Luke 3:5

Contemporary English Version

Fill up every valley and level every mountain and hill. Straighten the crooked paths and smooth out the rough roads.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Every valley will be filled,and every mountain and hill will be made low;the crooked will become straight,the rough ways smooth,

King James Version (1611)
Euery valley shall be filled, and euery mountaine and hill shalbe brought low, and the crooked shall bee made straight, and the rough wayes shall be made smooth.

King James Version
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;

English Standard Version
Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways,

New American Standard Bible
'EVERY RAVINE WILL BE FILLED, AND EVERY MOUNTAIN AND HILL WILL BE LOWERED; THE CROOKED WILL BECOME STRAIGHT, AND THE ROUGH ROADS SMOOTH;

New Century Version
Every valley should be filled in, and every mountain and hill should be made flat. Roads with turns should be made straight, and rough roads should be made smooth.

Amplified Bible
'EVERY RAVINE SHALL BE FILLED UP, AND EVERY MOUNTAIN AND HILL SHALL BE LEVELED; AND THE CROOKED [places] SHALL BE MADE STRAIGHT, AND THE ROUGH ROADS SMOOTH;

New American Standard Bible (1995)
'EVERY RAVINE WILL BE FILLED, AND EVERY MOUNTAIN AND HILL WILL BE BROUGHT LOW; THE CROOKED WILL BECOME STRAIGHT, AND THE ROUGH ROADS SMOOTH;

Legacy Standard Bible
Every ravine will be filled,And every mountain and hill will be brought low;The crooked will be straight,And the rough roads smooth.

Berean Standard Bible
Every valley shall be filled in, and every mountain and hill made low. The crooked ways shall be made straight, and the rough ways smooth.

Complete Jewish Bible
Every valley must be filled in, every mountain and hill leveled off; the winding roads must be straightened and the rough ways made smooth.

Darby Translation
Every gorge shall be filled up, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low, and the crooked [places] shall become a straight [path], and the rough places smooth ways,

Easy-to-Read Version
Every valley will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be made flat. Crooked roads will be made straight, and rough roads will be made smooth.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Euery valley shalbe filled, and euery mountaine and hill shall be brought lowe, and crooked things shalbe made straight, and the rough wayes shalbe made smoothe.

George Lamsa Translation
Let all the valleys be filled up, and all the mountains and hills be levelled; let the crooked places be made straight, and the rough places like a plain;

Good News Translation
Every valley must be filled up, every hill and mountain leveled off. The winding roads must be made straight, and the rough paths made smooth.

Lexham English Bible
Every valley will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be leveled, and the crooked will become straight, and the rough road will become smooth,

Literal Translation
Every valley shall be filled up, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the crooked places shall be made into straight, and the rough into smooth ways;"

American Standard Version
Every valley shall be filled, And every mountain and hill shall be brought low; And the crooked shall become straight, And the rough ways smooth;

Bible in Basic English
Every valley will be lifted up, and all the mountains and hills made low, and the twisted will be made straight, and the rough ways smooth;

Hebrew Names Version
Every valley will be filled. Every mountain and hill will be brought low. The crooked will become straight, And the rough ways smooth.

International Standard Version
Every valley will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be leveled. The crooked ways will be made straight, and the rough roads will be made smooth.

Etheridge Translation
All valleys shall be filled, And all mountains and heights be brought low, And the mound shall be a level (place), And the rough place a plain,

Murdock Translation
All valleys shall be filled up, and all mountains and hills be lowered; and the hillock shall be levelled down, and the rough place become smooth.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Euery valley shalbe fylled, and euery mountayne & hyll shalbe brought lowe: And thynges that be croked, shalbe made strayght, and the rough wayes shalbe made playne.

English Revised Version
Every valley shall be filled, And every mountain and hill shall be brought low; And the crooked shall become straight, And the rough ways smooth;

World English Bible
Every valley will be filled. Every mountain and hill will be brought low. The crooked will become straight, And the rough ways smooth.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
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 smooth: And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

Weymouth's New Testament
Every ravine shall be filled up, and every mountain and hill levelled down, the crooked places shall be turned into straight roads, and the rugged ways into smooth;

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Ech valey schal be fulfillid, and euery hil and litil hil schal be maad lowe; and schrewid thingis schulen ben in to dressid thingis, and scharp thingis in to pleyn weies;

Update Bible Version
Every valley shall be filled, And every mountain and hill shall be brought low; And the crooked shall become straight, And the rough ways smooth;

Webster's Bible Translation
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;

New English Translation
Every valley will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be brought low, and the crooked will be made straight, and the rough ways will be made smooth,

New King James Version
Every valley shall be filled And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough ways smooth;

New Living Translation
The valleys will be filled, and the mountains and hills made level. The curves will be straightened, and the rough places made smooth.

New Life Bible
Every valley will be filled and every mountain and hill will be brought down. The turns in the road will be made straight and the rough places will be made smooth.

New Revised Standard
Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth;

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Every chasm, shall be filled up, and, every mountain and hill, be made low; and the, crooked, places shall become, straight, and the, rugged, places, smooth ways; -

Douay-Rheims Bible
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 plain.

