¹⁵ Now while the people were in a state of expectation and they all were thinking carefully in their hearts about John, ^(A)whether he himself perhaps was the ^[a]Christ, ^16 (B)John responded to them all, saying, “As for me, I baptize you with water; but He is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the straps of His sandals; He will baptize you ^[b]with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹⁷ His ^(C)winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with ^(D)unquenchable fire.”

¹⁸ So with many other exhortations he preached the gospel to the people. ¹⁹ But when ^(E)Herod the tetrarch was reprimanded by him regarding ^(F)Herodias, his brother’s wife, and regarding all the evil things which ^(G)Herod had done, ²⁰ Herod also added this to them all: ^(H)he locked John up in prison.