Luke 3:10

Contemporary English Version

The crowds asked John, "What should we do?"

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“What then should we do?” the crowds were asking him.

King James Version (1611)
And the people asked him, saying, What shall we doe then?

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

English Standard Version
And the crowds asked him, "What then shall we do?"

New American Standard Bible
And the crowds were questioning him, saying, "Then what are we to do?"

New Century Version
The people asked John, "Then what should we do?"

Amplified Bible
The crowds asked him, "Then what are we to do?"

New American Standard Bible (1995)
And the crowds were questioning him, saying, "Then what shall we do?"

Legacy Standard Bible
And the crowds were questioning him, saying, "Then what should we do?"

Berean Standard Bible
The crowds asked him, "What then should we do?"

Complete Jewish Bible
The crowds asked Yochanan, "So then, what should we do?"

Darby Translation
And the crowds asked him saying, What should we do then?

Easy-to-Read Version
The people asked John, "What should we do?"

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then the people asked him, saying, What shall we doe then?

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

Good News Translation
The people asked him, "What are we to do, then?"

Lexham English Bible
And the crowds were asking him, saying, "What then should we do?"

Literal Translation
And the crowd asked him, saying, What then shall we do?

American Standard Version
And the multitudes asked him, saying, What then must we do?

Bible in Basic English
And the people put questions to him, saying, What have we to do?

Hebrew Names Version
The multitudes asked him, "What then must we do?"

International Standard Version
The crowds kept asking him, "What, then, should we do?"Acts 2:37;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
And the assemblies inquired of him, saying, What then shall we do ?

Murdock Translation
And the multitudes asked him, and said: What, then, shall we do?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the people asked hym, saying: What shall we do then?

English Revised Version
And the multitudes asked him, saying, What then must we do?

World English Bible
The multitudes asked him, "What then must we do?"

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And the multitude asked him, saying, What then shall we do? He answering saith to them,

Weymouth's New Testament
The crowds repeatedly asked him, "What then are we to do?"

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And the puple axide hym, and seiden, What thanne schulen we do?

Update Bible Version
And the multitudes asked him, saying, What then must we do?

Webster's Bible Translation
And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?

New English Translation
So the crowds were asking him, "What then should we do?"

New King James Version
So the people asked him, saying, "What shall we do then?"

New Living Translation
The crowds asked, "What should we do?"

New Life Bible
The people asked him, "Then what should we do?"

New Revised Standard
And the crowds asked him, "What then should we do?"

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And the multitude began to question him saying - What, then, shall we do?

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the people asked him, saying: What then shall we do?

Revised Standard Version
And the multitudes asked him, "What then shall we do?"

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And the people axed him sayinge: What shall we do then?

Young's Literal Translation
And the multitudes were questioning him, saying, `What, then, shall we do?'

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And the people axed him, and sayde: What shal we do then?

Mace New Testament (1729)
Upon which the people asked him, what then shall we do?

THE MESSAGE
The crowd asked him, "Then what are we supposed to do?"

Simplified Cowboy Version
John was sure enough givin' 'em the what for and they shouted, "Then what should we do?"

