Matthew 3:5

5 Jerusalem, all Judea, and the whole Jordan Valley went to him.

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 Isaiah the prophet spoke about this man when he said, "A voice cries out in the desert: 'Prepare the way for the Lord! Make his paths straight!'"

4 John wore clothes made from camel's hair and had a leather belt around his waist. His diet consisted of locusts and wild honey.

5 Jerusalem, all Judea, and the whole Jordan Valley went to him.

6 As they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River.

7 But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to be baptized, he said to them, "You poisonous snakes! Who showed you how to flee from God's coming anger?