3 In the fifteenth year of Emperor Tiberius’ rule; when Pontius Pilate was governor of Y’hudah, Herod ruler of the Galil, his brother Philip ruler of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, ² with ‘Anan and Kayafa being the cohanim g’dolim; the word of God came to Yochanan Ben-Z’kharyah in the desert. ³ He went all through the Yarden region proclaiming an immersion involving turning to God from sin in order to be forgiven. ⁴ It was just as had been written in the book of the sayings of the prophet Yesha‘yahu,

⁷ Therefore, Yochanan said to the crowds who came out to be immersed by him, “You snakes! Who warned you to escape the coming punishment? ⁸ If you have really turned from your sins, produce fruit that will prove it! And don’t start saying to yourselves, ‘Avraham is our father’! For I tell you that God can raise up for Avraham sons from these stones! ⁹ Already the axe is at the root of the trees, ready to strike; every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown in the fire!”

¹⁰ The crowds asked Yochanan, “So then, what should we do?” ¹¹ He answered, “Whoever has two coats should share with somebody who has none, and whoever has food should do the same.” ¹² Tax-collectors also came to be immersed; and they asked him, “Rabbi, what should we do?” ¹³ “Collect no more than the government assesses,” he told them. ¹⁴ Some soldiers asked him, “What about us? What should we do?” To them he said, “Don’t intimidate anyone, don’t accuse people falsely, and be satisfied with your pay.”

¹⁵ The people were in a state of great expectancy, and everyone was wondering whether perhaps Yochanan himself might be the Messiah; ¹⁶ so Yochanan answered them all, “I am immersing you in water, but he who is coming is more powerful than I — I’m not worthy to untie his sandals! He will immerse you in the Ruach HaKodesh and in fire. ¹⁷ He has with him his winnowing fork to clear out his threshing floor and gather his wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the straw with unquenchable fire!”

¹⁸ And with many other warnings besides these he announced the Good News to the people.

¹⁹ But Yochanan also denounced Herod the regional governor for taking as his own wife Herodias, the wife of his brother, and for all the other wicked things Herod had done; ²⁰ whereupon Herod added this to the rest: he locked up Yochanan in prison.

²¹ While all the people were being immersed, Yeshua too was immersed. As he was praying, heaven was opened; ²² the Ruach HaKodesh came down on him in physical form like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, whom I love; I am well pleased with you.”

²³ Yeshua was about thirty years old when he began his public ministry. It was supposed that he was a son of Yosef who was of Eli,

²⁴ of Mattat, of Levi, of Malki, of Yannai, of Yosef,

²⁵ of Mattityahu, of Amotz, of Nachum, of Hesli, of Naggai,

²⁶ of Machat, of Mattityahu, of Shim‘i, of Yosef, of Yodah,

²⁷ of Yochanan, of Reisha, of Z’rubavel, of Sh’altiel, of Neri,

²⁸ of Malki, of Addi, of Kosam, of Elmadan, of Er,

²⁹ of Yeshua, of Eli‘ezer, of Yoram, of Mattat, of Levi,

³⁰ of Shim‘on, of Y’hudah, of Yosef, of Yonam, of Elyakim,

³¹ of Mal’ah, of Manah, of Mattatah, of Natan, of David,

³² of Yishai, of ‘Oved, of Bo‘az, of Salmon, of Nachshon,

³³ of Amminadav, of Admin, of Arni, of Hetzron, of Peretz, of Y’hudah,

³⁴ of Ya‘akov, of Yitz’chak, of Avraham, of Terach, of Nachor,

³⁵ of S’rug, of Re‘u, of Peleg, of ‘Ever, of Shelah,

³⁶ of Keinan, of Arpakhshad, of Shem, of Noach, of Lemekh,

³⁷ of Metushelach, of Hanokh, of Yered, of Mahalal’el, of Keinan,

³⁸ of Enosh, of Shet, of Adam, of God.