Luke 3:21

Now when ¹  all the people were baptized, Jesus also was baptized. And while he was praying, ²  the heavens ³  opened,

Mt 3:13-15; Mt 3:16,17; Mr 1:9; Mr 1:10; Lu 9:28,29; Joh 1:32-34; Joh 12:27,28

¹ tn Grk “Now it happened that when.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

² tn Grk “and while Jesus was being baptized and praying.” The first of these participles has been translated as a finite verb to be more consistent with English style.

³ tn Or “the sky”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. In this context, although the word is singular, the English plural “heavens” connotes the Greek better than the singular “heaven” would, for the singular does not normally refer to the sky.