¹⁵ As the people were in expectation, and all men questioned in their hearts concerning John, whether perhaps he were the Christ, ¹⁶ John answered them all, “I baptize you with water; but he who is mightier than I is coming, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. ¹⁷ His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into his granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

¹⁸ So, with many other exhortations, he preached good news to the people. ¹⁹ But Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Hero′di-as, his brother’s wife, and for all the evil things that Herod had done, ²⁰ added this to them all, that he shut up John in prison.

The Baptism of Jesus

²¹ Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, ²² and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form, as a dove, and a voice came from heaven, “Thou art my beloved Son;^[a] with thee I am well pleased.”^[b]

The Ancestors of Jesus

²³ Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph,^[a] the son of Heli, ²⁴ the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jan′na-i, the son of Joseph, ²⁵ the son of Mattathi′as, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Nag′ga-i, ²⁶ the son of Ma′ath, the son of Mattathi′as, the son of Sem′e-in, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, ²⁷ the son of Jo-an′an, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerub′babel, the son of She-al′ti-el,^[b] the son of Neri, ²⁸ the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elma′dam, the son of Er,