Now ^ain those days ^bJohn the Baptist *¹came, ²preaching in the ^cwilderness of Judea, saying, 2 “^aRepent, for ^bthe kingdom of heaven has come near.” 3 For this is the ^aone referred to ¹by Isaiah the prophet when he said,“^bTHE VOICE OF ONE ²CALLING ³OUT IN THE WILDERNESS,‘^cPREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD,MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT!’” 4 Now John himself had ^1aa garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was ^blocusts and wild honey. 5 At that time Jerusalem ^awas going out to him, and all Judea and all ^bthe region around the Jordan; 6 and they were being ^abaptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.

7 But when he saw many of the ^aPharisees and ^bSadducees coming for ¹baptism, he said to them, “You ^2coffspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from ^dthe wrath to come? 8 ^aTherefore produce fruit ^bconsistent with repentance; 9 and do not assume that you can say to yourselves, ‘^aWe have Abraham as our father’; for I tell you that God is able, from these stones, to raise up children for Abraham. 10 And the ^aaxe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore, ^bevery tree that does not bear good fruit is being cut down and thrown into the fire.

11 “As for me, ^aI baptize you ¹with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; ^bHe will baptize you ²with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His ^awinnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will ^bgather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the ^cchaff with ^dunquenchable fire.”

13 ^aThen Jesus *arrived ^bfrom Galilee at the Jordan, coming to John to be baptized by him. 14 But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have the need to be baptized by You, and yet You are coming to me?” 15 But Jesus, answering, said to him, “Allow it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us ^ato fulfill all righteousness.” Then he *allowed Him. 16 After He was baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and ^1ahe saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and ²settling on Him, 17 and behold, a voice from the heavens said, “^aThis is ¹My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

^aIn those days ¹John the Baptist appeared, ^bpreaching in the ^cWilderness of Judea along the western side of the Dead Sea and saying, 2 “^1aRepent change your inner self—your old way of thinking, regret past sins, live your life in a way that proves repentance; seek God’s purpose for your life, for ^bthe kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 3 This is ^athe one who was mentioned by the prophet Isaiah when he said,“^bTHE VOICE OF ONE SHOUTING IN THE WILDERNESS,‘^cPREPARE THE ROAD FOR THE LORD,¹MAKE HIS HIGHWAYS STRAIGHT (level, direct) !’” Is 40:3 4 Now this same John had ^aclothing made of camel’s hair and a wide leather ¹band around his waist; and his food was ^blocusts and wild honey. Lev 11:22; 2+@Kin 1:8; Zech 13:4 5 At that time Jerusalem ^awas going out to him, and all Judea and all ^bthe district around the Jordan; 6 and they were ^abeing baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.

7 But when he saw many of the ^1aPharisees and ^2bSadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You ^cbrood of vipers, who warned you to flee from ^dthe divine wrath and judgment to come? 8 So ^aproduce fruit that is ^bconsistent with repentance demonstrating new behavior that proves a change of heart, and a conscious decision to turn away from sin; 9 and do not presume to say to yourselves as a defense, ‘^aWe have Abraham for our father so our inheritance assures us of salvation’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children (descendants) for Abraham. Luke 3:8 10 And already the ^aaxe of God’s judgment is ¹swinging toward the root of the trees; therefore ^bevery tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

11 “^aAs for me, I baptize you ¹with water because of your repentance that is, because you are willing to change your inner self—your old way of thinking, regret your sin and live a changed life, but He (the Messiah) who is coming after me is mightier more powerful, more noble than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to remove even as His slave; ^bHe will baptize you who truly repent with the Holy Spirit and you who remain unrepentant with ²fire (judgment) . Luke 3:16 12 His ^1awinnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear out His threshing floor; and He will ^bgather His wheat (believers) into His barn (kingdom) , but He will burn up the ^cchaff (the unrepentant) with ^dunquenchable fire.”

13 ^aThen Jesus came ^bfrom Galilee to John at the Jordan River, to be baptized by him. Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21, 22; John 1:32 14 But John tried to prevent Him vigorously protesting, saying, “It is I who need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” 15 But Jesus replied to him, “Permit it just now; for this is the fitting way for us ^1ato fulfill all righteousness.” Then John permitted it and baptized Him. 16 After Jesus was baptized, He came up immediately out of the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and ^ahe (John) saw the ¹Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him (Jesus) , John 1:32 17 and behold, a ¹voice from heaven said, “^aThis is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased and delighted!” Ps 2:7; Is 42:1

Now ^ain those days ^1bJohn the Baptist *²came, ³preaching in the ^cwilderness of Judea, saying, 2 “^aRepent, for ^bthe kingdom of heaven ¹is at hand.” 3 For this is the ^aone referred to ¹by Isaiah the prophet, saying,“^bTHE VOICE OF ONE ²CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS,‘^cMAKE READY THE WAY OF THE ³LORD,MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT!’” 4 Now John himself had ^1aa garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was ^blocusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem ^awas going out to him, and all Judea, and all ^bthe district around the Jordan; 6 and they were being ^abaptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.

7 But when he saw many of the ^aPharisees and ^bSadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, “You ^cbrood of vipers, who warned you to flee from ^dthe wrath to come? 8 ^aTherefore bear fruit ^bin keeping with repentance; 9 and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘^aWe have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. 10 And the ^aaxe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore ^bevery tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

11 “As for me, ^aI baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; ^bHe will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His ^awinnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will ^bgather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the ^cchaff with ^dunquenchable fire.”

13 ^aThen Jesus *arrived ^bfrom Galilee at the Jordan coming to John to be baptized by him. 14 But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” 15 But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us ^ato fulfill all righteousness.” Then he *permitted Him. 16 And after being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and ^1ahe saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon Him, 17 and behold, there was a voice out of the heavens saying, “^aThis is ¹My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”