¹⁵ Now the people were waiting expectantly, and all of them were questioning in their hearts whether John might be the Messiah.^{(A) 16} John answered them all,^(B) “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^[a] the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹⁷ His winnowing shovel^(C) is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and gather the wheat into his barn,^(D) but the chaff he will burn with fire that never goes out.”^{(E) 18} Then, along with many other exhortations, he proclaimed good news to the people.