as Matthew 3:11, which see note. This bold Messianic picture in the Synoptic Gospels shows that John saw the Messiah‘s coming as a judgment upon the world like fire and the fan of the thrashing-floor, and with unquenchable fire for the chaff (Luke 3:17; Matthew 3:12). But he had the spiritual conception also, the baptism in the Holy Spirit which will characterize the Messiah‘s Mission and so will far transcend the water baptism which marked the ministry of John. [source]
Literally, that I should unloose. Mark (Mark 1:7) and Luke (Luke 3:16) have unloose. Matthew (Matthew 3:11) bear. See on Matthew 3:11. [source]
Literally, first in regard of me (Rev., in margin). The reference to dignity would require ἐστίν , is (see Matthew 3:11, “is mightier”). A similar expression occurs in John 15:18: the world hated me before (it hated) you ( πρῶτον ὑμῶν ). The reference is to the pre-existence of Christ. When speaking of Christ's historic manifestation, is become before me, the Baptist says γέγονεν . When speaking of Christ's eternal being, He was before me, he uses ἦν . The meaning is, then, that Christ, in His human manifestation, appeared after John, but, as the Eternal Word, preceded him, because He existed before him. Compare John 8:58. [source]
No article Literally, “of whom I am not worthy that I unloose the latchet (see Mark 1:7 for ιμας himas) of his sandal (see Matthew 3:11 for υποδημα hupodēma bound under the foot).” Only use of αχιος axios with ινα hina in John, though used by Paul in this saying of the Baptist (Acts 13:25), ικανος ινα hikanos hina in Matthew 3:8, but ικανος λυσαι hikanos lusai (aorist active infinitive instead of λυσω lusō aorist active subjunctive) in Mark 1:7 (Luke 3:16) and βαστασαι bastasai in Matthew 3:11. [source]
Explicit and emphatic pronoun as in John 1:8, referring to God as the one who sent John (John 1:6). With the Holy Spirit “In the Holy Spirit.” Here again one needs the background of the Synoptics for the contrast between John‘s baptism in water (John 1:26) and that of the Messiah in the Holy Spirit (Mark 1:8; Matthew 3:11; Luke 3:16). [source]
Historical (dramatic) present indicative of this characteristic word in John (cf. John 1:17.). See John 1:32, John 1:34 for historical examples of John‘s witness to Christ. This sentence is a parenthesis in Westcott and Hort‘s text, though the Revised Version makes a parenthesis of most of John 1:14. The witness of John is adduced in proof of the glory full of grace and truth already claimed for the Incarnate Logos. Crieth Second perfect active indicative of κραζω krazō old verb for loud crying, repeated in dramatic form again for emphasis recalling the wonderful Voice in the wilderness which the Beloved Disciple can still hear echoing through the years. This was Imperfect indicative where John throws the tense back in past time when he looked forward to the coming of the Messiah as in Acts 3:10 where we should prefer “is” Gildersleeve (Syntax, p. 96) calls this the “imperfect of sudden appreciation of the real state of things.” Of whom I said But B C and a corrector of Aleph (Westcott and Hort) have ο ειπων ho eipōn “the one who said,” a parenthetical explanation about the Baptist, not the words of the Baptist about Christ. After me See also John 1:27. Later in time John means. He described “the Coming One” The Beloved Disciple had heard the Baptist say these very words, but he also had the Synoptic Gospels. Is become Second perfect active indicative of γινομαι ginomai It is already an actual fact when the Baptist is speaking. Before me In rank and dignity, the Baptist means, ο ισχυροτερος μου ho ischuroteros mou “the one mightier than I” (Mark 1:7) and ισχυροτερος μου ischuroteros mou “mightier than I” (Matthew 3:11). In John 3:28 εμπροστεν εκεινου emprosthen ekeinou (before him, the Christ) does mean priority in time, but not here. This superior dignity of the Messiah John proudly recognizes always (John 3:25-30). For he was before me Paradox, but clear. He had always been So also πρωτον υμων prōton humōn in John 15:18 means “before you” as if it were προτερον υμων proteron humōn John 1:30 repeats these words almost exactly. [source]
Cognate accusative with εβαπτισεν ebaptisen and the genitive μετανοιας metanoias describing the baptism as marked by (case of species or genus), not as conveying, repentance just as in Mark 1:4 and that was the work of the Holy Spirit. But John preached also the baptism of the Holy Spirit which the Messiah was to bring (Mark 1:7.; Matthew 3:11.; Luke 3:16). If they did not know of the Holy Spirit, they had missed the point of John‘s baptism. [source]
