Matthew 3:5

5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan were going out 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 For this is the one who was spoken about by the prophet Isaiah, saying, "The voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.'"

4 Now John himself had his clothing made from camel's hair and a belt made of leather around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.

5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan were going out to him,

6 and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River [as they] confessed their sins.

7 But [when he] saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "Offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?