And a voice from heaven
This phrase signifies divine communication, a direct intervention from God. In the biblical context, a "voice from heaven" is a rare and significant event, often marking a pivotal moment in God's interaction with humanity. The Greek word for "voice" is "φωνή" (phonē), which can also mean sound or tone, emphasizing the clarity and authority of the message. The phrase underscores the heavenly origin of the message, affirming that it is not of human origin but a divine proclamation. This moment echoes the Old Testament theophanies, where God audibly communicated with His people, such as at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:19).

said
The Greek word used here is "εἶπεν" (eipen), a form of the verb "λέγω" (legō), meaning to speak or say. This verb indicates a definitive and authoritative statement. In the context of this verse, it emphasizes the certainty and importance of the message being delivered. The use of "said" rather than "whispered" or "murmured" highlights the clarity and public nature of the declaration, ensuring that it is heard and understood by those present.

This is My beloved Son
The phrase "My beloved Son" is rich with theological significance. The Greek word for "beloved" is "ἀγαπητός" (agapētos), which denotes a deep, unconditional love. This term is used to express the unique and eternal relationship between the Father and the Son. The declaration "This is My beloved Son" affirms Jesus' divine sonship and His unique status as the Messiah. It echoes Psalm 2:7, where God declares the king as His Son, thus linking Jesus to the Davidic line and His messianic role. This affirmation is crucial for understanding Jesus' identity and mission.

in whom I am well pleased
The phrase "well pleased" comes from the Greek "εὐδόκησα" (eudokēsa), which means to take delight or find satisfaction. This expression indicates God's complete approval and delight in Jesus. It reflects the fulfillment of God's will and the perfect obedience of Jesus to the Father. This approval is not just for Jesus' past actions but also for His future ministry and sacrificial mission. The phrase reassures believers of Jesus' divine authority and the Father's endorsement of His redemptive work. It also serves as a model for believers to seek God's pleasure through obedience and faithfulness.

(17) A voice from heaven.--The words were heard, so far as the record goes, as the sign was seen, by our Lord and the Baptist only. It was a testimony to them, and not to the multitude. The precise force of the latter clause, in whom I was well pleased, points (to speak after the manner of men) rather to a definite divine act or thought, than to a continued ever-present acceptance. He who stood there was the beloved Son, in whom, "in the beginning," the Father was well-pleased. To the Baptist this came as the answer to all questionings. This was none other than the King to whom had been spoken the words, "Thou art my Son" (Psalm 2:7), who was to the Eternal Father what Isaac was to Abraham (the very term "beloved son" is used in the Greek of Genesis 22:2, where the English version has "only"), upon whom the mind of the Father rested with infinite content. And we may venture to believe that the "voice" came as an attestation also to the human consciousness of the Son of Man. There had been before, as in Luke 2:49, the sense that God was His Father. Now, with an intensity before unfelt, and followed, as the sequel shows, with entire change in life and action, there is, in His human soul, the conviction that He is "the Son, the beloved."

Here, as before, it is instructive to note the legendary accretions that have gathered round the simple narrative of the Gospels. Justin (Dial. c., Tryph. p. 316) adds that "a fire was kindled in Jordan." An Ebionite Gospel added to the words from heaven, "This day have I begotten thee," and further adds, "a great light shone around the place, and John saw it, and said, 'Who art thou, Lord?' and again a voice from heaven, saying. 'This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.' And then John fell down, and said, 'I beseech Thee, O Lord, baptise Thou me.' But He forbade him, saying, 'Suffer it, for thus it is meet that all things should be accomplished.'

More important and more difficult is the question, What change was actually wrought in our Lord's human nature by this descent of the Spirit? The words of the Baptist, "He giveth not the Spirit by measure unto Him" (John 3:34) imply the bestowal of a real gift. The words that follow here, "He was led by the Spirit" (Matthew 4:1), "The Spirit driveth Him" (Mark 1:12), show, in part, the nature of the change. We may venture to think even there of new gifts, new powers, a new intuition (comp. John 3:11), a new constraint, as it were, bringing the human will that was before in harmony with the divine into a fuller consciousness of that harmony, and into more intense activity; above all, a new intensity of prayer, uttering itself in Him, as afterwards in His people, in the cry, "Abba, Father" (Mark 14:36; Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6). There also we may think of the Spirit as "making intercession with groanings that cannot be uttered." . . .

