What Does Matthew 3:6 Mean in the King James?
And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
Immersion and confession are one movement here: what is missed comes into the open as people enter the water.
THE MEANING
What is missed is spoken openly as people enter the water. The verse holds immersion and acknowledgment together, with nothing in the scene requiring the misses to stay concealed.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that what you have missed must remain hidden as you approach immersion.
THE ROOT
ἐξομολογούμενοι
exomologoumenoi
GROWS FROM
ἐξομολογέω (exomologeō), built on ὁμολογέω (homologeō)
To openly acknowledge or confess; the word carries the sense of bringing an acknowledgment out into speech.
“confessing” in this verse is exomologoumenoi. The verse does not leave confession as an inward recognition: the people voice what they have missed while they are immersed. The spoken acknowledgment and the water occupy the same scene.
ALSO GROWS
homologeō: Acknowledge, confess
ὁμολογέω
This related verb appears in 1 John 1:9 for confessing sins.
exomologēsis: Open acknowledgment, confession
ἐξομολόγησις
The related noun preserves the expressed, spoken quality of the act.
ἁμαρτίας
hamartias
GROWS FROM
ἁμαρτάνω
hamartanō
To miss, err, or go wrong; hamartia names a missing or failure.
The word translated “sins” carries the sense of misses that can be named. These are not left as a vague burden in the verse; they are spoken openly.
ALSO GROWS
hamartanō: To miss, err, or do wrong
ἁμαρτάνω
The verb expresses the action behind the “missing” named here.
hamartōlos: One who misses; a sinner
ἁμαρτωλός
This related word links the act of missing with the person described through it.
ἐβαπτίζοντο
ebaptizonto
GROWS FROM
βαπτίζω (baptizō), related to βάπτω (baptō)
To immerse, plunge, or dip into water.
“baptized” in this verse is ebaptizonto. The Greek verb keeps the action concrete: they are immersed in the Jordan while confessing. The accompanying confession is part of this same moment in the water.
ALSO GROWS
baptō: Dip or plunge
βάπτω
This related verb keeps the water image grounded in the act of dipping.
baptisma: Immersion; baptism
βάπτισμα
The related noun names the immersion that takes place alongside their confession.
THE PATTERN
What has gone wrong is brought into the open in the movement toward forgiveness, healing, or changed action.
I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds.Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.THE THREAD
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.Matthew’s “confessing” is from ἐξομολογέω (exomologeō), and John’s “confess” is ὁμολογέω (homologeō), from the same word family. John connects that acknowledgment with release and cleansing, extending what the spoken confession opens in Matthew.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us