The Temptation of Jesus

4 ^(A)And Jesus, ^(B)full of the Holy Spirit, ^(C)returned from the Jordan and was led ^(D)by the Spirit in the wilderness ² for ^(E)forty days, ^(F)being tempted by the devil. ^(G)And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, ^(H)he was hungry. ³ The devil said to him, “If you are ^(I)the Son of God, command ^(J)this stone to become bread.” ⁴ And Jesus answered him, ^(K)“It is written, ^(L)‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” ^5 (M)And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, ⁶ and said to him, “To you ^(N)I will give all this authority and their glory, ^(O)for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. ⁷ If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” ⁸ And Jesus answered him, ^(P)“It is written,

^9 (S)And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are ^(T)the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, ¹⁰ for it is written,

¹¹ and

¹² And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ^(W)‘You shall not ^(X)put the Lord your God to the test.’” ¹³ And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him ^(Y)until an opportune time.

Jesus Begins His Ministry

^14 (Z)And Jesus returned ^(AA)in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and ^(AB)a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. ¹⁵ And ^(AC)he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, ^(A)the Son of God.^[a]

^2 (B)As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,^[b]

^4 (F)John appeared, baptizing in ^(G)the wilderness and proclaiming ^(H)a baptism of ^(I)repentance ^(J)for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵ And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, ^(K)confessing their sins. ⁶ Now John was ^(L)clothed with camel's hair and ^(M)wore a leather belt around his waist and ate ^(N)locusts and ^(O)wild honey. ⁷ And he preached, saying, ^(P)“After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. ^8 (Q)I have baptized you with water, but ^(R)he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

The Baptism of Jesus

^9 (S)In those days Jesus ^(T)came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰ And when he came up out of the water, immediately he ^(U)saw ^(V)the heavens being torn open ^(W)and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. ¹¹ And ^(X)a voice came from heaven, ^(Y)“You are my beloved Son;^[d] with you I am well pleased.”

The Temptation of Jesus

^12 (Z)The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. ^13 (AA)And he was in the wilderness forty days, being ^(AB)tempted by ^(AC)Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and ^(AD)the angels were ministering to him.

Jesus Begins His Ministry

^14 (AE)Now after John was arrested, Jesus ^(AF)came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, ¹⁵ and saying, ^(AG)“The time is fulfilled, and ^(AH)the kingdom of God is at hand;^{[e] (AI)}repent and believe in the gospel.”