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  • Matthew 3:16
    New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures
    • 16 After being baptized, Jesus immediately came up from the water; and look! the heavens were opened up,+ and he saw God’s spirit descending like a dove and coming upon him.+

  • Matthew 3:16
    The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures
    • 16 βαπτισθεὶς Having been baptized δὲ but ὁ the Ἰησοῦς Jesus εὐθὺς immediately ἀνέβη came up ἀπὸ from τοῦ the ὕδατος· water; καὶ and ἰδοὺ look! ἠνεῴχθησαν were opened up οἱ the οὐρανοί, heavens, καὶ and εἶδεν he saw πνεῦμα spirit θεοῦ of God καταβαῖνον descending ὡσεὶ as if περιστερὰν dove ἐρχόμενον coming ἐπ’ upon αὐτόν· him;

  • Matthew 3:16
    New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures—With References
    • 16 After being baptized Jesus immediately came up from the water; and, look! the heavens were opened up,+ and he saw descending like a dove+ God’s spirit coming upon him.+

  • Matthew 3:16
    The Bible in Living English
    • 16 And when Jesus was baptized, at once he came up from the water, and lo, the sky opened and he saw God’s Spirit come down like a dove and come upon him;

  • Matthew 3:16
    American Standard Version
    • 16 And Jesus when he was baptized, went up straightway from the water: and lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon him;

  • Matthew 3:16
    The Emphasized Bible
    • 16 And Jesus having been immersed straightway went up from the water,—and lo! the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove coming upon him;

  • Matthew 3:16
    King James Version
    • 16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:

  • Matthew
    Watch Tower Publications Index 1986-2023
    • 3:16 w23.02 8; lff lesson 15; it-1 114, 647-648; it-2 59-60; jy 34-36; w08 1/15 29; w07 12/1 26; cf 49; lr 52-53; w02 4/1 10; w98 6/15 25; w96 7/1 14-15; w95 7/1 10; gt chapters 12-13; w90 9/15 13

  • Matthew
    Watch Tower Publications Index 1930-1985
    • 3:16 w85 10/1 24; tr 184; po 144-145; ka 64-65, 101; w72 687, 715-716; ad 387, 464, 946; kj 62, 305; g71 12/8 8-9; w69 413; im 243; w63 331; bf 405; w62 626, 768; w61 38, 684; w60 5; w59 343; yw 137; nh 303; w52 32, 245, 313, 413; lg 108; w51 676; w49 119; ki 20

  • Matthew
    Research Guide for Jehovah’s Witnesses—2019 Edition
    • 3:16

      Enjoy Life Forever!, lesson 15

      Insight, Volume 1, pp. 114, 647-648

      Insight, Volume 2, pp. 59-60

      Jesus—The Way, pp. 34-36

      The Watchtower,

      1/15/2008, p. 29

      12/1/2007, p. 26

      4/1/2002, pp. 10-11

      6/15/1998, p. 25

      7/1/1996, pp. 14-15

      7/1/1995, p. 10

      9/15/1990, p. 13

      10/1/1985, p. 24

      12/1/1972, pp. 715-716

      11/15/1972, p. 687

      7/1/1969, pp. 412-414

      6/1/1963, pp. 330-332

      12/15/1962, p. 768

      10/15/1962, pp. 625-627

      11/15/1961, pp. 683-685

      1/15/1961, pp. 37-39

      1/1/1960, pp. 4-5

      6/1/1959, pp. 342-343

      7/1/1952, pp. 412-413

      5/15/1952, pp. 312-314

      4/15/1952, pp. 244-246

      1/1/1952, p. 32

      11/15/1951, p. 676

      “My Follower,” p. 49

      Teacher, pp. 52-53

      Truth, p. 184

      “Eternal Purpose,” pp. 144-145

      God’s Kingdom Has Approached, pp. 64-65, 101

      ‘Know Jehovah’, pp. 62-63, 304-305

      Awake!,

      12/8/1971, pp. 8-9

  • Matthew Study Notes—Chapter 3
    New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (Study Edition)
    • 3:16

      look!: See study note on Mt 1:20.

      the heavens: Can refer to the physical heavens, that is, the sky, or to the spiritual heavens.

      the heavens were opened up: God evidently caused Jesus to perceive and understand heavenly matters, which may well have included the memory of his prehuman life in heaven.

      like a dove: Doves had both a sacred use and a symbolic meaning. They were offered as sacrifices. (Mr 11:15; Joh 2:14-16) They symbolized innocence and purity. (Mt 10:16) A dove released by Noah brought an olive leaf back to the ark, indicating that the floodwaters were receding (Ge 8:11) and that a time of rest and peace was at hand (Ge 5:29). Thus, at Jesus’ baptism, Jehovah may have used the dove to call attention to the role of Jesus as the Messiah, the pure and sinless Son of God who would sacrifice his life for mankind and lay the basis for a period of rest and peace during his rule as King. As God’s spirit, or active force, descended upon Jesus at his baptism, it may have looked like the fluttering of a dove as it nears its perch.

English Publications (1950-2023)
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