^80 (A)And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was ^(B)in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

^40 (A)And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.

^4 (C)John appeared, baptizing in ^(D)the wilderness and proclaiming ^(E)a baptism of ^(F)repentance ^(G)for the forgiveness of sins.

⁵² And Jesus ^(A)increased in wisdom and in stature^[a] and in ^(B)favor with God and man.

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

3 ^(A)In those days ^(B)John the Baptist came preaching in ^(C)the wilderness of Judea,

^19 (A)And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him ^(B)and let none of his words fall to the ground. ²⁰ And all Israel ^(C)from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord.

²⁴ And the woman bore a son and called his name Samson. ^(A)And the young man grew, and the Lord blessed him. ^25 (B)And the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan, between ^(C)Zorah and Eshtaol.

³¹ I myself did not know him, but ^(A)for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.”

¹⁵ for he will be ^(A)great before the Lord. And ^(B)he must not drink wine or strong ^(C)drink, and ^(D)he will be ^(E)filled with the Holy Spirit, ^(F)even from his mother's womb.