The margin has “in the Holy Ghost” (Spirit, it should be). The American Standard Version renders “in” both with “water” and “Holy Spirit” as do Goodspeed (American Translation) and Mrs. Montgomery (Centenary Translation). John‘s own words (Matthew 3:11) to which Jesus apparently refers use εν en (in) both with water and Spirit. There is a so-called instrumental use of εν en where we in English have to say “with” (Revelation 13:10 εν μαχαιρηι en machairēi like μαχαιρηι machairēi Acts 12:2). That is to say εν en with the locative presents the act as located in a certain instrument like a sword (Robertson, Grammar, pp. 589f.). But the instrumental case is more common without εν en (the locative and instrumental cases having the same form). So it is often a matter of indifference which idiom is used as in John 21:8 we have τωι πλοιαριωι tōi ploiariōi (locative without εν en). They came in (locative case without εν en) the boat. So in John 1:31 εν υδατι βαπτιζων en hudati baptizōn baptizing in water. No distinction therefore can be insisted on here between the construction υδατι hudati and εν πνευματι en pneumati (both being in the locative case, one without, one with εν en). Note unusual position of the verb βαπτιστησεστε baptisthēsesthe (future passive indicative) between πνευματι pneumati and αγιωι hagiōi This baptism of the Holy Spirit was predicted by John (Matthew 3:11) as the characteristic of the Messiah‘s work. Now the Messiah himself in his last message before his Ascension proclaims that in a few days the fulfilment of that prophecy will come to pass. The Codex Bezae adds here “which ye are about to receive” and “until the Pentecost” to Acts 1:5. [source]
υπο νοεω Huponoeō(ουκ ειμι εγω hupoλσαι noeō) is to think secretly, to suspect, to conjecture. I am not he (λυω ouk eimi egō). These precise words are not given in the Gospels, but the idea is the same as the disclaimers by the Baptist in John 1:19-27 (cf. also Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:7; Luke 3:16). Paul had a true grasp of the message of the Baptist. He uses the very form υποδημα lūsai (first aorist active infinitive of luō) found in Mark 1:7; Luke 3:16 and the word for shoes (hupodēma singular) in all three. His quotation is remarkably true to the words in the Synoptic Gospels. How did Paul get hold of the words of the Baptist so clearly?-DIVIDER- [source]
not who, character, not identity. It is indirect discourse (the infinitive ειναι einai and the accusative of general reference). υπο νοεω Huponoeō(ουκ ειμι εγω hupoλσαι noeō) is to think secretly, to suspect, to conjecture. I am not he (λυω ouk eimi egō). These precise words are not given in the Gospels, but the idea is the same as the disclaimers by the Baptist in John 1:19-27 (cf. also Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:7; Luke 3:16). Paul had a true grasp of the message of the Baptist. He uses the very form υποδημα lūsai (first aorist active infinitive of luō) found in Mark 1:7; Luke 3:16 and the word for shoes (hupodēma singular) in all three. His quotation is remarkably true to the words in the Synoptic Gospels. How did Paul get hold of the words of the Baptist so clearly?-DIVIDER- [source]
, character, not identity. It is indirect discourse (the infinitive ειναι einai and the accusative of general reference). υπο νοεω Huponoeō(ουκ ειμι εγω hupoλσαι noeō) is to think secretly, to suspect, to conjecture. I am not he (λυω ouk eimi egō). These precise words are not given in the Gospels, but the idea is the same as the disclaimers by the Baptist in John 1:19-27 (cf. also Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:7; Luke 3:16). Paul had a true grasp of the message of the Baptist. He uses the very form υποδημα lūsai (first aorist active infinitive of luō) found in Mark 1:7; Luke 3:16 and the word for shoes (hupodēma singular) in all three. His quotation is remarkably true to the words in the Synoptic Gospels. How did Paul get hold of the words of the Baptist so clearly?-DIVIDER- [source]
Note the emphatic prolepsis of ινα πιστευσωσιν eis ton erchomenon met' auton before hina pisteusōsin with which it is construed. This is John‘s identical phrase, “the one coming after me” as seen in Mark 1:7; Matthew 3:11; Luke 3:16; John 1:15. It is not clear that these “disciples” believed in a Messiah, least of all in Jesus. They were wholly unprepared for the baptism of John. Paul does not mean to say that John‘s baptism was inadequate, but he simply explains what John really taught and so what his baptism signified. [source]
Present middle (or passive) participle of διαμεριζω diamerizō old verb, to cleave asunder, to cut in pieces as a butcher does meat (aorist passive in Luke 11:17.). So middle here would mean, parting themselves asunder or distributing themselves. The passive voice would be “being distributed.” The middle is probably correct and means that “the fire-like appearance presented itself at first, as it were, in a single body, and then suddenly parted in this direction and that; so that a portion of it rested on each of those present” (Hackett). The idea is not that each tongue was cloven, but each separate tongue looked like fire, not real fire, but looking like “Fire had always been, with the Jews, the symbol of the Divine presence (cf. Exodus 3:2; Deuteronomy 5:4). No symbol could be more fitting to express the Spirit‘s purifying energy and refining energy” (Furneaux). The Baptist had predicted a baptizing by the Messiah in the Holy Spirit and in fire (Matthew 3:11). [source]
Since he is the inspirer of prayer, and the bestower of all gifts of grace on the Church. Comp. Ephesians 4:30. The operation of the Spirit is set forth under the image of fire in Matthew 3:11; Luke 12:49; Acts 2:3, Acts 2:4. The reference here is to the work of the Spirit generally, and not specially to his inspiration of prayer or prophecy. [source]