Matthew
Chapter 3
1 1 2 In those days John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea
那时，洗者若翰出现在犹太旷野宣讲说：
2 (and) saying, ＂Repent, 3 for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!＂
“你们悔改吧！因为天国临近了。”
3 4 It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said: ＂A voice of one crying out in the desert, 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.'＂
这人便是那藉依撒依亚先知所预言的：“在旷野里有呼号者的声音：你们该当预备上主的道路，修直他的途径。”
4 5 John wore clothing made of camel's hair and had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.
这若翰穿著骆驼毛做的衣服，腰间束着皮带，他的食物是蝗虫和野蜜。
5 At that time Jerusalem, all Judea, and the whole region around the Jordan were going out to him
那时，耶路撒冷、全犹太以及全约但河一带的人，都出来到他那里去，
6 and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins. 6
承认自己的罪过，并在约但河里受他的洗。
7 When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees 7 coming to his baptism, he said to them, ＂You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
他见到许多法利塞人和撒杜塞人来受他的洗，就对他们说：“毒蛇的种类！谁指教你们逃避那即将来临的忿怒？
8 Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance.
那么，就结与悔改相称的果实吧！
9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you, God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones.
你们自己不要思念说：我们有亚巴郎为父。我给你们说：天主能从这些石头给亚巴郎兴起子孙来。
10 Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
斧子已放在树根上了，凡不结好果子的树，必被砍倒，投入火中。
11 I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire. 8
我固然用水洗你们，为使你们悔改；但在我以后要来的那一位，比我更强，我连提他的鞋也不配，他要以圣神及火洗你们。
12 9 His winnowing fan is in his hand. He will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.＂
他的簸箕已在他手中，他要扬净自己的禾场，将他的麦粒收入仓内，至于糠秕，却要用不灭的火焚烧。”
13 10 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.
那时，耶稣由加里肋亚来到约但河若翰那里，为受他的洗；
14 11 John tried to prevent him, saying, ＂I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?＂
但若翰想要阻止他说：“我本来需要受你的洗，而你却来就我吗？”
15 Jesus said to him in reply, ＂Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.＂ Then he allowed him.
耶稣回答他说：“你暂且容许吧！因为我们应当这样，以完成全义。”于是若翰就容许了他。
16 12 After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened (for him), and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove (and) coming upon him.
耶稣受洗后，立时从水里上来，忽然天为他开了。他看见天主圣神有如鸽子降下，来到他上面；
17 And a voice came from the heavens, saying, ＂This is my beloved Son, 13 with whom I am well pleased.＂
又有声音由天上说：“这是我的爱子，我所喜悦的”
Footnotes(注解)
1 [1] Unlike Luke, Matthew says nothing of the Baptist's origins and does not make him a relative of Jesus. The desert of Judea: the barren region west of the Dead Sea extending up the Jordan valley.
2 [1-12] Here Matthew takes up the order of Jesus' ministry found in the gospel of Mark, beginning with the preparatory preaching of John the Baptist.
3 [2] Repent: the Baptist calls for a change of heart and conduct, a turning of one's life from rebellion to obedience towards God. The kingdom of heaven is at hand: ＂heaven＂ (literally, ＂the heavens＂) is a substitute for the name ＂God＂ that was avoided by devout Jews of the time out of reverence. The expression ＂the kingdom of heaven＂ occurs only in the gospel of Matthew. It means the effective rule of God over his people. In its fullness it includes not only human obedience to God's word, but the triumph of God over physical evils, supremely over death. In the expectation found in Jewish apocalyptic, the kingdom was to be ushered in by a judgment in which sinners would be condemned and perish, an expectation shared by the Baptist. This was modified in Christian understanding where the kingdom was seen as being established in stages, culminating with the parousia of Jesus.
4 [3] See the note on John 1:23.
5 [4] The clothing of John recalls the austere dress of the prophet Elijah (2 Kings 1:8). The expectation of the return of Elijah from heaven to prepare Israel for the final manifestation of God's kingdom was widespread, and according to Matthew this expectation was fulfilled in the Baptist's ministry (Matthew 11:14; 17:11-13).
6 [6] Ritual washing was practiced by various groups in Palestine between 150 B.C. and A.D. 250. John's baptism may have been related to the purificatory washings of the Essenes at Qumran.
7 [7] Pharisees and Sadducees: the former were marked by devotion to the law, written and oral, and the scribes, experts in the law, belonged predominantly to this group. The Sadducees were the priestly aristocratic party, centered in Jerusalem. They accepted as scripture only the first five books of the Old Testament, followed only the letter of the law, rejected the oral legal traditions, and were opposed to teachings not found in the Pentateuch, such as the resurrection of the dead. Matthew links both of these groups together as enemies of Jesus (Matthew 16:1, 6, 11, 12; cf Mark 8:11-13, 15). The threatening words that follow are addressed to them rather than to ＂the crowds＂ as in Luke 3:7. The coming wrath: the judgment that will bring about the destruction of unrepentant sinners.
8 [11] Baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire: the water baptism of John will be followed by an ＂immersion＂ of the repentant in the cleansing power of the Spirit of God, and of the unrepentant in the destroying power of God's judgment. However, some see the holy Spirit and fire as synonymous, and the effect of this ＂baptism＂ as either purification or destruction. See the note on Luke 3:16
9 [12] The discrimination between the good and the bad is compared to the procedure by which a farmer separates wheat and chaff. The winnowing fan was a forklike shovel with which the threshed wheat was thrown into the air. The kernels fell to the ground; the light chaff, blown off by the wind, was gathered and burned up.
10 [13-17] The baptism of Jesus is the occasion on which he is equipped for his ministry by the holy Spirit and proclaimed to be the Son of God.
11 [14-15] This dialogue, peculiar to Matthew, reveals John's awareness of Jesus' superiority to him as the mightier one who is coming and who will baptize with the holy Spirit (Matthew 3:11). His reluctance to admit Jesus among the sinners whom he is baptizing with water is overcome by Jesus' response. To fulfill all righteousness: in this gospel to fulfill usually refers to fulfillment of prophecy, and righteousness to moral conduct in conformity with God's will. Here, however, as in Matthew 5:6; 6:33, righteousness seems to mean the saving activity of God. To fulfill all righteousness is to submit to the plan of God for the salvation of the human race. This involves Jesus' identification with sinners; hence the propriety of his accepting John's baptism.
12 [16] The Spirit . . . coming upon him: cf Isaiah 42:1.
13 [17] This is my beloved Son: the Marcan address to Jesus (Mark 1:11) is changed into a proclamation. The Father's voice speaks in terms that reflect Isaiah 42:1; Psalm 2:7; Genesis 22:2.