Verse 17. - Lo; peculiar to St. Matthew - a reminiscence of Aramaic diction. A voice. Similarly in Matthew 17:5 (Transfiguration, cf. 2 Peter 1:17, 18); John 12:28 (like thunder); [possibly Acts 2:6, Pentecost]; Acts 9:4 (Paul's conversion); 10:13, 15 (Peter). Talmudic and rabbinic writings often mention the Bath-Qol as speaking from heaven. The character of the occasions on which the voice is heard in the New Testament on the one hand, and in the Jewish writings on the other, shows the complete difference in the moral aspect of the two voices. The latter is at best little more than a parody of the former. (For the meaning of the expression Bath-Qol vide especially Weber, p. 188; Edersheim, 'Life,' 1:285.) From heaven; out of the heavens (Revised Version), pointing to the phrase in ver. 16. Saying. Western authorities add, "unto him," mostly reading the following words in the second person (cf. Mark and Luke). This is my beloved Son. Very similar if not identical words were spoken at the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:5), Matthew giving precisely the same, Mark and Luke only omitting "in whom I am well pleased," and Luke also reading "chosen" instead of "beloved." It would seem more natural to suppose that the words spoken on the two occasions were really slightly different, and that therefore Matthew is the less accurate. My .... Son (cf. Psalm 2:7). My beloved Son. The expression is probably based on Isaiah 42:1 (cf. infra, Matthew 12:18, note); but this does not necessitate the punctuation of the Revised Version margin, and Westcott and Herr margin: "My Son; my beloved in whom," etc. (For the expression, comp. also Mark 12:6 (not in the parallel passage, Matthew 21:37); Ephesians 1:6.) In whom I am well pleased; rather, in whom I have delight (cf. Isaiah 62:4, Authorized Version). The tense (εὐδόκησα) is equivalent to "my delight" fell on him, he became the object of my love" (Winer, 40:5, b, 2). The Spirit came, the Father bore witness. "Thus the Baptist receives through a revelation the certainty of the Messiahship of Jesus, and thus the reader learns that the Son of David, who through his birth (ch. 1.) and the fortunes of his childhood (ch. 2.) was certified as the Messiah, now also is announced to the last of the prophets as the Son of God, to whom Jehovah, in Psalm 2:7, etc., had promised the Messianic dominion of the world" (Weiss, 'Matthaus-Evang.'). Yet not only so; the words probably revealed to the Lord Jesus himself more of his exact relationship to the Father than he had before as Man realized. Such an assurance of his true nature, and of the Father's delight in him, would be of essential service in strengthening him for his work (cf. Matthew 17:5). There are two other matters connected with our Lord's baptism recorded by tradition (cf. especially Resch, 'Agrapha,'pp. 346-367)-additional words spoken, and an additional sign given. The words spoken are found in "Western" authorities of Luke 3:22, "Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee," evidently with a desire to emphasize the application of the second psalm. The additional sign is the light or fire. The simplest form of this is (Tatian's 'Diatessaron,' edit. Zahn), "A light rose upon the waters;" and in the Ebionite Gospel apud Epiph., "Immediately a great light shone round about the place;" more fully in Justin Martyr ('Trypho,' § 88), "When Jesus had gone down into the water, fire was kindled in the Jordan;" also in a now lost 'Pred. Paul,' "When he was being baptized, fire was seen upon the water;" and in the Cod. Vercellensis of the Old Latin, "When he was being baptized, an immense light shone round from the water, so that all who had come thither were afraid." Although there is no intrinsic objection to this symbol having taken place, it is very improbable that in this case the evangelists would not have recorded it. The legend may have arisen from ver. 11, or, and more probably, from an endeavour to make the baptism parallel to the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:2); cf. Ephraem, in Resch ('Agrapha,' p. 358), "John drew near and worshipped the Son, whose form an unwonted lustre surrounded."

Parallel Commentaries ...

And
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

a voice
φωνὴ (phōnē)
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 5456: Probably akin to phaino through the idea of disclosure; a tone; by implication, an address, saying or language.

from
ἐκ (ek)
Preposition
Strong's 1537: From out, out from among, from, suggesting from the interior outwards. A primary preposition denoting origin, from, out.

heaven
οὐρανῶν (ouranōn)
Noun - Genitive Masculine Plural
Strong's 3772: Perhaps from the same as oros; the sky; by extension, heaven; by implication, happiness, power, eternity; specially, the Gospel.

said,
λέγουσα (legousa)
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3004: (a) I say, speak; I mean, mention, tell, (b) I call, name, especially in the pass., (c) I tell, command.

“This
Οὗτός (Houtos)
Demonstrative Pronoun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3778: This; he, she, it.

is
ἐστιν (estin)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1510: I am, exist. The first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist.

My
μου (mou)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive 1st Person Singular
Strong's 1473: I, the first-person pronoun. A primary pronoun of the first person I.

beloved
ἀγαπητός (agapētos)
Adjective - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 27: From agapao; beloved.

Son,
Υἱός (Huios)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 5207: A son, descendent. Apparently a primary word; a 'son', used very widely of immediate, remote or figuratively, kinship.

in
ἐν (en)
Preposition
Strong's 1722: In, on, among. A primary preposition denoting position, and instrumentality, i.e. A relation of rest; 'in, ' at, on, by, etc.

whom
ᾧ (hō)
Personal / Relative Pronoun - Dative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3739: Who, which, what, that.

I am well pleased!”
εὐδόκησα (eudokēsa)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular
Strong's 2106: To be well-pleased, think it good, be resolved. From eu and dokeo; to think well of, i.e. Approve; specially, to approbate.


Matthew 3:17 NIV
Matthew 3:17 NLT
Matthew 3:17 ESV
Matthew 3:17 NASB
Matthew 3:17 KJV

Matthew 3:17 BibleApps.com
Matthew 3:17 Biblia Paralela
Matthew 3:17 Chinese Bible
Matthew 3:17 French Bible
Matthew 3:17 Catholic Bible

NT Gospels: Matthew 3:17 Behold a voice out of the heavens (Matt. Mat Mt)