The Proclamation of John the Baptist

3 In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming,

¹² Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?”^(A)

¹³ He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.”^(A)

²⁹ (And all the people who heard this, including the tax collectors, acknowledged the justice of God,^[a] having been baptized with John’s baptism.^(A)

³⁰ But the Pharisees and the experts in the law, not having been baptized by him, rejected God’s purpose for themselves.)^(A)