The Messiah’s Herald

3 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea,^(A) Herod was tetrarch^[a] of Galilee,^(B) his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, ² during the high priesthood of Annas^(C) and Caiaphas,^(D) God’s word came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.^{(E) 3} He went into all the vicinity of the Jordan,^(F) proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,^{(G) 4} as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah:

⁷ He then said to the crowds who came out to be baptized by him, “Brood of vipers!^(I) Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?^{(J) 8} Therefore produce fruit^(K) consistent with repentance. And don’t start saying to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’^(L) for I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones. ⁹ The ax is already at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”^(M)

¹⁰ “What then should we do?” ^(N) the crowds were asking him.

¹¹ He replied to them, “The one who has two shirts must share with someone who has none, and the one who has food must do the same.”^(O)

¹² Tax collectors^(P) also came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” ^(Q)

¹³ He told them, “Don’t collect any more than what you have been authorized.”

¹⁴ Some soldiers also questioned him, “What should we do?”

He said to them, “Don’t take money from anyone by force or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”

¹⁵ Now the people were waiting expectantly, and all of them were questioning in their hearts whether John might be the Messiah.^{(R) 16} John answered them all,^(S) “I baptize you with water, but one who is more powerful than I am is coming. I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with^[d] the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹⁷ His winnowing shovel^(T) is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and gather the wheat into his barn,^(U) but the chaff he will burn with fire that never goes out.”^{(V) 18} Then, along with many other exhortations, he proclaimed good news to the people. ¹⁹ But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch^(W) because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the evil things he had done,^{(X) 20} Herod added this to everything else—he locked up John in prison.^(Y)

The Baptism of Jesus

²¹ When all the people were baptized,^(Z) Jesus also was baptized. As he was praying,^(AA) heaven opened,^{(AB) 22} and the Holy Spirit descended on him in a physical appearance like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well-pleased.”^(AC)

The Genealogy of Jesus Christ

²³ As he began his ministry, Jesus was about thirty years old and was thought to be the

Elijah in the Whirlwind

2 The time had come for the Lord to take Elijah up to heaven^(A) in a whirlwind.^(B) Elijah and Elisha^(C) were traveling from Gilgal,^{(D) 2} and Elijah said to Elisha,^(E) “Stay here;^(F) the Lord is sending me on to Bethel.”^(G)

But Elisha replied, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.”^(H) So they went down to Bethel.

³ Then the sons of the prophets^(I) who were at Bethel came out to Elisha and said, “Do you know that the Lord will take your master away from you today?” ^(J)

He said, “Yes, I know. Be quiet.”

⁴ Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here; the Lord is sending me to Jericho.”^(K)

But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho.

⁵ Then the sons of the prophets who were in Jericho came up to Elisha and said, “Do you know that the Lord will take your master away from you today?”

He said, “Yes, I know. Be quiet.”

⁶ Elijah said to him, “Stay here; the Lord is sending me to the Jordan.”^(L)

But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on.

⁷ Fifty men from the sons of the prophets came and stood observing them at a distance while the two of them stood by the Jordan. ⁸ Elijah took his mantle,^(M) rolled it up, and struck the water, which parted to the right and left. Then the two of them crossed over on dry ground.^{(N) 9} When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I can do for you before I am taken from you.”

So Elisha answered, “Please, let me inherit two shares of your spirit.”^(O)

¹⁰ Elijah replied, “You have asked for something difficult. If you see me being taken from you,^(P) you will have it. If not, you won’t.”

¹¹ As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire with horses of fire^(Q) suddenly appeared and separated the two of them. Then Elijah went up into heaven in the whirlwind.^{(R) 12} As Elisha watched, he kept crying out, “My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel!” ^(S)

Elisha Succeeds Elijah

When he could see him no longer, he took hold of his own clothes, tore them in two,^{(T) 13} picked up the mantle^(U) that had fallen off Elijah, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. ¹⁴ He took the mantle Elijah had dropped, and he struck the water. “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” he asked. He struck the water himself, and it parted to the right and the left, and Elisha crossed over.

¹⁵ When the sons of the prophets from Jericho who were observing saw him, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” They came to meet him and bowed down to the ground in front of him.

¹⁶ Then the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “Since there are fifty strong men here with your servants, please let them go and search for your master. Maybe the Spirit of the Lord has carried him away and put him on one of the mountains or into one of the valleys.”^(V)

He answered, “Don’t send them.”

¹⁷ However, they urged him to the point of embarrassment,^(W) so he said, “Send them.” They sent fifty men, who looked for three days but did not find him. ¹⁸ When they returned to him in Jericho^(X) where he was staying, he said to them, “Didn’t I tell you not to go?”

¹⁹ The men of the city said to Elisha, “My lord can see that even though the city’s location is good, the water is bad and the land unfruitful.”^(Y)

²⁰ He replied, “Bring me a new bowl and put salt in it.”^(Z)

After they had brought him one, ²¹ Elisha went out to the spring, threw salt in it,^(AA) and said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘I have healed this water. No longer will death or unfruitfulness result from it.’” ²² Therefore, the water still remains healthy today according to the word that Elisha spoke.

²³ From there Elisha went up to Bethel.^(AB) As he was walking up the path, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him,^(AC) chanting, “Go up, baldy! Go up, baldy!” ²⁴ He turned around, looked at them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord.^(AD) Then two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the children. ²⁵ From there Elisha went to Mount Carmel,^(AE) and then he returned to Samaria.^(AF)