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Thursday, July 17th, 2025
the Week of Proper 10 / Ordinary 15
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Read the Bible

Easy-to-Read Version

Luke 3:5

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.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - John;   Prophecy;   Quotations and Allusions;   Scofield Reference Index - Repentance;   Thompson Chain Reference - Awakenings and Religious Reforms;   Awakenings, Religious;   The Topic Concordance - Crookedness;   John the Baptist;   Salvation;   Seeing;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Valleys;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Genealogy;   Mary;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Baptism;   John the baptist;   Luke, gospel of;   Prophecy, prophet;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - God;   John the Baptist;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Isaiah, the Book of;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Gospels;   Luke, the Gospel According to;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Luke, Gospel of;   Ordinances;   Wilderness;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - John the Baptist;   Luke, Gospel According to;   Vale, Valley;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Asceticism (2);   Benedictus;   Hill;   Redemption (2);   Septuagint;   Socialism;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Herod, Family of;   Yale, Valley;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Hill;   Rough;   Smooth;   Valley;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Crooked;   Make;   Vale;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Christianity in Its Relation to Judaism;  

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.
Contemporary English Version
Fill up every valley and level every mountain and hill. Straighten the crooked paths and smooth out the rough roads.
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,
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 It was the 15th year of the rule of Tiberius Caesar. These men were under Caesar: Pontius Pilate, the governor of Judea; Herod, the ruler of Galilee; Philip, Herod's brother, the ruler of Iturea and Trachonitis; Lysanias, the ruler of Abilene. 2 Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests. During this time, John, the son of Zechariah, was living in the desert, and he received a message from God. 3 So he went through the whole area around the Jordan River and told the people God's message. He told them to be baptized to show that they wanted to change their lives, and then their sins would be forgiven. 4 This is like the words written in the book of Isaiah the prophet: "There is someone shouting in the desert: ‘Prepare the way for the Lord. Make the road straight for him. 5 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. 6 Then everyone will see how God will save his people!'" 7 Crowds of people came to be baptized by John. But he said to them, "You are all snakes! Who warned you to run from God's judgment that is coming? 8 Change your hearts! And show by your lives that you have changed. I know what you are about to say—‘but Abraham is our father!' That means nothing. I tell you that God can make children for Abraham from these rocks! 9 The ax is now ready to cut down the trees. Every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire." 10 The people 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
But you must not eat from the tree that gives knowledge about good and evil. If you eat fruit from that tree, on that day you will certainly die!"
Genesis 3:2
The woman answered the snake, "No, we can eat fruit from the trees in the garden.
Genesis 3:3
But there is one tree we must not eat from. God told us, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden. You must not even touch that tree, or you will die.'"
Genesis 3:6
The woman could see that the tree was beautiful and the fruit looked so good to eat. She also liked the idea that it would make her wise. So she took some of the fruit from the tree and ate it. Her husband was there with her, so she gave him some of the fruit, and he ate it.
Genesis 3:7
Then it was as if their eyes opened, and they saw things differently. They saw that they were naked. So they got some fig leaves, sewed them together, and wore them for clothes.
Genesis 3:10
The man said, "I heard you walking in the garden, and I was afraid. I was naked, so I hid."
Genesis 3:13
Then the Lord God said to the woman, "What have you done?" She said, "The snake tricked me, so I ate the fruit."
Genesis 3:14
So the Lord God said to the snake, "You did this very bad thing, so bad things will happen to you. It will be worse for you than for any other animal. You must crawl on your belly and eat dust all the days of your life.
Genesis 3:15
I will make you and the woman enemies to each other. Your children and her children will be enemies. You will bite her child's foot, but he will crush your head."
Genesis 3:22
The Lord God said, "Look, the man has become like us—he knows about good and evil. And now the man might take the fruit from the tree of life. If the man eats that fruit, he will 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.


 
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