Contextual Overview

¹ For fifteen years Emperor Tiberius had ruled that part of the world. Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was the ruler of Galilee. Herod's brother, Philip, was the ruler in the countries of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was the ruler of Abilene. Annas and Caiaphas were the Jewish high priests. At that time God spoke to Zechariah's son John, who was living in the desert. So John went along the Jordan Valley, telling the people, "Turn back to God and be baptized! Then your sins will be forgiven." Isaiah the prophet wrote about John when he said, "In the desert someone is shouting, ‘Get the road ready for the Lord! Make a straight path for him. Fill up every valley and level every mountain and hill. Straighten the crooked paths and smooth out the rough roads. Then everyone will see the saving power of God.'" Crowds of people came out to be baptized, but John said to them, "You bunch of snakes! Who warned you to run from the coming judgment? Do something to show that you really have given up your sins. Don't start saying that you belong to Abraham's family. God can turn these stones into children for Abraham. An ax is ready to cut the trees down at their roots. Any tree that doesn't produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into a fire." The crowds asked John, "What should we do?" John told them, "If you have two coats, give one to someone who doesn't have any. If you have food, share it with someone else." When tax collectors came to be baptized, they asked John, "Teacher, what should we do?" John told them, "Don't make people pay more than they owe." Some soldiers asked him, "And what about us? What do we have to do?" John told them, "Don't force people to pay money to make you leave them alone. Be satisfied with your pay." Everyone became excited and wondered, "Could John be the Messiah?" John said, "I am just baptizing with water. But someone more powerful is going to come, and I am not good enough even to untie his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His threshing fork is in his hand, and he is ready to separate the wheat from the husks. He will store the wheat in his barn and burn the husks with a fire that never goes out." In many different ways John preached the good news to the people. But to Herod the ruler, he said, "It was wrong for you to take Herodias, your brother's wife." John also said that Herod had done many other bad things. Finally, Herod put John in jail, and this was the worst thing he had done. While everyone else was being baptized, Jesus himself was baptized. Then as he prayed, the sky opened up, and the Holy Spirit came down upon him in the form of a dove. A voice from heaven said, "You are my own dear Son, and I am pleased with you." When Jesus began to preach, he was about thirty years old. Everyone thought he was the son of Joseph. But his family went back through Heli, Matthat, Levi, Melchi, Jannai, Joseph, Mattathias, Amos, Nahum, Esli, Naggai, Maath, Mattathias, Semein, Josech, Joda; Joanan, Rhesa, Zerubbabel, Shealtiel, Neri, Melchi, Addi, Cosam, Elmadam, Er, Joshua, Eliezer, Jorim, Matthat, Levi; Simeon, Judah, Joseph, Jonam, Eliakim, Melea, Menna, Mattatha, Nathan, David, Jesse, Obed, Boaz, Salmon, Nahshon; Amminadab, Admin, Arni, Hezron, Perez, Judah, Jacob, Isaac, Abraham, Terah, Nahor, Serug, Reu, Peleg, Eber, Shelah; Cainan, Arphaxad, Shem, Noah, Lamech, Methuselah, Enoch, Jared, Mahalaleel, Kenan, Enosh, and Seth. The family of Jesus went all the way back to Adam and then to God. ²The Preaching of John the Baptist For fifteen years Emperor Tiberius had ruled that part of the world. Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was the ruler of Galilee. Herod's brother, Philip, was the ruler in the countries of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was the ruler of Abilene. Annas and Caiaphas were the Jewish high priests. At that time God spoke to Zechariah's son John, who was living in the desert. ³ So John went along the Jordan Valley, telling the people, "Turn back to God and be baptized! Then your sins will be forgiven." ⁴ Isaiah the prophet wrote about John when he said, "In the desert someone is shouting, ‘Get the road ready for the Lord! Make a straight path for him. ⁵ Fill up every valley and level every mountain and hill. Straighten the crooked paths and smooth out the rough roads. ⁶ Then everyone will see the saving power of God.'" ⁷ Crowds of people came out to be baptized, but John said to them, "You bunch of snakes! Who warned you to run from the coming judgment? ⁸ Do something to show that you really have given up your sins. Don't start saying that you belong to Abraham's family. God can turn these stones into children for Abraham. ⁹ An ax is ready to cut the trees down at their roots. Any tree that doesn't produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into a fire." ¹⁰ The crowds asked John, "What should we do?"

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

What: Luke 3:8, Acts 2:37, Acts 9:6, Acts 16:30

Reciprocal: Matthew 3:8 - forth 1 Corinthians 7:20 - abide Ephesians 4:28 - steal no more

Cross-References

Genesis 2:25
Although the man and his wife were both naked, they were not ashamed.

Genesis 3:7
Right away they saw what they had done, and they realized they were naked. Then they sewed fig leaves together to make something to cover themselves.

Genesis 3:17
The Lord said to the man, "You listened to your wife and ate fruit from that tree. And so, the ground will be under a curse because of what you did. As long as you live, you will have to struggle to grow enough food.

Genesis 3:18
Your food will be plants, but the ground will produce thorns and thistles.

Exodus 3:6
I am the God who was worshiped by your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." Moses was afraid to look at God, and so he hid his face.

Exodus 32:25
Moses knew that the people were out of control and that it was Aaron's fault. And now they had made fools of themselves in front of their enemies.

Job 23:15
Merely the thought of God All-Powerful

Psalms 119:120
I tremble all over when I think of you and the way you judge.

Isaiah 33:14
Those terrible sinners on Mount Zion tremble as they ask in fear, "How can we possibly live where a raging fire never stops burning?"

Isaiah 47:3
You will suffer the shame of going naked, because I will take revenge, and no one can escape.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the people asked him,.... Not the same as in Luke 3:7 the Sadducees and Pharisees, for they seemed not to be at all affected with, and wrought upon, by the ministry of John; but rather were displeased with him, and turned their backs on him, and rejected him and his baptism; but the common people, that stood by; who hearing John speak of wrath to come, and of repentance, and fruits worthy of it, were filled with concern about these things, and inquire,

saying, what shall we do? either to escape the wrath and vengeance coming on the nation, and also eternal ruin and destruction; and Beza says, that in two of his copies, and one of them his most ancient one it is added, "to be saved", and so in two of Stephens's; which confirms the above sense, and makes their inquiry to be the same with the jailor's, Acts 16:30 or else their meaning is, what are the things we are to do, or the fruits we are to bring forth, the duties we are to perform, in order to testify the truth and genuineness of our repentance? which latter seems most agreeable.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

What shall we do, then? - John had told them to bring forth fruits appropriate to repentance, or to lead a life which showed that their repentance was genuine. They very properly, therefore, asked how it should be done, or what “would be” such a life.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Luke 3:10. What shall we do then? — The preaching of the Baptist had been accompanied with an uncommon effusion of that Spirit which convinces of sin, righteousness, and judgment. The people who heard him now earnestly begin to inquire what they must do to be saved? They are conscious that they are exposed to the judgments of the Lord, and they wish to escape from the coming wrath.