Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - Luke 3:1-38
Luke 3:2 Prophets have passed for something as well as priests in making God's will known; and Established Church priesthoods have not been generally on particularly good terms with prophets. The only occasion on which the two orders are said to have been in harmony was when the prophets prophesied lies, and the priests bore rule in their name. Froude. Luke 3:2 The young who are of healthy, lively blood and clean conscience have either emotion or imagination to fold them defensively from an... read more
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Luke 3:14
(14) And the soldiers likewise . . .—The Greek word has not the definite article, and is a participle. Better, and soldiers, as they were marching. The words probably point to the troops of Antipas on their way down the valley of the Jordan to attack Aretas (comp. Notes on 2 Corinthians 11:32), the father of the Tetrarch’s divorced wife, who had declared war on account of the wrong thus done to his daughter. Roman soldiers were not likely to have come to the Baptist’s preaching.Do violence to... read more