Matthew 3:17

“And look, a voice from the heavens said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.””
Matthew 3:17 · direct translation from the Greek

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With the Greek beneath

Andκαὶlook,ἰδοὺa voiceφωνὴfromἐκthe heavensτῶν οὐρανῶνsaid,λέγουσα“ThisΟὗτόςisἐστινmyμουbelovedὁ ἀγαπητόςSon,ὁ υἱόςinἐνwhomᾧI am well pleased.”εὐδόκησα

Allusion · Genesis 22:2

Go to Genesis 22:2

In the Septuagint, Genesis 22:2 calls Isaac “your son, the beloved” (τὸν υἱόν σου τὸν ἀγαπητόν), where the Hebrew says “your son, your only one.” The voice from heaven uses the same two words: “my Son, the beloved.”

They share words that are rare in the original, without a quotation.

Words of the Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation of the OT (Genesis 22:2 in the Septuagint numbering; Swete's text, CC BY-SA 4.0):

υἱόςhuiosG5207υἱόνhuionLXX“son”
ἀγαπητόςagapētosG27ἀγαπητὸνagapētonLXX“beloved”

Matthew 3:17, word by word

a voiceφωνὴphōnē

voice

Someone's voice, or a shout.

Where else “phōnē” appears

the heavensοὐρανῶνouranōn

heaven

God's dwelling, above all that is created.

Where else “ouranōn” appears

saidλέγουσαlegousa

say

To express something in words to others.

Where else “legousa” appears

isἐστινestin

To be: says who or what something is.

Where else “estin” appears

belovedἀγαπητόςagapētos

beloved

Beloved, dear.

Where else “agapētos” appears

Sonυἱόςhuios

Son

Jesus, the Son of God.

Where else “huios” appears

I am well pleasedεὐδόκησαeudokēsa

be pleased

To delight in someone, as the Father in his Son.

Where else “eudokēsa” appears

Translation note

The words recall Psalm 2:7 (“You are my son”) and Isaiah 42:1 (“my chosen one, in whom my soul delights”).

Parallel passages

Other books that tell the same thing or quote these words.

Jesus is immersed

Mark 1:9-11 Luke 3:21-22

See them side by side

Matthew 3:13-17

¹³Then Jesus comes from Galilee to the Jordan, to John, to be immersed by him. ¹⁴But John tried to prevent him, saying, “I need to be immersed by you, and you come to me?” ¹⁵But Jesus answered and said to him, “Allow it now, for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allows him to do so. ¹⁶And after being immersed, Jesus at once went up from the water; and look, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God coming down like a dove and coming upon him. ¹⁷And look, a voice from the heavens said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Mark 1:9-11

⁹And it happened in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was immersed in the Jordan by John. ¹⁰And at once, as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit coming down like a dove to him. ¹¹And a voice came from the heavens: “You are my beloved Son; in you I am well pleased.”

Luke 3:21-22

²¹Now it happened, when all the people were being immersed, and Jesus too had been immersed and was praying, that heaven was opened, ²²and the Holy Spirit came down in bodily form, like a dove, upon him, and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; in you I am well pleased.”

The context

16And after being immersed, Jesus at once went up from the water; and look, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God coming down like a dove and coming upon him.

17 · This verse (above)

Read all of Matthew 3

To study Matthew 3 in a group

1. What it says
What voice was heard from the heavens when Jesus came up out of the water (v. 17)?
2. What it means
Why did John tell the Pharisees to bear fruit worthy of a change of mind, and not rely on Abraham (vv. 8–9)?
3. How I live it
Jesus came to John to be immersed, even though John tried to prevent him (vv. 13–15). What does this teach you about humility in approaching others?

How to use it