The multitudes asked him, “What then must we do?”
Parallel translations
- KJV And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?
- BSB The crowds asked him, “What then should we do?”
- NKJV So the people asked him, saying, “What shall we do then?”
- NASB And the crowds were questioning him, saying, “Then what are we to do?”
- NLT The crowds asked, “What should we do?”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The convicted crowds ask John what repentance should look like in practice. Their question shows that genuine repentance seeks concrete obedience.
Overview
Stirred by John's warning of judgment, the multitudes ask 'What then must we do?' This is the right response to conviction of sin: not despair, but a desire to turn and obey. John's answers that follow show that true repentance bears fruit in everyday justice and mercy, anticipating the new heart the gospel brings.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Acts 2:37Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
- Luke 3:14Soldiers also asked him, saying, “What about us? What must we do?” He said to them, “Extort from no one by violence, neither accuse anyone wrongfully. Be content with your wages.”
- Acts 16:30brought them out, and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
- Luke 3:12Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what must we do?”
- Luke 3:8Therefore produce fruits worthy of repentance, and don’t begin to say among yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father;’ for I tell you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones!
- Acts 9:6But rise up, and enter into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 3:10 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.