⁸ Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, ⁹ “Behold, ^(A)I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, ¹⁰ and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. ^11 (B)I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” ¹² And God said, ^(C)“This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: ¹³ I have set ^(D)my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. ¹⁴ When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, ^15 (E)I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. ¹⁶ When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember ^(F)the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” ¹⁷ God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

Teach Me Your Paths

^[a] Of David.

¹⁸ For Christ also ^(A)suffered^{[a] (B)}once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, ^(C)that he might bring us to God, being put to death ^(D)in the flesh but made alive ^(E)in the spirit, ¹⁹ in which^[b] he went and ^(F)proclaimed^[c] to the spirits in prison, ²⁰ because^[d] they formerly did not obey, ^(G)when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, ^(H)while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, ^(I)eight persons, were brought safely through water. ²¹ Baptism, which corresponds to this, ^(J)now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but ^(K)as an appeal to God for a good conscience, ^(L)through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, ²² who has gone into heaven and ^(M)is at the right hand of God, ^(N)with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.

The Baptism of Jesus

^9 (A)In those days Jesus ^(B)came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰ And when he came up out of the water, immediately he ^(C)saw ^(D)the heavens being torn open ^(E)and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. ¹¹ And ^(F)a voice came from heaven, ^(G)“You are my beloved Son;^[a] with you I am well pleased.”

The Temptation of Jesus

^12 (H)The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. ^13 (I)And he was in the wilderness forty days, being ^(J)tempted by ^(K)Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and ^(L)the angels were ministering to him.

Jesus Begins His Ministry

^14 (M)Now after John was arrested, Jesus ^(N)came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, ¹⁵ and saying, ^(O)“The time is fulfilled, and ^(P)the kingdom of God is at hand;^{[b] (Q)}repent and believe in the gospel.”