Matthew 3

English Standard Version

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

3 ^(A)In those days ^(B)John the Baptist came preaching in ^(C)the wilderness of Judea, ²^(D)“Repent, for ^(E)the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”^[a] ³For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,

^(F)“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
^(G)‘Prepare^[b] the way of the Lord;
make his paths straight.’”

⁴Now John wore ^(H)a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was ^(I)locusts and ^(J)wild honey. ⁵Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, ⁶and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, ^(K)confessing their sins.

⁷But when he saw many of ^(L)the Pharisees and ^(M)Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, ^(N)“You brood of ^(O)vipers! Who warned you to flee from ^(P)the wrath to come? ⁸Bear fruit ^(Q)in keeping with repentance. ⁹And do not presume to say to yourselves, ^(R)‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from ^(S)these stones to raise up children for Abraham. ¹⁰Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. ^(T)Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

¹¹^(U)“I baptize you with water ^(V)for repentance, but ^(W)he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you ^(X)with the Holy Spirit and ^(Y)fire. ¹²His ^(Z)winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and ^(AA)gather his wheat into the barn, ^(AB)but the chaff he will burn with ^(AC)unquenchable fire.”

The Baptism of Jesus

¹³^(AD)Then Jesus came ^(AE)from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. ¹⁴^(AF)John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” ¹⁵But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. ¹⁶And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, ^(AG)the heavens were opened to him,^[c] and he ^(AH)saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; ¹⁷and behold, ^(AI)a voice from heaven said, ^(AJ)“This is my beloved Son,^[d] with whom I am well pleased.”

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Footnotes

Matthew 3:2 Or the kingdom of heaven has come near
Matthew 3:3 Or crying: Prepare in the wilderness
Matthew 3:16 Some manuscripts omit to him
Matthew 3:17 Or my Son, my (or the) Beloved

Luke 4:1-14

English Standard Version

The Temptation of Jesus

4 ^(A)And Jesus, ^(B)full of the Holy Spirit, ^(C)returned from the Jordan and was led ^(D)by the Spirit in the wilderness ²for ^(E)forty days, ^(F)being tempted by the devil. ^(G)And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, ^(H)he was hungry. ³The devil said to him, “If you are ^(I)the Son of God, command ^(J)this stone to become bread.” ⁴And Jesus answered him, ^(K)“It is written, ^(L)‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” ⁵^(M)And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, ⁶and said to him, “To you ^(N)I will give all this authority and their glory, ^(O)for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. ⁷If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” ⁸And Jesus answered him, ^(P)“It is written,

^(Q)“‘You shall worship the Lord your God,
and ^(R)him only shall you serve.’”

⁹^(S)And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are ^(T)the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, ¹⁰for it is written,

^(U)“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
to guard you,’

¹¹and

^(V)“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

¹²And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ^(W)‘You shall not ^(X)put the Lord your God to the test.’” ¹³And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him ^(Y)until an opportune time.