Isaiah 11:1-10

Common English Bible

A shoot from Jesse’s stump

11 A shoot will grow up from the stump of Jesse;
    a branch will sprout^[a] from his roots.
²The Lord’s spirit will rest upon him,
    a spirit of wisdom and understanding,
    a spirit of planning and strength,
    a spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord.
³He will delight in fearing the Lord.
He won’t judge by appearances,
    nor decide by hearsay.
⁴He will judge the needy with righteousness,
    and decide with equity for those who suffer in the land.
He will strike the violent^[b] with the rod of his mouth;
    by the breath of his lips he will kill the wicked.
⁵Righteousness will be the belt around his hips,
    and faithfulness the belt around his waist.
⁶The wolf will live with the lamb,
    and the leopard will lie down with the young goat;
    the calf and the young lion will feed^[c] together,
    and a little child will lead them.
⁷The cow and the bear will graze.
    Their young will lie down together,
    and a lion will eat straw like an ox.
⁸A nursing child will play over the snake’s hole;
    toddlers will reach right over the serpent’s den.
⁹They won’t harm or destroy anywhere on my holy mountain.
    The earth will surely be filled with the knowledge of the Lord,
    just as the water covers the sea.

A signal to the peoples

¹⁰On that day, the root of Jesse will stand as a signal to the peoples. The nations will seek him out, and his dwelling will be glorious.

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Footnotes

Isaiah 11:1 LXX, Vulg; MT bear fruit
Isaiah 11:4 Or land
Isaiah 11:6 Correction; MT and the calf

Matthew 3:1-12

Common English Bible

Ministry of John the Baptist

3 In those days John the Baptist appeared in the desert of Judea announcing, ²“Change your hearts and lives! Here comes the kingdom of heaven!” ³He was the one of whom Isaiah the prophet spoke when he said:

The voice of one shouting in the wilderness,
“Prepare the way for the Lord;
make his paths straight.”^[a]

⁴John wore clothes made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. He ate locusts and wild honey.

⁵People from Jerusalem, throughout Judea, and all around the Jordan River came to him. ⁶As they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River. ⁷Many Pharisees and Sadducees came to be baptized by John. He said to them, “You children of snakes! Who warned you to escape from the angry judgment that is coming soon? ⁸Produce fruit that shows you have changed your hearts and lives. ⁹And don’t even think about saying to yourselves, Abraham is our father. I tell you that God is able to raise up Abraham’s children from these stones. ¹⁰The ax is already at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be chopped down and tossed into the fire. ¹¹I baptize with water those of you who have changed your hearts and lives. The one who is coming after me is stronger than I am. I’m not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. ¹²The shovel he uses to sift the wheat from the husks is in his hands. He will clean out his threshing area and bring the wheat into his barn. But he will burn the husks with a fire that can’t be put out.”