Revised Standard Version
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;

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
Every valley shalbe fylled and every moutayne and hyll shalbe brought lowe. And crocked thinges shalbe made streight: and the rough wayes shalbe made smoth:

Young's Literal Translation
every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straightness, and the rough become smooth ways;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Euery valley shalbe fylled, and euery mountayne & hyll shalbe brought lowe. And what so is croked, shalbe made straight: and what rough is, shalbe made smooth,

Mace New Testament (1729)
every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be level'd: the crooked shall be made strait, and the rough ways shall be made smooth,

Simplified Cowboy Version
The draws will be filled and the mountains made flat. Those winding trails will be made straight, and the rough roads become like glass.

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

valley: Luke 1:51-53, Isaiah 2:11-17, Isaiah 35:6-8, Isaiah 40:4, Isaiah 49:11, Isaiah 61:1-3, Ezekiel 17:24, James 1:9

and the crooked: Isaiah 42:16, Isaiah 45:2, Hebrews 12:12, Hebrews 12:13

Reciprocal: Isaiah 43:19 - I will even Isaiah 57:14 - Cast Zechariah 4:7 - O great

Cross-References

Genesis 2:17
except the one that has the power to let you know the difference between right and wrong. If you eat any fruit from that tree, you will die before the day is over!"

Genesis 3:2
The woman answered, "God said we could eat fruit from any tree in the garden,

Genesis 3:3
except the one in the middle. He told us not to eat fruit from that tree or even to touch it. If we do, we will die."

Genesis 3:6
The woman stared at the fruit. It looked beautiful and tasty. She wanted the wisdom that it would give her, and she ate some of the fruit. Her husband was there with her, so she gave some to him, and he ate it too.

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 3:10
The man answered, "I was naked, and when I heard you walking through the garden, I was frightened and hid!"

Genesis 3:13
The Lord God then asked the woman, "What have you done?" "The snake tricked me," she answered. "And I ate some of that fruit."

Genesis 3:14
So the Lord God said to the snake: "Because of what you have done, you will be the only animal to suffer this curse— For as long as you live, you will crawl on your stomach and eat dirt.

Genesis 3:15
You and this woman will hate each other; your descendants and hers will always be enemies. One of hers will strike you on the head, and you will strike him on the heel."

Genesis 3:22
The Lord said, "These people now know the difference between right and wrong, just as we do. But they must not be allowed to eat fruit from the tree that lets them live forever."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Every valley shall be filled,.... Luke cites more out of the same prophecy, as relating to the times of John the Baptist, and the Messiah, than the other Evangelists Matthew and Mark do: in the prophet it is, "every valley shall be exalted"; which is done, by filling it up; the metaphor is persisted in, of preparing and clearing the way, for the coming of the Messiah, done by the ministry of John; under which, such souls as were lowly and humble, and depressed with the sense of sin, should be raised and directed to believe in Christ, and be filled with divine consolation from him. These words are owned by the Jews o to belong to the world to come; that is, the times of the Messiah; though they understand them, of making way for the return of the Israelites from captivity, by the Messiah: just as they suppose such things were done by the miraculous cloud, for the children of Israel, as they passed through the wilderness; of which they say p,

"that it went before them, smote the serpents and scorpions, and fiery serpents, and the rock; and if there was any low place, it raised it up; or high place, it made it low, and caused them to be plain; as it is said,

Isaiah 40:3 "And every valley shall be exalted", c.''

But what they say of this cloud literally, as preparing the way for the Israelites, is in a spiritual sense true, of the ministry of John whereby many of the children of Israel, had the way prepared for them, for the reception of the Messiah; when as every humble soul had its expectation raised, and its faith encouraged, and its heart filled with spiritual joy; so such as were proud and haughty, were humbled:

and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; all such as are elated with their own abilities, and boast of their righteousness, trust in themselves, and look with disdain and contempt on others, their loftiness shall be bowed down, and their haughtiness made low; and the Messiah alone, in his person, grace, and righteousness, be exalted:

and the crooked shall be made straight: such as are of a crooked spirit, and walk in crooked ways, with the workers of iniquity, shall have new spirits given them, and be directed to right ways, and be led in the paths of righteousness and truth:

and the rough ways shall be made smooth; and men of rough tempers, comparable to lions and bears, shall become quiet and peaceable, smooth and easy; and moreover, whatever difficulties were in the minds of men concerning the Messiah, the end of his coming, and the nature of his kingdom; and whatever impediments were in the way of embracing him when come, should now be removed at least from many persons: R. David Kimchi, a very noted Jewish commentator q, acknowledges that the whole of this passage is to be understood, דרך משל, "by way of parable", in a mystical and figurative sense.

o T. Hieros. Erubin, fol. 25. 2. p Bemidbar Rabba, sect. 1. fol. 177. 1, 2. Vid. Targ. in Cant. ii. 6. & Jarchi in Cant. iii. 6. q In Isa. xl. 4.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

On the baptism of John - see the notes at Matthew 3:0.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Luke 3:5. Every valley shall be filled — All hinderances shall be taken out of the way: a quotation from the Greek version of Isaiah 40:4, containing an allusion to the preparations made in rough countries to facilitate the march of mighty kings and conquerors. See the instance produced on Matthew 3:3.