Matthew 3:5

5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region around the Jordan.

Matthew 3:5 Meaning and Commentary

Matthew 3:5

Then went out to him Jerusalem
The uncommon appearance of this person, the oddness of his dress, the austerity of his life, together with the awfulness and importance of his doctrine, and the novelty of the ordinance of baptism he administered, and the Jews having had no prophet for some hundreds of years, and imagining he might be the Messiah, quickly drew large numbers of people to him. Some copies read "all Jerusalem": that is, the inhabitants of that city, a very large number of them; and "all Judea", a great number of people from all parts of that country. "All" is here put for "many". And

all the region round about Jordan;
multitudes from thence, which seems to be the same country with that which is called "beyond Jordan", ( Matthew 4:25 ) and is distinguished from Judea as here. The Septuagint in ( 2 Chronicles 4:17 ) use the same phrase the Evangelist does here, and likewise in ( Genesis 13:10 Genesis 13:11 ) .

Matthew 3:5 In-Context

3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.’”

4 John wore a garment of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.

5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region around the Jordan.

6 Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

7 But when John saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his place of baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?