³¹ I did not recognize him as the Messiah, but I have been baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel.”

The Coming Day of Judgment

3 “Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you look for so eagerly, is surely coming,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

¹⁷ He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children,^[a] and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly.”

⁴ Paul said, “John’s baptism called for repentance from sin. But John himself told the people to believe in the one who would come later, meaning Jesus.”

³³ I didn’t know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’

⁷ to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony.

³ Then John went from place to place on both sides of the Jordan River, preaching that people should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven. ⁴ Isaiah had spoken of John when he said,

⁴ This messenger was John the Baptist. He was in the wilderness and preached that people should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven. ⁵ All of Judea, including all the people of Jerusalem, went out to see and hear John. And when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River.

⁶ And when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River.

² “But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings.^[a] And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture. ³ On the day when I act, you will tread upon the wicked as if they were dust under your feet,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

⁴ “Remember to obey the Law of Moses, my servant—all the decrees and regulations that I gave him on Mount Sinai^[b] for all Israel.

⁵ “Look, I am sending you the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the Lord arrives.