Luke 3:10

THE MESSAGE

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

Contemporary English Version
The crowds asked John, "What 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?

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

Contextual Overview

¹In the fifteenth year of the rule of Caesar Tiberius—it was while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea; Herod, ruler of Galilee; his brother Philip, ruler of Iturea and Trachonitis; Lysanias, ruler of Abilene; during the Chief-Priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas—John, Zachariah's son, out in the desert at the time, received a message from God. He went all through the country around the Jordan River preaching a baptism of life-change leading to forgiveness of sins, as described in the words of Isaiah the prophet: Thunder in the desert! "Prepare God's arrival! Make the road smooth and straight! Every ditch will be filled in, Every bump smoothed out, The detours straightened out, All the ruts paved over. Everyone will be there to see The parade of God's salvation." ⁷When crowds of people came out for baptism because it was the popular thing to do, John exploded: "Brood of snakes! What do you think you're doing slithering down here to the river? Do you think a little water on your snakeskins is going to deflect God's judgment? It's your life that must change, not your skin. And don't think you can pull rank by claiming Abraham as ‘father.' Being a child of Abraham is neither here nor there—children of Abraham are a dime a dozen. God can make children from stones if he wants. What counts is your life. Is it green and blossoming? Because if it's deadwood, it goes on the fire." ¹⁰ The crowd asked him, "Then what are we supposed to do?" ¹¹ "If you have two coats, give one away," he said. "Do the same with your food." ¹² Tax men also came to be baptized and said, "Teacher, what should we do?" ¹³ He told them, "No more extortion—collect only what is required by law." ¹⁴ Soldiers asked him, "And what should we do?" He told them, "No shakedowns, no blackmail—and be content with your rations."

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 3:7
Immediately the two of them did "see what's really going on"—saw themselves naked! They sewed fig leaves together as makeshift clothes for themselves.

Genesis 3:17
He told the Man: "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree That I commanded you not to eat from, ‘Don't eat from this tree,' The very ground is cursed because of you; getting food from the ground Will be as painful as having babies is for your wife; you'll be working in pain all your life long. The ground will sprout thorns and weeds, you'll get your food the hard way, Planting and tilling and harvesting, sweating in the fields from dawn to dusk, Until you return to that ground yourself, dead and buried; you started out as dirt, you'll end up dirt."

Exodus 3:6
Then he said, "I am the God of your father: The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob." Moses hid his face, afraid to look at God.

Exodus 32:25
Moses saw that the people were simply running wild—Aaron had let them run wild, disgracing themselves before their enemies. He took up a position at the entrance to the camp and said, "Whoever is on God 's side, join me!" All the Levites stepped up.

Isaiah 57:11
"Who talked you into the pursuit of this nonsense, leaving me high and dry, forgetting you ever knew me? Because I don't yell and make a scene do you think I don't exist? I'll go over, detail by detail, all your ‘righteous' attempts at religion, and expose the absurdity of it all. Go ahead, cry for help to your collection of no-gods: A good wind will blow them away. They're smoke, nothing but smoke. "But anyone who runs to me for help will inherit the land, will end up owning my holy mountain!"

Revelation 16:15
"Keep watch! I come unannounced, like a thief. You're blessed if, awake and dressed, you're ready for me. Too bad if you're found running through the streets, naked and ashamed."

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.